The answer is to communicate the change to stakeholders and update the project management plan and baselines. This is correct because once a change request is approved, especially one affecting the critical path, the project manager must formally integrate the change into the project’s governing documents to maintain alignment and control. The critical path defines the project’s minimum duration, so any approved change here requires immediate updates to the schedule baseline, cost baseline, and scope baseline, followed by stakeholder communication to ensure everyone works from the same revised plan. On the PMP exam, this tests your understanding of the Perform Integrated Change Control process and the sequence of actions after approval—a common trap is choosing “implement the change” first, but you must update the plan and baselines before execution. A helpful memory tip is “Plan First, Then Perform”: always update the project management plan and baselines immediately after approval, then communicate, then implement.
PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of process — managing technical aspects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A change request that affects the critical path has been approved. What is the NEXT step for the project manager?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Communicate the change to stakeholders and update the project management plan and baselines
After approval, the PM must update the project management plan and baselines to reflect the change.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Implement the change immediately without updating documents
Why it's wrong here
Documents must be updated to maintain a record and manage future changes.
✗
Instruct the team to ignore the change until next sprint
Why it's wrong here
Approved changes should be implemented as soon as possible, not delayed.
✗
File the change request in the project archives
Why it's wrong here
Filing without updating plans means the change is not operationalized.
✓
Communicate the change to stakeholders and update the project management plan and baselines
Why this is correct
Approved changes must be incorporated into plans and communicated to stakeholders.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related PMP NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Process — Managing Technical Aspects — This question tests Process — Managing Technical Aspects — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Communicate the change to stakeholders and update the project management plan and baselines — After approval, the PM must update the project management plan and baselines to reflect the change.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related PMP NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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