PMP · Question #71
A few virtual team members are located in a region that generally has good internet connectivity. However, they frequently experience connectivity issues joining team calls during the day. What…
The correct answer is A. Determine what the problem is and develop an action plan. The project manager should investigate the root cause of the virtual team members' frequent connectivity issues and then create an action plan to address them.
Question
A few virtual team members are located in a region that generally has good internet connectivity. However, they frequently experience connectivity issues joining team calls during the day. What should the project manager do?
Options
- ADetermine what the problem is and develop an action plan
- BAsk the team members to use chat tools as an alternative to calls
- CProcure tools that consume less bandwidth for internet calls
- DRecord the meeting to share with the team members who were unable to join
How the community answered
(18 responses)- A78% (14)
- B6% (1)
- C6% (1)
- D11% (2)
Why each option
The project manager should investigate the root cause of the virtual team members' frequent connectivity issues and then create an action plan to address them.
The first and most critical step when faced with a recurring technical issue impacting team collaboration is to thoroughly understand the problem. Despite generally good connectivity, specific local factors, time-of-day traffic, ISP issues, or device problems could be at play. Determining the root cause allows the project manager to develop a targeted and effective action plan, rather than implementing a temporary workaround or an unnecessary solution.
Asking team members to use chat tools is a workaround that bypasses the benefits of live voice/video calls and doesn't solve the underlying connectivity problem.
Procuring new tools without understanding if bandwidth is the actual problem might be an unnecessary expense and not resolve the real issue.
Recording meetings is a reactive measure for missed attendance, not a solution for the frequent connectivity problems preventing team members from participating actively.
Concept tested: Troubleshooting virtual team connectivity issues
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok/resource-management
Topics
Community Discussion
4
Bao N.Nov 27, 2025Confirmed A on my last practice set and saw it again on the real exam. The trick here is that the PMI mindset wants you to investigate the root cause before jumping to a workaround, so you have to determine what the actual problem is and build an action plan from there. B, C, and D are all band-aid fixes that ignore why the connectivity drops are happening in the first place. A trips people up because the alternative options sound proactive, but skipping the diagnosis step is exactly what gets this one wrong.
Prof. SaraDec 2, 2025A is correct because the PM must proactively investigate root cause before jumping to a workaround, which aligns with the Monitor Communications process in the People domain. Remember the mnemonic RIP: Root cause, Impact, Plan, so you always Determine the problem first and then develop an action plan rather than settling for a quick fix like B, C, or D.
Imani T.Dec 9, 2025Going with B here. The question says the region generally has good connectivity but they have issues during the day, which points to peak usage congestion that you probably can't fix from the PM seat. Swapping to chat tools is the pragmatic move that keeps work unblocked instead of chasing a root cause analysis that may not even be yours to solve. C sounds nice on paper but procuring new tools takes time and budget approval, and honestly nobody is verifying whether your team called in or chatted in as long as deliverables get done.
Prof. SaraDec 11, 2025A is correct because daytime-only connectivity issues point to bandwidth congestion that routing PM collaboration traffic through a different ISP connection directly resolves, whereas B sidesteps the real problem and C ignores that a tool switch is a slow procurement exercise.