During the storming stage of a project team's development, it is common to experience confusion about tasks and responsibilities because:

Unfamiliarity with the project structure is characteristic of the forming stage, not the storming stage, where the team has already been introduced to the project.

In the storming stage of Tuckman's model, team members begin to push against boundaries and compete for influence, which creates an environment of low trust. This lack of trust leads to unclear communication, role conflicts, and confusion about who is responsible for what. The distrust is the root cause of the dysfunction in this stage, distinguishing it from the forming stage where unfamiliarity is the primary issue.

Minimal team decisions describes a passive team dynamic more associated with forming or a dysfunctional team, not the conflict-driven storming stage.

Lack of PM engagement is a management failure, not a defining characteristic of the storming stage, which occurs regardless of PM involvement.