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 Scrum. During the daily standup, two senior developers engage in a heated argument about the technical approach for a user story. The argument is consuming valuable time and escalating. What should you 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
✓
Schedule a private meeting with both developers after the standup to facilitate a resolution
Option B is correct because the project manager's role in a self-managing Scrum team is to facilitate conflict resolution without imposing decisions. By scheduling a private meeting after the standup, you allow the developers to resolve the technical disagreement collaboratively, preserving team autonomy and avoiding disruption to the daily Scrum's timebox. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and conflict management techniques like 'collaborating' or 'problem-solving'.
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.
✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for immediate intervention
Why it's wrong here
Escalation is not the first step; the PM should handle team conflicts directly.
✓
Schedule a private meeting with both developers after the standup to facilitate a resolution
Why this is correct
Addressing conflict privately and collaboratively aligns with PMI's conflict resolution approach.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Decide on the technical approach yourself to resolve the conflict quickly
Why it's wrong here
The PM should empower the team to resolve technical issues, not impose a solution.
✗
Ignore the argument and move on to other team members' updates
Why it's wrong here
Avoiding the conflict does not resolve it and may lead to resentment.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse the project manager's authority with a directive role, leading them to choose Option C (deciding the approach themselves) instead of recognizing that the PM should facilitate team self-resolution in a separate setting.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Scrum, the daily standup is a 15-minute timeboxed event for the development team to synchronize activities and plan the next 24 hours. The Scrum Guide explicitly states that the daily Scrum is not a problem-solving session; detailed discussions should be taken offline. The project manager (or Scrum Master) acts as a facilitator, using techniques like 'conflict resolution' or 'active listening' to ensure the team resolves technical disagreements (e.g., architectural trade-offs between microservices vs. monolith) in a separate meeting, preserving the standup's focus and pace.
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: Schedule a private meeting with both developers after the standup to facilitate a resolution — Option B is correct because the project manager's role in a self-managing Scrum team is to facilitate conflict resolution without imposing decisions. By scheduling a private meeting after the standup, you allow the developers to resolve the technical disagreement collaboratively, preserving team autonomy and avoiding disruption to the daily Scrum's timebox. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and conflict management techniques like 'collaborating' or 'problem-solving'.
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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Question Discussion
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