PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your agile project has experienced a drop in velocity for the past three sprints. The team is frustrated. Which TWO actions should the project manager take to address this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse 'motivating the team' with 'setting stricter deadlines' (Option C), failing to recognize that agile relies on intrinsic motivation through autonomy and impediment removal, not extrinsic pressure.
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
✓
Work with the team to remove any impediments they are facing
Option A is correct because in agile the project manager (or Scrum Master) serves the team by identifying and removing impediments, which directly restores the team's ability to complete work and recover velocity. Option B is correct because a retrospective is the agile ceremony designed to inspect the last sprints and surface the root causes of the velocity drop, enabling the team to define and own corrective actions. Option C is wrong because imposing stricter deadlines is a command-and-control tactic that increases pressure and typically lowers quality and morale rather than fixing the underlying cause. Option D is wrong because replacing team members disrupts the team's formed working relationships and does not address systemic causes of declining velocity. Option E is wrong because lengthening the sprint merely dilutes the symptom and violates the principle of keeping a consistent, sustainable cadence.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Work with the team to remove any impediments they are facing
Why this is correct
Working with the team to remove impediments is a core responsibility of a Scrum Master or Agile Project Manager, embodying servant leadership. Impediments directly hinder the team's progress, reducing their capacity to deliver value and thus impacting velocity. Proactively addressing these blockers ensures a smoother workflow and allows the team to maintain a sustainable pace, directly improving throughput and predictability.
- ✓
Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes of the velocity drop
Why this is correct
Facilitating a retrospective is the appropriate agile mechanism for the team to collectively inspect their process and adapt. This collaborative event empowers the team to identify the true root causes of the velocity drop, whether they are technical debt, communication issues, or external dependencies. By fostering transparency and continuous improvement, the team can devise actionable solutions to prevent recurrence and enhance future performance.
- ✗
Set stricter deadlines to motivate the team
Why it's wrong here
Setting stricter deadlines is a command-and-control approach that contradicts agile principles of sustainable pace and self-organization. This tactic often increases stress, reduces morale, and can lead to a decline in quality as team members rush or cut corners to meet arbitrary targets. Instead of motivating, it typically fosters burnout and does not address the underlying systemic issues causing the velocity drop.
- ✗
Replace underperforming team members with more experienced ones
Why it's wrong here
Replacing team members is a highly disruptive and punitive action that undermines team cohesion and psychological safety. Agile teams are built on trust, collaboration, and continuous learning, where 'underperformance' often stems from systemic issues or lack of support, not individual failure. This approach fails to address root causes, destroys institutional knowledge, and is a last resort after all coaching and support efforts have been exhausted.
- ✗
Increase the sprint length to give the team more time
Why it's wrong here
Increasing sprint length without addressing the root causes of a velocity drop merely delays feedback and postpones the identification of critical issues. Agile emphasizes short iterations to maximize learning, reduce risk, and allow for rapid adaptation to changing requirements. Extending the sprint timebox can mask underlying problems, reduce the frequency of inspection and adaptation, and ultimately diminish the project's overall agility and responsiveness.
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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.