PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your agile project is experiencing a drop in velocity for the third consecutive sprint. The team reports that they are spending too much time in unplanned meetings and dealing with frequent requirement changes. Which TWO actions should you take to address this?
⚠ Common exam trap
PMP agile questions often test the instinct to add resources or work overtime, but the correct answer focuses on process improvement and limiting WIP to address systemic issues.
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
✓
Implement a process to control scope changes during the sprint.
Option D is correct because the team explicitly reports frequent requirement changes as a cause of lost velocity, so implementing a scope-change control process (e.g., protecting the sprint backlog and deferring changes to the next sprint or product backlog refinement) directly addresses that root cause and stabilizes the sprint goal. Option E is correct because unplanned meetings and context switching indicate multitasking and overloading; limiting work-in-progress (WIP) via a Kanban-style WIP limit reduces context switching, exposes bottlenecks, and improves flow and throughput, which restores velocity. Option A is not appropriate because overtime is unsustainable, degrades quality, and masks the underlying process problems rather than fixing them. Option B is not appropriate because adding team members mid-project (Brooks's Law) increases communication overhead and onboarding time, typically reducing short-term velocity. Option C is not appropriate because lengthening the sprint does not address the causes of the velocity drop and delays feedback, contrary to agile principles.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Encourage the team to work overtime to catch up.
Why it's wrong here
Encouraging overtime is a short-term, unsustainable solution that often leads to team burnout, decreased morale, and a potential reduction in work quality. While it might offer a temporary boost, it does not address the root causes of the velocity drop and can severely impact long-term productivity and team health, which is contrary to agile principles of sustainable pace.
- ✗
Add more team members to increase capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Adding more team members to an already struggling project, especially in agile contexts, often invokes Brooks' Law, where "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." New members require onboarding, increasing communication overhead and initially decreasing team velocity rather than improving it, especially when the root cause is external disruption like unplanned meetings or scope changes.
- ✗
Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing sprint duration merely stretches the problem over a longer period without addressing the underlying causes of the velocity drop. This approach delays feedback cycles, reduces the team's agility, and can mask inefficiencies or external impediments, making it harder to identify and resolve the actual issues impacting productivity and predictability.
- ✓
Implement a process to control scope changes during the sprint.
Why this is correct
Implementing a process to control scope changes during a sprint directly addresses a common cause of velocity drops by protecting the sprint goal. This minimizes disruptive context switching and allows the team to maintain focus on committed work, thereby improving predictability, reducing rework, and enabling a more stable and higher velocity.
- ✓
Limit work-in-progress (WIP) to reduce multitasking.
Why this is correct
Limiting Work-in-Progress (WIP) is a core Lean and Kanban principle that reduces multitasking and context switching, allowing team members to focus on completing fewer items faster. This improves the flow of value, reduces lead time, and often leads to higher quality outcomes and a more sustainable, predictable velocity by preventing bottlenecks and overburdening the team.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Plans
Key term
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is a lightweight process framework that helps teams deliver complex projects in small, iterative chunks called sprints.
Key term
Change Control Process
A formal, structured procedure used to manage any changes to a project's scope, schedule, budget, or requirements, ensuring every modification is reviewed, approved, tested, and documented before implementation.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
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