PMP · Question #1269
During the execution of a hybrid project, one developer had to be replaced. The new resource is extremely competent in quality assurance tasks, but does not have much experience in development. What s
The correct answer is A. Allow the team to reevaluate the tasks and determine how they should be allocated.. When a replacement team member has different skills than the original, the project manager should empower the team to reallocate tasks.
Question
Options
- AAllow the team to reevaluate the tasks and determine how they should be allocated.
- BRequest that all quality assurance tasks be allocated to the new resource.
- CMove the developer to another team and look for a replacement developer.
- DMaintain the same task allocation structure to avoid any disruption in the project team.
How the community answered
(18 responses)- A72% (13)
- B17% (3)
- C6% (1)
- D6% (1)
Why each option
When a replacement team member has different skills than the original, the project manager should empower the team to reallocate tasks.
In a hybrid or agile environment, empowering the self-organizing team to reevaluate and reallocate tasks based on the new team member's strengths (quality assurance) and weaknesses (development) is the most effective approach. This leverages collective intelligence to optimize workflow and maintain progress, as the team members are best positioned to understand task dependencies and individual capabilities.
Automatically allocating all QA tasks to the new resource might overload them, underutilize other team members, or not be the most efficient allocation for the entire project.
Moving the developer to another team without first attempting to integrate their skills is a premature and resource-intensive decision, potentially causing further delays.
Maintaining the same task allocation structure when a key resource's skill set changes is inefficient and risks poor quality or delayed delivery, as the new developer lacks experience in critical development tasks.
Concept tested: Hybrid team resource allocation
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Wei W.May 18, 2026A is correct. This is a self-organization question at its core. The PM does not hand out work tickets, the team inspects the situation and adapts the plan based on the actual skills in front of them. B is tempting because it looks efficient, but forcing all QA onto one person creates a silo and ignores what the team might need. Trust the people closest to the work to figure out how to use the new capacity.
Prof. SaraMay 19, 2026Agreed on A, and I would add that the self-organization angle maps directly to Domain 1.2 on the PMP blueprint, so memorize the phrase "team determines how to accomplish the work" for the exam.
Wesley A.Jun 1, 2026Failed this one on my first attempt because I grabbed B, since it looked efficient to put the new person where they are strongest. A is correct though, the team owns task allocation in hybrid and self-organizes around the new skill set rather than the PM deciding.
Toby R.Jun 4, 2026Sat for the exam last month and saw this one. I first leaned toward B since it plays to the new person's strength, but A is right because in an Agile/hybrid setup the team self-organizes and decides task allocation, not the PM.
Hiroshi T.Jun 10, 2026A is correct per the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition section on team empowerment: the servant leader lets the team self-organize task assignments rather than dictating allocations. Saw this on my exam last month, B is the trap because it looks efficient, but forcing all QA onto one person violates self-organization.
Wei W.Jun 13, 2026Agreed on A, and Id add that the deeper reason B is wrong is concentration risk: when that one QA person goes on leave, the team has no empirically validated way to inspect quality, so cross-skilling during sprint planning protects the increment far more than short-term efficiency does.
Prof. SaraJun 20, 2026A maps to Domain 4 Team Empowerment. How would servant-leader handoff differ from directive reassignment?
Toby R.Jun 22, 2026A is right for Domain 4, and the key on the exam is that servant-leader handoff frames it as the team pulling the work based on capacity and context, whereas directive reassignment is a push from the top that skips the team's ownership of the sprint backlog.