PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
You are the project manager for a software development project using a hybrid approach. Two senior developers have a disagreement about the technical approach for a critical feature. The conflict is causing delays and affecting team morale. What should you do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose Option A (decide yourself) because they mistakenly believe a project manager must assert authority to resolve technical conflicts quickly, but the PMP exam emphasizes servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving over autocratic decision-making.
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 both developers individually to understand their perspectives, then facilitate a joint discussion
As a project manager using a hybrid approach, your first responsibility is to address the conflict through collaborative conflict resolution. Meeting individually with each developer to understand their perspectives, then facilitating a joint discussion, aligns with the PMI People domain's emphasis on emotional intelligence and servant leadership. This approach preserves team morale, leverages the expertise of both senior developers, and allows the team to reach a consensus on the technical approach, which is critical for a hybrid project where both agile and plan-driven elements require team buy-in.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Decide on the technical approach yourself and assign tasks accordingly
Why it's wrong here
As a project manager, unilaterally deciding on a technical approach without team input is an autocratic approach that fails to address the root cause of the conflict. This action bypasses collaborative problem-solving, potentially leading to resentment, reduced team morale, and lower commitment to the chosen solution, which ultimately impacts project quality and team performance. It also misses an opportunity for the team to develop a shared understanding and ownership.
- ✓
Meet with both developers individually to understand their perspectives, then facilitate a joint discussion
Why this is correct
This approach aligns with the "Collaborate/Confronting" conflict resolution technique, which is often the preferred method for project managers. By first understanding each developer's individual technical rationale and concerns, the project manager gathers crucial information. Subsequently, facilitating a joint discussion enables open communication, fosters mutual understanding, and allows the team members to collectively arrive at a mutually acceptable and technically sound solution, promoting team cohesion and ownership.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision
Why it's wrong here
Escalating a technical disagreement between team members to the project sponsor is an abdication of the project manager's responsibility for team management and conflict resolution. This action should be reserved for issues that are beyond the project manager's authority or scope, or when all attempts at internal resolution have failed. Premature escalation undermines the project manager's leadership and can unnecessarily burden the sponsor with operational details.
- ✗
Replace both developers with a single developer who agrees with the original plan
Why it's wrong here
Replacing skilled team members due to a technical disagreement is an extreme and highly disruptive measure that fails to address the underlying conflict or leverage existing expertise. This action would incur significant costs in terms of recruitment, onboarding, and knowledge transfer, while severely demotivating the remaining team members. It also demonstrates a lack of conflict resolution skills and an inability to value diverse technical perspectives, potentially leading to a loss of valuable institutional knowledge.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others to communicate and lead effectively.
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.
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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.