A project budget has been reduced by 10 percent, but the project has a critical deadline. Which of the following should the project manager do FIRST to complete the project on time?

Lowering quality standards is a possible mitigation strategy for cost reduction, but it should only be considered and approved after a thorough impact analysis and stakeholder consultation.

A 10 percent budget reduction is a significant change that will impact the project. The project manager must first analyze its potential effects on the critical deadline, scope, quality, and resources to understand the full implications and develop an appropriate response.

Arbitrarily eliminating 10 percent of resources without analysis might jeopardize the critical deadline or quality, and is an action taken after understanding the impact.

Documenting the approved change request comes after the change has been approved and its impact analyzed, possibly leading to further adjustments to the project management plan.