PMP · Question #1418
A project has recently kicked off. The project manager observes that there are different expectations among the project team members. These growing misunderstandings are affecting team productivity…
The correct answer is D. Team charter. When team members have differing expectations and misunderstandings impacting productivity, the project manager should consult the Team Charter, which outlines the team's operating agreements, roles, and communication guidelines.
Question
A project has recently kicked off. The project manager observes that there are different expectations among the project team members. These growing misunderstandings are affecting team productivity. Which document should the project manager use as a guide to resolve the issue?
Options
- AProject organization charts
- BProject charter
- CStakeholder register
- DTeam charter
How the community answered
(54 responses)- A11% (6)
- B4% (2)
- C4% (2)
- D81% (44)
Why each option
When team members have differing expectations and misunderstandings impacting productivity, the project manager should consult the Team Charter, which outlines the team's operating agreements, roles, and communication guidelines.
Project organization charts illustrate reporting relationships and hierarchical structure, but they do not define team operating agreements or resolve internal team misunderstandings about work expectations.
The Project Charter defines the project's purpose, high-level objectives, and overall authority, but it does not detail the specific operating agreements and expectations among individual team members.
The Stakeholder Register identifies project stakeholders and their interests, but it does not provide guidelines for resolving internal team conflicts or managing team member expectations.
A Team Charter is a document created by or with the team that establishes shared values, ground rules, communication protocols, decision-making processes, and expectations for how the team will work together. Consulting this document directly addresses and helps resolve differing expectations and misunderstandings among team members.
Concept tested: Team Charter for team governance
Source: https://www.pmi.org/disciplined-agile/team-charter
Topics
Community Discussion
9
Yusuf A.Jun 17, 2026D, the team charter. One of the senior PMs at my company told me to think of it as the team's rulebook for how we work together and communicate, so when expectations clash early on, that is the document you reference to get everyone back on the same page.
Lena V.Jun 18, 2026D is correct but the exam usually phrases it as ground rules, not team charter, so watch for that wording trap.
Ingrid P.May 14, 2026D is correct. The team charter is the go-to document for ground rules, communication expectations, and conflict resolution among team members, which is exactly what you need when productivity drops due to misaligned expectations. I flagged this one as a card because the distractor that trips people up is C, but the stakeholder register is for identifying external parties and their interests, not for governing internal team behavior.
Ola B.May 14, 2026D is right, but the real giveaway in the stem is "misaligned expectations" because that is the textbook trigger for pulling out the team charter, not just conflict.
Anjali D.Jul 1, 2026Saw this on my exam last month and the key was noticing the words "different expectations" and "misunderstandings" which points straight to the team charter, not the project charter. A few people in our study group picked B because it sounds authoritative, but the team charter is specifically where you document ground rules and shared expectations, so D is the clear answer here.
Ola B.May 19, 2026Hit this on my exam last month. In my lab group at work we had the same confusion, we built a quick team charter in a shared doc to lock in ground rules and communication norms, and the friction dropped almost overnight. D is the answer.
Ingrid P.May 20, 2026D is correct but I would flashcard the resource management plan as the process output, not the charter itself, since the exam usually tests the PMBOK structure rather than the collaboration logic that makes D intuitive.
Viktor S.Jun 29, 2026I first leaned toward B because the project charter felt like the go-to document early on, but the charter authorizes the project, it does not govern how people interact. The team charter is specifically where you capture team values, agreements, ground rules, and expectations, which is exactly what is fraying here. D is correct because when misunderstandings and productivity issues stem from misaligned expectations, you go back to the document the team built to define how they work together. The team charter is the contract for behavior, not the charter that kicks off the work.
Lena V.Jun 14, 2026D is correct. The team charter is the go-to document for establishing shared expectations, ground rules, and communication guidelines among team members. The exam is testing whether you know that behavioral disagreements and productivity friction get resolved here, not by referencing org charts or the stakeholder register. Remember that the team charter specifically addresses team values and working agreements, which is exactly what is missing when everyone has different expectations right out of the gate.