PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
Your agile project has seen a consistent drop in velocity over the last three sprints. The team is demotivated and blaming external dependencies. Retrospectives have not yielded actionable improvements. What should the project manager do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume the obvious symptom (external dependencies) is the root cause and jump to negotiating them away (Option A), rather than first facilitating a team-led investigation to uncover all contributing factors.
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
✓
Facilitate a root cause analysis with the team to identify underlying issues and create an action plan.
The first step when facing a consistent drop in velocity and team demotivation is to facilitate a root cause analysis with the team. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and empowering the team to identify and solve their own problems, rather than imposing external solutions. The retrospective has failed to produce actionable improvements, so a deeper, facilitated analysis is needed to uncover the true underlying issues, which may include but are not limited to external dependencies.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Remove the team's external dependencies by negotiating with stakeholders.
Why it's wrong here
Removing external dependencies is a potential solution, but it is premature to implement without first understanding the root causes of the velocity drop. While dependencies can certainly impede progress, they might be a symptom rather than the primary issue, or they could be unavoidable. A PMP approach requires a diagnostic step to ensure any proposed solution effectively addresses the core problem, rather than just treating a symptom or implementing a potentially unfeasible fix.
- ✗
Replace the scrum master with a more experienced one.
Why it's wrong here
Replacing the Scrum Master is a punitive and reactive measure that incorrectly assumes an individual is solely responsible for a team's performance challenges. Agile principles emphasize self-organizing teams and collaborative problem-solving, fostering an environment where the team collectively identifies and resolves impediments. Such an action undermines psychological safety, discourages team accountability, and fails to leverage the team's collective intelligence for continuous improvement.
- ✓
Facilitate a root cause analysis with the team to identify underlying issues and create an action plan.
Why this is correct
Facilitating a root cause analysis with the team is the most appropriate and effective action, aligning perfectly with agile principles of continuous improvement and empiricism. This collaborative approach empowers the team to inspect their processes, identify underlying systemic issues (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements, process inefficiencies), and collectively devise a sustainable action plan. It fosters ownership and leads to lasting improvements rather than superficial fixes.
- ✗
Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the sprint duration is a superficial adjustment that fails to address the fundamental reasons behind a consistent drop in velocity. This action merely provides more time for the same underlying problems to persist or even worsen, effectively masking the true impediments rather than resolving them. It delays the necessary inspection and adaptation, preventing the team from learning and improving their processes in a timely and effective manner.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Training and Development
Training and Development is the process of enhancing team members' skills, knowledge, and competencies to improve project performance and achieve career growth.
Key term
Organizational Change Management
Organizational Change Management (OCM) is the structured approach to preparing, supporting, and guiding people through changes in an organization to ensure lasting success.
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