PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
Your project is halfway through its timeline and is running 15% over budget due to unexpected vendor price increases. The sponsor is concerned and asks you to cut costs by reducing the number of quality tests. What should you do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose Option C (agreeing to reduce tests) because they think the sponsor's request is a directive, but the PMP exam emphasizes that the project manager must protect the project's value and follow the change control process, not simply comply with stakeholder demands without analysis.
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
✓
Conduct an impact analysis and submit a change request to the change control board
As a project manager, you must follow the formal change control process when a sponsor requests a change that impacts the project baseline. Reducing quality tests is a change that could affect scope, schedule, and risk; therefore, you should analyze the impact on quality, cost, and schedule, then submit a change request to the change control board (CCB) for approval. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on managing changes through the integrated change control process, ensuring decisions are made with full awareness of trade-offs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase testing in other areas to compensate for reduced quality risk
Why it's wrong here
Increasing testing in other areas without a validated need constitutes gold-plating, which adds unnecessary scope and cost without corresponding value. This action is an unauthorized scope change that consumes additional project resources, potentially exceeding budget or schedule, and does not directly address the specific quality risk identified by reducing tests in the original area. Such an approach deviates from the approved project management plan and should be avoided.
- ✗
Inform the sponsor that quality cannot be compromised and continue as planned
Why it's wrong here
A Project Manager's role involves facilitating informed decision-making, not unilaterally dictating project parameters, even for critical aspects like quality. While maintaining quality is paramount, simply informing the sponsor that it "cannot be compromised" without presenting evaluated options, potential impacts, or trade-offs is an abdication of the PM's responsibility to analyze and communicate. This approach fails to engage the sponsor in problem-solving and ignores potential alternative solutions or approved adjustments.
- ✗
Agree with the sponsor and reduce the number of tests to stay within budget
Why it's wrong here
Unilaterally agreeing to reduce the number of tests, even with sponsor concurrence, bypasses the formal integrated change control process. This action constitutes an unauthorized change to the project management plan, specifically the quality management plan, and significantly increases project risk by potentially compromising product quality and future performance. All changes impacting baselines require formal evaluation, impact analysis, and approval by the Change Control Board to ensure proper governance and stakeholder alignment.
- ✓
Conduct an impact analysis and submit a change request to the change control board
Why this is correct
This is the correct approach as it adheres to the formal integrated change control process mandated by PMI. Conducting an impact analysis thoroughly evaluates the potential effects of reducing tests on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk, providing data for informed decision-making. Submitting a change request to the Change Control Board ensures that all relevant stakeholders review, approve, or reject the proposed change, maintaining project governance and baseline integrity.
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.
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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.