PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
Your agile team's velocity has dropped for the third consecutive sprint. The team members report feeling burned out and demotivated due to excessive overtime. What should the project manager do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
PMI often tests the misconception that the immediate response to a velocity drop is to add resources or reduce scope, rather than first diagnosing the root cause through a team-led retrospective.
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
✓
Hold a retrospective focused on identifying the causes of overtime and discuss ways to improve sustainable pace
The first step when facing burnout and overtime is to hold a retrospective to identify root causes and discuss sustainable pace improvements. This aligns with the agile principle of continuous improvement and the PMP People domain focus on team motivation and well-being. Addressing the underlying issues before taking corrective actions ensures long-term productivity rather than temporary fixes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the team size by adding new members to distribute the workload
Why it's wrong here
Increasing team size by adding new members is generally counterproductive for a team experiencing burnout and a velocity drop. New members require significant onboarding and training, diverting existing team members' attention and further reducing immediate productivity. This approach often exacerbates communication overhead and can delay rather than accelerate recovery, especially when the root cause is systemic issues or an unsustainable pace, not merely a lack of hands, aligning with Brooks's Law.
- ✓
Hold a retrospective focused on identifying the causes of overtime and discuss ways to improve sustainable pace
Why this is correct
Holding a retrospective is the most appropriate agile response to a sustained drop in velocity and potential burnout, as it provides a dedicated forum for the team to collaboratively inspect and adapt. This ceremony empowers the team to identify the underlying causes of overtime and decreased velocity, fostering collective ownership in developing actionable improvements. By focusing on sustainable pace, the team can devise strategies to optimize their workflow, reduce waste, and prevent future occurrences of burnout, aligning with agile principles of continuous improvement.
- ✗
Reduce the scope of the next sprint to give the team a break
Why it's wrong here
Reducing the scope of the next sprint, while seemingly helpful, is a premature and potentially ineffective solution if implemented without first understanding the root causes of the velocity drop. Such a decision, made unilaterally or without team consensus, bypasses the critical opportunity for the team to collaboratively diagnose their challenges during a retrospective. Without addressing the underlying issues, merely reducing scope offers a temporary reprieve that fails to implement sustainable process improvements, risking a recurrence of the problem.
- ✗
Inform the product owner that the team cannot commit to any new features until morale improves
Why it's wrong here
Informing the Product Owner that the team cannot commit to new features due to morale issues is an abrupt and non-collaborative approach that lacks transparency regarding the underlying problems. While the sentiment might reflect reality, presenting it as an ultimatum without first engaging in a problem-solving discussion with the team and then collaboratively with the Product Owner undermines trust and partnership. A more effective approach involves presenting data and potential solutions derived from a team retrospective, allowing for a joint decision on future commitments and scope adjustments.
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
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.
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