PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your project is developing a new mobile app using Scrum. The team has consistently delivered 30 story points per sprint for the last three sprints. Suddenly, velocity drops to 20 story points in the current sprint. The team members report that they are spending extra time fixing defects from previous sprints. What should you do FIRST?
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 defects and implement process improvements
The root cause of the velocity drop needs to be understood before taking corrective action. A retrospective is the appropriate forum to discuss process improvements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reduce the definition of done to lower the quality bar
Why it's wrong here
Reducing the Definition of Done (DoD) to lower the quality bar is a critical anti-pattern in Scrum. This action directly compromises the quality of the increment, leading to increased technical debt, more defects in later stages, and a loss of trust from stakeholders. It undermines the team's commitment to delivering a 'Done' increment that meets acceptable standards, ultimately hindering project success and product integrity.
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Add more developers to the team to increase velocity
Why it's wrong here
Adding more developers to an already struggling team, especially when facing quality issues, often invokes Brooks's Law. This approach introduces significant onboarding overhead, increases communication complexity, and disrupts existing team dynamics without addressing the underlying causes of defects. Instead of increasing velocity, it typically decreases productivity in the short term and can exacerbate quality problems due to fragmented knowledge and coordination challenges.
- ✓
Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes of defects and implement process improvements
Why this is correct
Facilitating a retrospective is the most appropriate Agile response to persistent defects, as it embodies the Scrum principle of inspect and adapt. This event empowers the development team to collectively identify the root causes of the quality issues, analyze process inefficiencies, and collaboratively devise actionable improvements. By addressing systemic problems rather than symptoms, the team can implement sustainable changes that prevent future defects and enhance overall product quality and team effectiveness.
- ✗
Ask the team to work overtime to catch up
Why it's wrong here
Asking the team to work sustained overtime is a detrimental short-term fix that fails to address the systemic causes of defects. While it might offer a temporary boost in output, it inevitably leads to developer burnout, decreased morale, and a significant reduction in code quality and productivity over time. PMI principles advocate for a sustainable pace, recognizing that well-rested teams produce higher quality work and are more effective in the long run.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.