The correct first step is to coach the product owner privately on the purpose of the daily stand-up and the importance of not interrupting. This is because the daily stand-up is a timeboxed synchronization event for the development team to inspect progress toward the sprint goal, not a technical Q&A session; when the product owner interrupts with detailed questions, it violates the Scrum framework, causing the team to withhold information and reducing velocity. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of agile event boundaries and servant leadership—a common trap is to immediately escalate or change the meeting format, but the correct response is always to address the root cause through private coaching. Remember the memory tip: "Stand-ups are for the team, not for the PO’s stream."
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 the project manager for a software development project using an agile methodology. The team is co-located and has been working together for three months. Recently, you notice that during daily stand-up meetings, the product owner often interrupts the team members to ask detailed technical questions, causing the meetings to run over the 15-minute timebox. Additionally, the team seems hesitant to share progress openly, and some members have started arriving late to the stand-up. The sprint backlog shows that velocity has dropped by 20% in the last two sprints. The product owner insists that the stand-up is the only time they have to get technical updates. What should the project manager do FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Coach the product owner privately on the purpose of the daily stand-up and the importance of not interrupting.
Option C is correct because the daily stand-up is a team synchronization event for inspecting progress toward the sprint goal, not a technical Q&A session. The product owner's interruptions violate the event's timebox and purpose, causing the team to withhold information and reducing velocity. The project manager should first coach the product owner privately on the Scrum Guide's definition of the daily stand-up, emphasizing that detailed technical discussions should be deferred to separate sessions.
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.
✗
Extend the stand-up to 30 minutes to allow time for the product owner's questions.
Why it's wrong here
Does not address the underlying issue and reduces meeting efficiency.
✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor and request a replacement product owner.
Why it's wrong here
Too drastic; the product owner may improve with coaching.
✓
Coach the product owner privately on the purpose of the daily stand-up and the importance of not interrupting.
Why this is correct
Addresses the behavior directly while preserving the relationship.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Remove the product owner from the daily stand-up and provide a written daily summary instead.
Why it's wrong here
Reduces collaboration and may increase disconnect.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose Option A (extending the timebox) because they think accommodating the product owner's needs is collaborative, but this violates the core agile principle of timeboxing and the specific purpose of the daily stand-up as defined in the Scrum Guide.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The daily stand-up is a 15-minute timeboxed event for the development team to plan the next 24 hours, as defined in the Scrum Guide (2020). The product owner may attend as an observer but should not dominate the discussion; detailed technical questions should be handled in separate refinement or ad-hoc sessions. In practice, a 20% velocity drop often signals a systemic issue like impeded communication or lack of psychological safety, which can be exacerbated by a product owner who treats the stand-up as a status update rather than a team coordination tool.
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: Coach the product owner privately on the purpose of the daily stand-up and the importance of not interrupting. — Option C is correct because the daily stand-up is a team synchronization event for inspecting progress toward the sprint goal, not a technical Q&A session. The product owner's interruptions violate the event's timebox and purpose, causing the team to withhold information and reducing velocity. The project manager should first coach the product owner privately on the Scrum Guide's definition of the daily stand-up, emphasizing that detailed technical discussions should be deferred to separate sessions.
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: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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