PMP · Question #485
A new team member has joined an agile project, replacing a team member who recently left. The project team needs the new team member to speed up their ability to contribute effectively to the…
The correct answer is B. Schedule knowledge transfer sessions and assign less complex tasks to the new team member. To integrate a new agile team member quickly and enable effective contribution, the project manager should facilitate immediate knowledge transfer and assign manageable, less complex tasks.
Question
A new team member has joined an agile project, replacing a team member who recently left. The project team needs the new team member to speed up their ability to contribute effectively to the project. What should the project manager do to help in this situation?
Options
- AAssign the new team member the same tasks that were assigned to the previous team member
- BSchedule knowledge transfer sessions and assign less complex tasks to the new team member
- CSend technical documentation to the new team member and schedule training for the next
- DHave the new team member complete all of the company's mandatory training
How the community answered
(37 responses)- A5% (2)
- B73% (27)
- C19% (7)
- D3% (1)
Why each option
To integrate a new agile team member quickly and enable effective contribution, the project manager should facilitate immediate knowledge transfer and assign manageable, less complex tasks.
Assigning the same tasks as a departed team member without proper knowledge transfer or consideration for the new member's current skill level and project context can lead to frustration, errors, and delayed progress.
In an agile project, effective onboarding involves rapidly integrating new members into the team's processes and current work. Scheduling knowledge transfer sessions allows the new team member to quickly grasp project specifics, team dynamics, and current progress, while assigning less complex tasks provides immediate opportunities to contribute and learn without being overwhelmed, fostering confidence and faster ramp-up.
While documentation is helpful, simply sending it without interactive knowledge transfer or immediate practical application through assigned tasks is often insufficient for rapidly enabling effective contribution in an agile environment.
Completing all mandatory company training, while necessary, does not directly address the need to quickly integrate the new team member into the project-specific work and enable them to contribute effectively to the project's current sprint or iteration.
Concept tested: Agile team onboarding; knowledge transfer
Source: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/best-onboarding-practices-project-manager-8495
Topics
Community Discussion
9
Bao N.Jun 12, 2026B is correct. This one shows up on a lot of practice exams and the reasoning is straightforward. Knowledge transfer gets the new person up to speed on project specifics while less complex tasks build confidence without becoming a bottleneck. A trips people up because it sounds efficient but a new person won't have the context to jump into someone else's work. C and D are too generic and don't address the immediate need to integrate into the team.
Olusegun A.Jun 14, 2026B is right but the real driver is risk reduction: knowledge transfer shrinks the ramp-up uncertainty while simple tasks keep them productive without creating rework exposure on the critical path.
Nina C.Jun 20, 2026I went with B. Option A was tempting at first because it seems efficient to just hand off the old tasks, but that assumes the new person has the same context and skills, which is risky on an agile team. B makes more sense because pairing knowledge transfer with less complex work lets them build confidence while getting up to speed. Can someone confirm whether the exam expects knowledge transfer to mean formal sessions or pair programming? Just want to make sure I am reading that right.
Dervla O.Jun 23, 2026Confirmed B on exam last month, and knowledge transfer in these questions means any ongoing knowledge-sharing practice (pairing, shadowing, informal), not just scheduled sessions, so your read is correct.
Dervla O.Jul 5, 2026B is the answer. D trips people up because mandatory training sounds responsible, but the stem is asking about contributing to this project, not onboarding paperwork, and B pairs knowledge transfer with ramp-up tasks instead of throwing someone in cold.
Toby R.Jul 5, 2026Confirmed B on my exam last week. The combo of knowledge transfer sessions plus less complex tasks is exactly what they want to see for onboarding a replacement on an agile team. One thing I was never totally clear on: does anyone know if the PMI materials specify who should be running those knowledge transfer sessions, or is it just assumed the outgoing team member handles it before they leave?
Nina C.Jul 7, 2026From what I recall in the PMI Agile Practice Guide it is the outgoing team members responsibility to facilitate the knowledge transfer but the scrum master or agile coach should be coordinating the timing so it actually gets done before departure, which is probably why the question frames it as a combo rather than a single action.
Olusegun A.Jul 4, 2026Going with A. In agile the backlog is prioritized by value so handing off the previous team members tasks keeps momentum on what matters most and gets the new person into the real work immediately instead of coddling them with low complexity items.
Nina C.Jul 7, 2026Actually it is B. The new team member should start with simpler backlog items to get familiar with the codebase and team processes, and since the backlog is value-prioritized those lower-complexity items are still meaningful work that contributes to the sprint goal.