PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
You are managing a complex IT project with multiple vendors. A key vendor is failing to meet contractual milestones, which is impacting the critical path. Which THREE actions should you take to address this situation? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Escalate the issue to the vendor's management and your project sponsor.
Option A is correct because escalating the vendor's failure to both the vendor's management and your own project sponsor engages the authority levels needed to resolve a critical-path breach and ensures executive visibility and support. Option C is correct because collaborating with the vendor on a recovery plan, including offering reasonable support, is the standard corrective-action approach to bring milestones back on track before resorting to termination. Option E is correct because reviewing the contract and formally communicating the non-compliance, invoking penalty clauses where applicable, enforces the contractual terms and creates documented leverage for remediation. Option B is not appropriate as an immediate step because unilateral termination is a drastic remedy that ignores contractual notice, cure periods, and the disruption to the critical path. Option D is not appropriate because passively accepting the delay and rescheduling abandons corrective action and fails to hold the vendor accountable for the contractual breach.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Escalate the issue to the vendor's management and your project sponsor.
Why this is correct
Escalation engages the vendor's senior management and your sponsor, whose authority exceeds the project manager's, to force contractual compliance. This directly addresses the milestone slippage on the critical path, since the project manager lacks the hierarchical power to compel the vendor's performance.
- ✗
Immediately terminate the contract and find a new vendor.
Why it's wrong here
Termination discards the vendor's remaining deliverables and forces re-procurement, extending the critical-path delay rather than recovering it. It is tempting because contractual breach feels decisive, yet termination is reserved for irremediable default; the scenario calls for claims administration, corrective action plans and possibly a replacement vendor alongside the incumbent.
- ✓
Work with the vendor to develop a recovery plan and provide support if needed.
Why this is correct
A joint recovery plan lets the vendor propose corrective actions while you supply resources or expertise, restoring the critical path without severing the relationship. This collaborative approach addresses the root cause of missed milestones rather than merely penalising, keeping the vendor engaged and the project deliverable.
- ✗
Accept the delay and adjust the project schedule accordingly.
Why it's wrong here
Passive acceptance leaves the critical-path slip unaddressed, whereas the situation demands active response through the contract's remedies. It is tempting because schedule float or contingency reserves sometimes absorb delays legitimately, but that applies when the slip is minor and unavoidable, not when a key vendor is breaching milestones on the critical path.
- ✓
Review the contract and communicate the non-compliance to the vendor, invoking penalty clauses if applicable.
Why this is correct
Reviewing the contract confirms the vendor's obligations and remedies, then formally communicating non-compliance preserves your legal position. Invoking penalty clauses applies the agreed contractual lever to recover schedule performance, satisfying the need to enforce the vendor's milestone commitments on the critical path.
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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.