This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are managing an agile software development team. In the last three sprints, the team's velocity has dropped from 30 to 22 story points. The team members are experienced but seem demotivated. What is the BEST action to take?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conduct a retrospective to identify and address the root causes of the drop
The correct answer is C because the team's velocity drop and demotivation are symptoms of underlying issues that need to be uncovered through a retrospective. In agile, the retrospective is the primary mechanism for continuous improvement, allowing the team to inspect its processes, identify root causes (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements, or interpersonal friction), and adapt. Reassigning work or replacing team members would bypass the team's self-organization and likely worsen morale, while increasing sprint length treats a symptom without addressing the cause.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Reassign work to individual contributors to increase accountability
Why it's wrong here
Assigning work individually reduces team collaboration and may not solve velocity issues.
✗
Increase the sprint length to give the team more time
Why it's wrong here
Increasing sprint length may not address root cause and could reduce urgency.
✓
Conduct a retrospective to identify and address the root causes of the drop
Why this is correct
The retrospective allows the team to inspect and adapt, identifying issues and solutions in a collaborative manner.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Replace two team members with more productive resources
Why it's wrong here
Replacing team members is drastic and may not address underlying issues; it could harm morale further.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often jump to a 'command-and-control' solution (like reassigning work or replacing team members) because they misinterpret a velocity drop as a performance issue, rather than recognizing it as a signal for process improvement through the retrospective.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In agile frameworks like Scrum, velocity is a relative measure of completed story points per sprint, used for forecasting, not as a performance metric. A sustained drop often indicates process friction (e.g., increasing technical debt, poor backlog refinement, or external dependencies) rather than individual capability. The retrospective (typically a 1-3 hour event for a one-month sprint) uses techniques like 'Start-Stop-Continue' or 'Five Whys' to systematically uncover systemic issues, enabling the team to implement actionable improvements in the next sprint.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the PMP exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
People — Leading Projects — This question tests People — Leading Projects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Conduct a retrospective to identify and address the root causes of the drop — The correct answer is C because the team's velocity drop and demotivation are symptoms of underlying issues that need to be uncovered through a retrospective. In agile, the retrospective is the primary mechanism for continuous improvement, allowing the team to inspect its processes, identify root causes (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements, or interpersonal friction), and adapt. Reassigning work or replacing team members would bypass the team's self-organization and likely worsen morale, while increasing sprint length treats a symptom without addressing the cause.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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