PMP · Question #1429
In a project, one core team member tends to do all the work and ensures all tasks are completed. This core team member is soon leaving the project, which may make the project vulnerable. What should…
The correct answer is B. Assess a mechanism for knowledge transfer among the team members. When a core team member who performs most of the work is leaving, making the project vulnerable, the project manager should implement a knowledge transfer mechanism.
Question
In a project, one core team member tends to do all the work and ensures all tasks are completed. This core team member is soon leaving the project, which may make the project vulnerable. What should the project manager do?
Options
- AEnsure the activities of this team member are distributed across the project team.
- BAssess a mechanism for knowledge transfer among the team members.
- CAsk human resources (HR) to counsel the team member to balance the workload.
- DMotivate the team member to stay by providing them with incentives.
How the community answered
(30 responses)- A10% (3)
- B83% (25)
- C3% (1)
- D3% (1)
Why each option
When a core team member who performs most of the work is leaving, making the project vulnerable, the project manager should implement a knowledge transfer mechanism.
Simply distributing activities without knowledge transfer is ineffective and could lead to other team members lacking the necessary skills or context to perform those tasks correctly.
Establishing a mechanism for knowledge transfer, such as documentation, training sessions, or mentoring, is crucial to capture and disseminate the departing team member's expertise. This mitigates the risk of knowledge loss and ensures that other team members gain the necessary skills and context to continue tasks without disruption.
Asking HR to counsel the team member about workload balance does not address the immediate critical issue of their impending departure and the associated knowledge gap.
Motivating the team member to stay with incentives, while a possibility, is not guaranteed to succeed and does not solve the underlying problem of concentrated knowledge and the risk of a single point of failure.
Concept tested: Knowledge management and risk mitigation
Topics
Community Discussion
4
Brenda K.Mar 5, 2026B is correct, and this one is a 30-second pick if you catch the real risk. The issue is not workload distribution right now, it is that tribal knowledge walks out the door when this person leaves, so knowledge transfer is the only answer that addresses the actual vulnerability. A sounds nice but is a downstream task you do after you secure the knowledge, and D is a trap because PMP questions rarely reward throwing incentives at a structural risk. Grab B and move on, then flag any similar knowledge-transfer questions for a quick recheck if you finish early.
Lena V.Mar 17, 2026First leaned toward A because redistributing tasks sounds like the fast fix, but the stem is really about the project being vulnerable when this person leaves. B is what the exam wants because the core issue is undocumented knowledge concentrated in one person, and PMI tests knowledge transfer as the proactive solution to that risk.
Wesley A.Mar 25, 2026Failed this the first time around because I overthought it and picked B, but A is the right call here. The real problem is the bus factor, and the moment that team member walks, nobody else knows those tasks, so you redistribute the work now before they leave.
Lena V.Mar 28, 2026Actually B is correct. The question is asking about the root cause, not the immediate fix. The real issue is the lack of cross-training and documentation that created the single point of failure in the first place, so addressing that gap prevents it from happening again.