A new stakeholder has requested the status and progress reports for the project milestones. Which of the following documents should the project manager address FIRST?

The communication plan is a subsidiary of the project management plan; the PM should reference the parent document first to understand the full governance context.

A project status report is an output artifact, not a planning document - it cannot tell the PM how to handle a new stakeholder communication request.

The project management plan is the master governing document that contains or references all subsidiary plans, including the communications management plan. The PM must consult it first to understand what reporting cadence, format, and stakeholder access has already been established. Acting without checking this plan risks creating ad-hoc processes that conflict with approved project governance.

The project backlog is specific to Agile work tracking and does not govern stakeholder communication or reporting requirements.