The engineering department offers the project manager some highly-skilled resources for the same cost as those currently on board. What should the project manager do next to handle this situation?

Question

Options

• ACreate a change request to prevent a delay in getting the resources hired.
• BAnalyze the impact of replacing the resources and exploit the opportunity.
• CDecline, to avoid changes in project team setup and stakeholder disruption.
• DAccept the resources, to ensure project efficiency improvement is gained from the new resources.

• A
  11% (2)
• B
  79% (15)
• C
  5% (1)
• D
  5% (1)

Explanation

Option B is correct because a project manager's role includes identifying and exploiting opportunities - receiving highly-skilled resources at the same cost is a positive risk (opportunity) that could improve project outcomes, but it must first be analyzed for schedule, quality, and team dynamics impacts before acting.

• A is wrong because no change request is needed yet - you haven't even decided to replace anyone, and a change request skips the required analysis step.
• C is wrong because declining an opportunity without analysis violates risk management principles; avoiding all change is not a project management best practice.
• D is wrong because blindly accepting resources without impact analysis could disrupt the team, affect timelines, or create onboarding overhead - "accept immediately" ignores due diligence.

Memory tip: Think of opportunities like free upgrades - you don't automatically take them OR refuse them; you analyze first, then exploit. The word "exploit" in PMI terminology specifically means taking full advantage of an opportunity, but analysis always comes before action.

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