Jenna DuxburyProject Manager| Worship Design StudioUnited States, United States
Does anyone else utilize the PMchallenge questions? I’ve been doing some every day, and came across one today that genuinely surprised me. The question is:
For a critical project, a new team has been formed from various departments. The project manager should start team building by…
a) taking the team offsite for icebreaker sessions and other activities to ensure team members get to know one each other.
b) assembling the team and discussing roles and responsibilities of each member on the team.
c) creating a project charter, documenting roles and responsibilities of each member, and sending it to the team members.
d) assembling the team and asking the members to achieve a milestone in a small iteration.
I answered b), but the answer actually came up as d), and it seems kind of out of left field. Does anyone have an example of what this “small iteration” might look like in this scenario and what the rationale is behind this question? Let me know (and let me know if you also enjoy the PMchallenge questions :o) ) Saving Changes...
Issues with the PM challenge questions have come up several times in the forum. That is one of the worst I've seen but not altogether suprising.
I would recommend that there is probably more value in reasoning out why some of them are wrong then there is worrying if the answer is illogical. Saving Changes...
Jenna DuxburyProject Manager| Worship Design StudioUnited States, United States
LOL Glad I asked…I’ll take them with a grain of salt. Thanks. Saving Changes...
The idea behind option d) is that teams build collaboration best through action. A small iteration could be brainstorming risks or drafting workflows. While b) makes sense traditionally, d) aligns with Agile. Do you find PMChallenge questions useful in practice? Saving Changes...
Jenna DuxburyProject Manager| Worship Design StudioUnited States, United States
Thanks, Md. Golam Rob Talukdar and Pavan Maddi - I can see where this question is probably trying to get at framing agile practices and team-building. I do like the PMchallenge questions because they are helpful at throwing out random topics in project management and getting me to think about them.
Cheers!
Jenna
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1 reply by Pavan Maddi
Mar 06, 2025 9:13 AM
Pavan Maddi
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Jenna Duxbury You're right, Jenna! PMchallenge questions are a great way to explore different aspects of project management and encourage critical thinking. It’s always interesting to see how different perspectives shape our approach to agile practices and team-building. Cheers!
Thanks, Md. Golam Rob Talukdar and Pavan Maddi - I can see where this question is probably trying to get at framing agile practices and team-building. I do like the PMchallenge questions because they are helpful at throwing out random topics in project management and getting me to think about them.
Cheers!
Jenna
Jenna Duxbury You're right, Jenna! PMchallenge questions are a great way to explore different aspects of project management and encourage critical thinking. It’s always interesting to see how different perspectives shape our approach to agile practices and team-building. Cheers!
Project Manager | Driving Clean Energy Innovations for a Sustainable Future| Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ontario, Canada
Thanks for sharing this—I’ve been doing the PMchallenge questions too, and I totally get what you mean.
To be honest, I feel like a lot of these PMP-style questions focus too much on one “right” answer based on the textbook or PMI view. But in real life, things aren’t always that black and white. The “right” answer can really depend on the team, the culture, the project type, and even the country you’re working in.
Like in this question—I also would’ve picked b). It just makes sense to start by getting everyone together and talking about roles and responsibilities. d) being the right answer surprised me too. I get that it’s maybe coming from an Agile point of view, but not all teams work that way, especially on important or complex projects.
Sometimes I feel these questions are a bit one-sided. They only show one angle and don’t reflect all the different ways things can work in the real world. I’d love to hear how others see it—and if anyone’s actually used that “small iteration” method to build a team from day one.
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1 reply by Jenna Duxbury
Apr 11, 2025 5:24 PM
Jenna Duxbury
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Hi Zakaria Botros, totally – real life project scenarios can be much more nuanced. Sometimes you have to go beyond the textbook answer.
FWIW, I have seen some of the PMchallenge questions that are just straight up incorrect though – like sometimes if I select the correct answer based on the text, the explanation that pops up will seem to be related to a different question entirely, or on rare occasions, the questions themselves don't make sense. I haven't been documenting the errors but it sounds like other users have observed some issues with the questions over time too. They're still fun though and a good way to keep thinking about the vocabulary and processes. Thanks for your reply!
Saving Changes...
Jenna DuxburyProject Manager| Worship Design StudioUnited States, United States
Apr 10, 2025 8:05 PM
Replying to Zakaria Botros
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Thanks for sharing this—I’ve been doing the PMchallenge questions too, and I totally get what you mean.
To be honest, I feel like a lot of these PMP-style questions focus too much on one “right” answer based on the textbook or PMI view. But in real life, things aren’t always that black and white. The “right” answer can really depend on the team, the culture, the project type, and even the country you’re working in.
Like in this question—I also would’ve picked b). It just makes sense to start by getting everyone together and talking about roles and responsibilities. d) being the right answer surprised me too. I get that it’s maybe coming from an Agile point of view, but not all teams work that way, especially on important or complex projects.
Sometimes I feel these questions are a bit one-sided. They only show one angle and don’t reflect all the different ways things can work in the real world. I’d love to hear how others see it—and if anyone’s actually used that “small iteration” method to build a team from day one.
Hi Zakaria Botros, totally – real life project scenarios can be much more nuanced. Sometimes you have to go beyond the textbook answer.
FWIW, I have seen some of the PMchallenge questions that are just straight up incorrect though – like sometimes if I select the correct answer based on the text, the explanation that pops up will seem to be related to a different question entirely, or on rare occasions, the questions themselves don't make sense. I haven't been documenting the errors but it sounds like other users have observed some issues with the questions over time too. They're still fun though and a good way to keep thinking about the vocabulary and processes. Thanks for your reply! Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
My recommendation: do not use it. They are not validated and contains lot of mistakes. I am saying that after validating the answers against the PMI´s related documentation. I did that in the beginning of the tool. Saving Changes...
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