Correct Answer: C,D,E
Explanation
According to the PMBOK Guide, scope changes are inevitable in most projects, and they can have positive or negative effects on the project objectives. Scope changes can be initiated by various sources, such as stakeholders, customers, sponsors, team members, or external factors. Scope changes should be managed through a formal change control process, which involves identifying, analyzing, approving, and implementing the changes. The change control process should be aligned with the project management plan, which defines how changes will be monitored and controlled throughout the project life cycle. The project management plan also includes the scope management plan and the scope baseline, which describe how the project scope will be defined, validated, and controlled.
In this question, the project manager is facing a situation where one of the customer's stakeholders keeps requesting changes to the scope every week during the execution phase of the project. This can create challenges for the project manager and the project team, such as increased costs, delays, rework, scope creep, quality issues, or stakeholder dissatisfaction. To resolve this issue, the project manager should take the following three actions:
Highlight the impacts of the changes during the next project meeting. The project manager should communicate with the customer and the project team about the scope changes and their implications for the project. The project manager should explain how the changes will affect the project scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, risks, and benefits. The project manager should also present the alternatives and trade-offs for each change, and seek feedback and input from the stakeholders. This will help to create a shared understanding of the situation, and to facilitate the decision-making process.
Schedule a meeting with the customer to align the approach. The project manager should meet with the customer and the stakeholder who is requesting the changes, and discuss the reasons and expectations behind the changes. The project manager should also review the project scope statement, the scope baseline, and the change control process with the customer, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of each party. The project manager should also negotiate with the customer and the stakeholder to prioritize the changes, and to agree on the criteria and process for approving and implementing them.
This will help to establish a common vision and a collaborative relationship with the customer, and to manage their expectations and satisfaction.
Update the relevant project documents with this obstacle. The project manager should document the scope changes and their impacts, and update the relevant project documents accordingly. The project manager should also record the issue of frequent scope changes, and the actions taken to resolve it, in the issue log. The project manager should also update the risk register, the stakeholder register, the lessons learned register, and any other project documents that may be affected by the scope changes.
This will help to maintain the accuracy and consistency of the project information, and to support the project monitoring and controlling activities.
The other options are not correct because they do not provide a valid way to resolve the issue of frequent scope changes. Option A is wrong because it suggests that the project manager should adjust the project management plan to include the changes in scope, without following the change control process or assessing the impacts of the changes. This would violate the project management plan and the scope baseline, and could lead to scope creep, cost overruns, schedule delays, or quality problems. Option B is wrong because it implies that the project manager should continue the execution as planned and defer the changes to a future phase, without communicating with the customer orthe stakeholder who is requesting the changes. This would ignore the customer's needs and expectations, and could result in dissatisfaction, conflict, or rejection of the project deliverables. References:
PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, pages 134-135, 154-155, 161-162
How to Manage Scope Changes on a Project
Scope Change Management - Project Management Knowledge
Scope Change Control - Project Management Institute
