PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The variance is due to unforeseen technical challenges. You have identified a potential solution that would reduce costs but might affect scope. What should you do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently choose Option D (implement immediately) because they focus on cost control urgency, but the PMP exam emphasizes following the formal change control process over ad-hoc decisions, even when the project is in distress.
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
✓
Analyze the impact of the solution on scope, schedule, and cost, then present a change request to the CCB
The PMBOK Guide requires that any potential solution affecting scope must first be analyzed for its impact on the triple constraint (scope, schedule, cost) before submitting a formal change request to the Change Control Board (CCB). This ensures that the decision is based on objective data and follows the established change control process, which is critical when the project is already over budget due to unforeseen technical challenges.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ask the sponsor for additional budget to cover the overrun
Why it's wrong here
Directly asking the sponsor for additional budget without first conducting a thorough analysis of the root cause of the overrun and evaluating potential corrective actions is premature. A project manager must first perform variance analysis, identify viable solutions, assess their impacts on all project baselines, and only then, if necessary, escalate with a well-justified request, demonstrating proactive problem-solving.
- ✗
Continue as planned and hope to recover the budget later
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring a significant budget variance, such as being 15% over budget at the midpoint, is a critical failure in project control and monitoring. This approach is not proactive and violates the project manager's responsibility to manage project performance actively. Continuing without intervention risks the project spiraling further out of control, potentially leading to project failure by not addressing underlying issues or implementing necessary corrective actions.
- ✓
Analyze the impact of the solution on scope, schedule, and cost, then present a change request to the CCB
Why this is correct
A 15% budget overrun at the midpoint is a significant variance that necessitates a formal response. The project manager must analyze the root cause, identify potential solutions, and thoroughly assess their integrated impact on all project baselines: scope, schedule, cost, and quality. Any proposed solution that alters a project baseline requires following the formal integrated change control process, culminating in a change request submitted to the Change Control Board (CCB) for review and approval, ensuring proper governance.
- ✗
Implement the solution immediately to control costs
Why it's wrong here
Implementing any significant change or solution, particularly one addressing a major budget overrun, without proper analysis, documentation, and formal approval from the Change Control Board (CCB) or relevant stakeholders is a critical breach of project governance. Such unilateral action bypasses the integrated change control process, risks unintended negative consequences on other project constraints (scope, schedule, quality), and can lead to unauthorized work or unapproved baseline deviations.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every PMP question from scratch — 800 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.