Project Management Professional (PMP) Practice Exam

Following the cultural approach of the corporation for which you are starting to manage a project, you are guiding your project team through the first life-cycle phase of conceptualization. Your next step is to call for a team meeting to let ideas emerge in an unrestricted creative process. What exactly should that look like?

1. You write down the ideas of team members and structure them into categories of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats during the session.

2. You creatively gather thoughts and ideas without any discussion or frowning. These ideas are only filtered and structured after the end of the brainstorming session.

3. Your team members wear hats with different colors, each of which stands for a way of thinking. Each member discusses topics from the viewpoint of their thinking.

4. You try to eradicate deviating ideas and concepts of team members during the meeting, so that the entire project team follows your principles.

The correct answer is: You creatively gather thoughts and ideas without any discussion or frowning. These ideas are only filtered and structured after the end of the brainstorming session.

In this scenario, the most effective approach to gather ideas in the conceptualization phase is through a brainstorming session, where all thoughts and ideas are encouraged without filtering or discussion. Option A is incorrect because it limits the creativity of the team by immediately categorizing and structuring the ideas. Option C is incorrect because it imposes a specific way of thinking on the team, which may hinder the free flow of ideas. Option D is incorrect because it goes against the collaborative nature of project management, where all team members should have a voice and contribute their ideas. It's important to create a safe and open environment for the team to explore and generate new ideas without any pressure or limitations.