PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
During a hybrid project, an executive stakeholder bypasses you and directly instructs a team member to add a new feature. The team member is now confused about priorities. What should you do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose Option D (adding the feature to the backlog) because it seems like a quick, agile-friendly fix, but this ignores the need to first address the process violation and the stakeholder's behavior, which is the root cause of the confusion.
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
✓
Meet with the executive stakeholder to explain the project's change control process and the importance of proper communication channels
As the project manager, you must first address the root cause of the confusion—the executive stakeholder's bypass of the formal change control process. By meeting with the executive, you reinforce the importance of proper communication channels and the change control board (CCB) process, which protects the project from scope creep and ensures all changes are evaluated for impact on cost, schedule, and quality. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principle of managing stakeholder engagement and maintaining a single point of accountability for project decisions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Meet with the executive stakeholder to explain the project's change control process and the importance of proper communication channels
Why this is correct
This action directly addresses the root cause of the issue: the executive stakeholder bypassing the established change control process. As a PMP, the project manager's role includes enforcing project governance and ensuring adherence to the approved change control process. Educating the executive stakeholder on the importance of formal communication channels and the impact of unauthorized changes on scope, schedule, and budget is crucial for maintaining project integrity and preventing future deviations. This proactive engagement upholds project management principles and reinforces the project's governance framework.
- ✗
Ignore the issue and allow the feature to be added to maintain stakeholder satisfaction
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring a direct bypass of the change control process is a critical failure in project governance and risk management. This approach would immediately lead to uncontrolled scope creep, undermine the project's baseline, and set a dangerous precedent that encourages further process violations. While stakeholder satisfaction is important, it must not come at the expense of project integrity, controlled execution, and the project manager's accountability for delivering the defined scope within approved constraints.
- ✗
Reprimand the team member for accepting instructions without your approval
Why it's wrong here
Reprimanding the team member is misdirected and counterproductive. The team member was likely responding to an executive stakeholder, which can be challenging to refuse without clear guidance and support from the project manager. The primary issue is the executive stakeholder bypassing the established communication and change control protocols, not the team member's compliance. The project manager's responsibility is to manage stakeholder expectations and enforce project processes, addressing the source of the deviation rather than penalizing a team member who may have felt pressured.
- ✗
Add the feature to the backlog and treat it as a priority
Why it's wrong here
While adding the feature to the backlog might seem like a compromise, treating it as a priority without formal change control is still a significant process deviation. This action bypasses the necessary evaluation of impact on scope, schedule, cost, and resources, effectively legitimizing an unauthorized request. It undermines the project's integrated change control process, sets a detrimental precedent for future requests, and compromises the project manager's ability to maintain control over the project baselines and deliver the agreed-upon objectives.
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.
Key term
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is the process of identifying people or groups who have an interest in a project and actively involving them through communication and collaboration to meet their needs and expectations.
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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.