This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your Agile team's velocity has dropped for the third consecutive sprint. The team cites increasing technical debt and unclear requirements. As a servant leader, what is the BEST course of action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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 and collaboratively develop an improvement plan
Option A is correct because as a servant leader, the best course is to facilitate a retrospective to collaboratively identify root causes of the velocity drop, such as technical debt and unclear requirements, and then develop an improvement plan. This aligns with the Agile principle of continuous improvement and empowers the team to address issues at their source rather than applying top-down fixes.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and collaboratively develop an improvement plan
Why this is correct
A retrospective allows the team to inspect and adapt, aligning with Agile principles.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Reduce the scope of the project to match the current velocity
Why it's wrong here
Scope changes should go through the change control process, not be decided unilaterally.
✗
Ask the team to increase their velocity by working overtime
Why it's wrong here
Working overtime temporarily but does not address the root causes of technical debt and unclear requirements.
✗
Schedule additional daily standups to increase communication
Why it's wrong here
More meetings may not be effective; the team needs to address root causes, not increase communication frequency.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse servant leadership with directive actions (like reducing scope or adding meetings) rather than recognizing that the correct response is to facilitate the team's own problem-solving through a retrospective.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Agile frameworks like Scrum, the retrospective is a dedicated timeboxed event (typically 1.5 hours for a one-month sprint) where the team inspects its processes and creates a plan for improvements. Technical debt, such as accumulated code complexity or missing refactoring, directly impacts velocity by increasing the effort needed for new features. Unclear requirements often stem from insufficient backlog refinement or lack of stakeholder engagement, which can be addressed through techniques like user story mapping or Definition of Ready.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the PMP exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
People — Leading Projects — This question tests People — Leading Projects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and collaboratively develop an improvement plan — Option A is correct because as a servant leader, the best course is to facilitate a retrospective to collaboratively identify root causes of the velocity drop, such as technical debt and unclear requirements, and then develop an improvement plan. This aligns with the Agile principle of continuous improvement and empowers the team to address issues at their source rather than applying top-down fixes.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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