PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
A project manager discovers that a team member has been working on a feature that was not approved. The feature is not in the scope statement. What should the PM do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose to allow the feature to continue because it 'adds value,' confusing stakeholder satisfaction with the disciplined scope management required by the PMBOK.
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
✓
Stop the work immediately and assess the impact on the project
The correct first action is to stop the unauthorized work immediately to prevent further scope creep and resource waste. The project manager must then assess the impact on the project's schedule, budget, and quality before deciding on any corrective actions. This aligns with the PMBOK's guidance on managing scope changes and preventing gold plating.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Stop the work immediately and assess the impact on the project
Why this is correct
The project manager's immediate responsibility upon discovering unauthorized work is to halt its progress to prevent further resource expenditure and potential scope creep. Following this, a thorough assessment of the work's impact on the project's scope, schedule, cost, and quality baselines is crucial. This action ensures adherence to the approved project management plan and initiates the formal Perform Integrated Change Control process if the feature is deemed valuable and justifiable for inclusion.
- ✗
Allow the team member to finish the feature since it adds value
Why it's wrong here
Allowing the team member to complete unauthorized work, even if it appears to add value, constitutes gold-plating and is a direct violation of the approved scope baseline. This action can lead to scope creep, consume unbudgeted resources, and potentially delay other approved project activities. Project success is measured by delivering the agreed-upon scope efficiently, not by adding extra features without formal approval.
- ✗
Report the team member to HR for disciplinary action
Why it's wrong here
Reporting the team member to HR for disciplinary action is premature and not the project manager's initial priority when unauthorized work is discovered. The primary focus must be on addressing the project impact, stopping the work, and understanding the root cause of the deviation from the project plan. Personnel issues should only be considered after the project-level problem has been managed and if the behavior indicates a persistent or malicious disregard for project processes.
- ✗
Add the feature to the project scope and update the scope statement
Why it's wrong here
Unilaterally adding the unauthorized feature to the project scope and updating the scope statement is a critical breach of project governance and the Perform Integrated Change Control process. Any modification to the project's scope baseline requires a formal change request, impact analysis, and approval from the Change Control Board (CCB) or designated authority. Bypassing this process undermines project control and can lead to unmanaged scope creep and project failure.
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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.