PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. Two senior developers have a technical disagreement that has escalated into a personal conflict, causing delays. What should you do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose Option A, thinking open team discussion promotes transparency, but PMI expects private conflict resolution first to avoid public escalation and maintain team cohesion.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a resolution
As a project manager using a hybrid approach, your first responsibility is to address interpersonal conflicts privately and individually to understand each party's perspective before attempting a facilitated resolution. This aligns with the PMI People domain's emphasis on emotional intelligence and conflict resolution techniques, where direct, private conversations help de-escalate tensions and uncover root causes without public embarrassment or escalation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Bring the two developers together in a team meeting to resolve the issue openly
Why it's wrong here
Initiating conflict resolution in a public team meeting is generally counterproductive and unprofessional. This approach risks escalating tensions, causing embarrassment, and forcing individuals into defensive positions rather than fostering open dialogue. Effective conflict resolution often requires a more private setting to allow parties to express concerns without fear of judgment or public scrutiny, which is crucial for understanding root causes.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution
Why it's wrong here
Escalating a team conflict directly to the project sponsor prematurely abdicates the project manager's primary responsibility for team management and conflict resolution. Project managers are expected to possess and apply interpersonal skills to address team issues independently first. Such an escalation should only occur as a last resort, after the PM has exhausted all reasonable attempts to resolve the conflict and if the issue genuinely impacts project objectives beyond the PM's authority.
- ✗
Reassign one of the developers to a different project to avoid further conflict
Why it's wrong here
Reassigning a developer to a different project is an avoidance strategy that fails to address the underlying conflict, merely relocating the problem or creating new ones. This action can negatively impact team morale, disrupt project schedules due to resource changes, and potentially transfer an unresolved issue to another project. A PMP's role is to resolve conflicts constructively, not to circumvent them by displacing valuable team members and their associated knowledge.
- ✓
Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a resolution
Why this is correct
Meeting with each developer separately is the most appropriate initial step for conflict resolution, aligning with effective project management practices. This private approach allows the project manager to gather facts, understand individual perspectives without bias, and identify the root causes of the conflict in a safe environment. It enables the PM to act as an impartial mediator, fostering trust and preparing the ground for a constructive resolution or a facilitated discussion between the parties.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is the process of addressing and resolving disagreements between team members or stakeholders to maintain a productive and collaborative project environment.
Key term
Project Management Plan
A formal, approved document that defines how a project is executed, monitored, controlled, and closed, serving as the single source of truth for the project team.
About these practice questions
One of 800 original PMP practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.