During a daily standup in a hybrid project, two senior developers begin arguing about the architectural approach for a critical user story. The argument escalates, becoming personal and disrupting the meeting. The team looks uncomfortable. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Answer options:

Allow the debate to continue as it demonstrates passion and technical engagement, which is healthy for agile teams.

Intervene to pause the discussion, reminding the team of the standup's purpose, and schedule a separate breakout session for the two developers.

End the standup immediately and report the behavioral issue to the functional managers of the developers.

Decide on the architectural approach yourself to resolve the impasse and allow the team to move forward.

How to approach this question

Identify the immediate problem (disruption/personal conflict) and the context (standup). Look for the Servant Leader action that facilitates resolution without dictating or escalating.

Full Answer

B.Intervene to pause the discussion, reminding the team of the standup's purpose, and schedule a separate breakout session for the two developers.✓ Correct

Conflict management requires addressing the issue directly but in the appropriate forum. The standup is for status synchronization. Complex technical disagreements should be handled in a 'parking lot' or breakout session.

Common mistakes

Thinking the PM must solve the technical issue (Directive) or ignoring it as 'self-organization' (Laissez-faire).

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