PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your agile team is struggling with consistently low velocity. The team is demotivated. Which THREE actions should the project manager take to address this?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'reducing scope' (Option D) with legitimate backlog refinement, but the PMP exam tests that any change to the sprint backlog must be based on empirical data and team consensus, not arbitrary cuts to hide performance 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
✓
Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes of low velocity
Facilitating a retrospective directly addresses the root cause of low velocity by enabling the team to collaboratively identify and analyze underlying issues, such as process inefficiencies or technical debt, which is a core agile practice for continuous improvement. This action empowers the team to own their solutions, which can also help restore motivation by giving them agency over their workflow.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Replace underperforming team members with new resources
Why it's wrong here
Replacing team members is a highly disruptive and often counterproductive response to low velocity. This action can severely impact team morale, destroy institutional knowledge, and require significant time and resources for onboarding new personnel, further reducing immediate productivity. Furthermore, it fails to address potential systemic issues within processes, tools, or the organizational environment that might be the true root causes of underperformance, merely shifting the problem to new individuals.
- ✓
Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes of low velocity
Why this is correct
Facilitating a retrospective is a cornerstone agile practice designed for continuous improvement. This structured event empowers the team to collectively inspect its recent work, identify what went well, what could be improved, and critically, the root causes behind issues like consistently low velocity. By collaboratively developing actionable improvements, the team takes ownership of its performance and adapts its processes to enhance future output and predictability.
- ✓
Work with the team to remove impediments that are slowing them down
Why this is correct
A primary responsibility of an agile leader, such as a Scrum Master or project manager, is to actively identify and diligently work with the team to remove impediments. These obstacles, whether technical dependencies, organizational blockers, or interpersonal conflicts, directly hinder the team's flow and productivity, leading to reduced velocity. Proactively addressing and eliminating these impediments clears the path for the team, enabling them to focus on delivering value and thereby improving their consistent output.
- ✗
Reduce the sprint backlog to match current velocity without analysis
Why it's wrong here
Reducing the sprint backlog solely to match a low current velocity without conducting a thorough analysis is a superficial and ineffective "band-aid" solution. This approach merely adjusts the symptom (the amount of work committed) without understanding or addressing the underlying causes of the low velocity, such as process inefficiencies, technical debt, or external blockers. It prevents the team from inspecting and adapting, thereby masking critical issues and hindering genuine, sustainable improvement in performance.
- ✓
Encourage the team to maintain a sustainable pace and avoid overtime
Why this is correct
Encouraging a sustainable pace is crucial for long-term team health, consistent productivity, and high-quality output in agile environments. While short bursts of overtime might seem to increase immediate velocity, prolonged periods inevitably lead to team burnout, increased errors, reduced quality, and ultimately, a lower and unpredictable long-term velocity. A consistent, manageable pace fosters predictability, allows for continuous learning, and ensures the team can maintain its performance without sacrificing well-being or product quality.
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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.