PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A new regulatory requirement has been discovered mid-project. This requirement will affect the project scope and schedule. Which THREE actions should you take?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'immediate compliance' (Option D) with proactive risk management, but the PMP exam emphasizes that all changes must go through a formal change control process, even for regulatory mandates, to maintain baseline integrity and stakeholder buy-in.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Assess the impact of the new requirement on scope, schedule, and cost
A new regulatory requirement discovered mid-project must be assessed for its impact on the triple constraint (scope, schedule, cost) before any action is taken. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's Perform Integrated Change Control process, where the project manager evaluates the effect of a change on all project baselines. Without this assessment, you cannot determine the feasibility or the necessary adjustments to the project plan.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ignore the requirement until the next project phase
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring a newly discovered regulatory requirement is a critical failure in project management, directly violating the project's compliance obligations and risk management plan. Such an action exposes the organization to significant legal penalties, reputational damage, and potential project cancellation. Project managers are responsible for proactive identification and management of all project constraints and external factors, including regulatory changes, throughout the project lifecycle.
- ✓
Assess the impact of the new requirement on scope, schedule, and cost
Why this is correct
Before any action, the project manager must thoroughly assess the new regulatory requirement's impact across all project baselines, including scope, schedule, and cost, as well as quality and resources. This crucial step provides the necessary data to understand the magnitude of the change, identify potential risks, and inform subsequent decisions and change requests. Without this assessment, any proposed modifications would be speculative and lack the foundational analysis required for effective project control.
- ✓
Communicate the potential impact to key stakeholders
Why this is correct
Timely communication of the potential impact of a new regulatory requirement to key stakeholders is essential for maintaining transparency and managing expectations. This proactive engagement ensures that all relevant parties, including the sponsor, functional managers, and affected teams, are aware of the impending changes and their implications. Early communication fosters buy-in, facilitates collaborative problem-solving, and secures the necessary support for subsequent change management processes.
- ✗
Implement the requirement immediately to ensure compliance
Why it's wrong here
Implementing a new regulatory requirement immediately without following the established Perform Integrated Change Control process is a direct violation of the project management plan and organizational governance. Such an action bypasses formal impact assessment, stakeholder approval, and baseline updates, leading to uncontrolled scope creep, schedule delays, and budget overruns. All changes, especially those impacting baselines, must undergo formal review and approval to maintain project integrity and control.
- ✓
Submit a change request to formally propose the necessary modifications
Why this is correct
A formal change request is required under the PMP framework because the new regulatory requirement constitutes a change to the project baselines—specifically, the scope baseline and schedule baseline—which are protected by the Perform Integrated Change Control process. The constraint in the stem is the mid-project discovery of an external compliance mandate, which triggers the need for a documented, approved modification before any work can proceed.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Change Control Process
A formal, structured procedure used to manage any changes to a project's scope, schedule, budget, or requirements, ensuring every modification is reviewed, approved, tested, and documented before implementation.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.