PMP · Question #706
A team has just adopted an agile approach. During daily standup meetings, the team expressed concerns about task delays. The project leader worked with the product owner to get clarity on the…
The correct answer is D. Empowered the team to improve their processes, tools, and interactions to be more effective in. To address persistent task delays and quality issues in an agile team, the project leader should empower the team to self-organize and continuously improve their processes, tools, and interactions. This fosters autonomy and effectiveness, which are core agile principles.
Question
Options
- AAsked the team to create an impediment log and keep it updated for use in the next sprint
- BDirected teams to possible solutions that help in removing the impediments and contribute to a
- CSuggested to the team to add impediments as work items in the product backlog to be fixed in the
- DEmpowered the team to improve their processes, tools, and interactions to be more effective in
How the community answered
(26 responses)- A8% (2)
- B27% (7)
- C12% (3)
- D54% (14)
Why each option
To address persistent task delays and quality issues in an agile team, the project leader should empower the team to self-organize and continuously improve their processes, tools, and interactions. This fosters autonomy and effectiveness, which are core agile principles.
While creating an impediment log is a good practice, simply asking the team to log impediments without addressing the underlying issues or empowering them to resolve them doesn't ensure success; it just records problems.
Directly providing solutions (directing teams) undermines the agile principle of team self-organization and problem-solving, which can reduce ownership and stifle long-term improvement.
Adding impediments as work items to the product backlog is incorrect; impediments are immediate blockers to the current sprint's work and should be addressed by the Scrum Master or team, not become backlog items for future sprints.
A core principle of agile is to empower self-organizing teams to continuously improve their own processes, tools, and interactions. Instead of dictating solutions or adding more pressure, the project leader should have guided the team to identify root causes of delays and quality issues, and then supported them in developing and implementing their own improvements for greater effectiveness and sustainable delivery.
Concept tested: Agile Team Empowerment and Self-Organization
Source: https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum-and-why-it-is-so-popular
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Brenda K.May 18, 2026D is the answer, and honestly this one should take you under 30 seconds. The PM tried to dictate the solution with fast-tracking instead of letting the agile team self-organize and fix their own process issues, so D is the only option that matches the servant-leader mindset the exam wants. Flag any question where the PM tells the team what to do instead of empowering them, because that is always the wrong call.
Wei W.May 18, 2026Agree on D, though I would frame it as the PM violated empiricism by prescribing a fix before the team even inspected the actual problem, and that lens catches more of these than just looking for the PM being bossy.
Wei W.May 13, 2026D is the right call here. Saw this on my exam last spring and the giveaway is the project leader trying to fast-track features, which is a predictive mindset that just creates pressure instead of addressing why the team is struggling. The leader should have trusted the team to inspect and adapt their own process instead of dictating a solution from above.
Zlatan X.May 7, 2026D. Agile teams self-organize to fix their own process issues. Has anyone seen B worded as a complete option on the actual exam?
Wei W.May 8, 2026Yes, saw D confirmed on my sit two weeks ago, and B shows up as a full option but it usually overstates the Scrum Master role as a fixer rather than a facilitator who creates the conditions for the team to fix itself.