PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Update the issue log and escalate the matter to the project sponsor

  Why it's wrong here

  This action is premature and bypasses the project manager's primary responsibility to directly address issues with the involved stakeholder. While documenting the issue in the issue log is a good practice for tracking, immediate escalation to the project sponsor should be reserved for situations where direct communication attempts have failed, or the issue's severity and impact clearly warrant higher-level intervention. Premature escalation can damage relationships and undermine the project manager's authority in resolving conflicts.

• ✓

  Meet with the executive to discuss the importance of following the project communication plan

  Why this is correct

  This is the most appropriate initial response, demonstrating proactive stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution. Directly meeting with the executive allows the project manager to understand their perspective, educate them on the established communication protocols, and reinforce the project's governance structure. This approach aims to collaboratively resolve the communication breach, ensuring future adherence to the Communication Management Plan, which is crucial for maintaining project control, transparency, and preventing miscommunication or unauthorized changes.

• ✗

  Instruct the team to ignore the executive's instructions

  Why it's wrong here

  Instructing the team to disregard an executive's instructions is highly unprofessional and counterproductive. This approach creates an adversarial environment, undermines the executive's authority, and can lead to team confusion, insubordination, or a breakdown in trust. The project manager's role is to address the root cause of the communication bypass directly with the executive through diplomatic means, rather than creating internal conflict or disrespecting senior leadership.

• ✗

  Add the executive's requests to the change log and process them through change control

  Why it's wrong here

  While the executive's instructions might eventually necessitate a change request, the immediate and critical problem is the *method* of communication—bypassing established channels. Directly adding these requests to the change log without first addressing the communication breach implicitly validates the executive's inappropriate behavior and fails to reinforce project governance. The project manager must first address the process violation to ensure adherence to the Communication Management Plan before formally evaluating the content of the request via the Change Control Process.

Go deeper

Related to this question