PMP · Question #1432
A developer who has almost completed a required product feature for a prototype leaves the company in the middle of an iteration. What should the project manager do?
The correct answer is C. Determine whether other cross-functional team members are able to take over the work.. When a team member leaves during an iteration, the project manager should first assess if existing cross-functional team members can complete the work to minimize disruption.
Question
A developer who has almost completed a required product feature for a prototype leaves the company in the middle of an iteration. What should the project manager do?
Options
- AGo to management and ask to hire a new external developer.
- BReview the backlog to reschedule the deliverable for a later iteration.
- CDetermine whether other cross-functional team members are able to take over the work.
- DEngage with stakeholders directly to review the iteration process.
How the community answered
(53 responses)- A13% (7)
- B4% (2)
- C75% (40)
- D8% (4)
Why each option
When a team member leaves during an iteration, the project manager should first assess if existing cross-functional team members can complete the work to minimize disruption.
Hiring a new developer takes time, introducing significant delays, and should be a last resort after exploring internal options to cover the work.
Rescheduling the deliverable for a later iteration is a reactive measure that could impact commitments and should only be considered if internal reassignment is not feasible.
In an agile environment, teams are often cross-functional, meaning members have diverse skills. Before seeking external help or rescheduling, the project manager should leverage the existing team's capabilities to maintain momentum and commitment for the in-progress feature.
Engaging with stakeholders directly to review the iteration process is important for transparency, but it's a communication step after determining the immediate impact and potential solutions, not the first action to address the work gap.
Concept tested: Agile team self-organization and cross-functionality in resource management
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Anjali D.May 30, 2026C is the right call here. Our group landed on C because in an agile environment the first move is always to look at the cross-functional team's capacity before escalating or reshuffling the backlog, and a couple of folks noted that B would only come into play if no one internally could pick up the work.
Yusuf A.May 16, 2026C felt right to me because one of the senior PMs at my company always says agile teams should lean on cross-functional members before escalating a resource gap. Quick question though, if nobody on the team has the skills to pick up the work, does that mean the team wasn't truly cross-functional to begin with, or is that just a normal risk you absorb mid-iteration?
Lena V.May 17, 2026C is correct, but to answer your question, a truly cross-functional team has the skills to deliver the sprint goal, so a gap mid-iteration usually means either the scope introduced a new skillset or the team composition was incomplete from the start, and the exam expects you to flag that to the PO rather than just absorb it.
Viktor S.May 21, 2026C is right, self-organizing teams step up before you escalate. B is the tempting trap because rescheduling sounds safe, but you check if the team can absorb the work before you go touching the backlog.
Lena V.May 10, 2026C is correct because agile teams are self-organizing and cross-functional by definition, so the PM checks internal capacity first before escalating. The exam wants you to look inward at the existing team rather than immediately hiring externally or pushing the work back. I had almost this exact scenario on my exam last month and picked C without hesitation. The key phrase in the stem is "almost completed," which means the work is close enough that another team member should be able to finish it within the current iteration.