PMP · Question #1237
A project team delivered a critical deliverable to the customer. The customer complained that the maintenance manual was not included. What should the project manager do next?
The correct answer is A. Review the terms and conditions of the contract. When a customer reports a missing deliverable component, the project manager's immediate next step is to review the contract to verify if the component was a required deliverable.
Question
A project team delivered a critical deliverable to the customer. The customer complained that the maintenance manual was not included. What should the project manager do next?
Options
- AReview the terms and conditions of the contract.
- BSubmit a change request to include the manual.
- CReview the stakeholder engagement plan.
- DAdd the needed manual and update the risk log.
How the community answered
(51 responses)- A76% (39)
- B8% (4)
- C2% (1)
- D14% (7)
Why each option
When a customer reports a missing deliverable component, the project manager's immediate next step is to review the contract to verify if the component was a required deliverable.
Before taking any action, the project manager must determine if the maintenance manual was a required deliverable according to the signed contract. This initial step confirms the project's scope and obligations, establishing whether the complaint indicates a defect in the current deliverable or a request for new scope.
Submitting a change request prematurely assumes the manual was not part of the original scope and jumps to adding new work, which might not be necessary if it was already contractually required.
Reviewing the stakeholder engagement plan helps with communication strategies, but it doesn't resolve the immediate contractual obligation regarding a missing deliverable.
Adding the manual and updating the risk log prematurely assumes the manual was missed or new, without first verifying the original contractual agreement and project scope.
Concept tested: Contract review and scope verification
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok
Topics
Community Discussion
7
Ola B.Mar 22, 2026A is the right call here. Before doing anything else, the PM needs to check the contract to see if the maintenance manual was actually a required deliverable. If the contract says it was required, then you fix the gap. If the contract does not mention it, then you handle it as a change request. I always tell folks in my study group to spin up a quick mock scenario for these: draft a simple SOW, then test yourself on what happens when a customer claims something is missing. You learn the process faster when you build it yourself.
Dervla O.Feb 26, 2026A is correct here because the contract is your source of truth for what was supposed to be delivered. Before submitting a change request or just adding the manual, the PM needs to confirm whether the manual was actually a contractual obligation or just an assumption the customer made. If the contract does not require it, then B becomes the appropriate next step through the formal change control process. D is a trap because doing work without verifying scope sets a bad precedent, and C is premature since this is a scope issue, not a stakeholder engagement problem.
Mei-Ling H.Apr 11, 2026Saw this last month, A is right. Check contract first before doing anything.
Yuki V.Mar 15, 2026Confirmed A on my exam last week. B is tempting because your instinct is to just fix it, but you never submit a change request for something the customer is contractually owed - you check the contract first to see if the manual was actually required in the first place.
Dervla O.Mar 17, 2026Good catch on the contract angle but the faster move is to scan the answer choices for any option that says "review requirements documentation" before you even start down the fix path, because that pattern shows up in at least three other question types I can think of.
Orla P.Mar 28, 2026Going with C here. The complaint signals a gap in stakeholder expectations, so the PM should review the stakeholder engagement plan to see where communication and engagement broke down before jumping to contract language or change requests.
Ola B.Mar 29, 2026Actually it is A, Orla. A complaint about work not aligning with the contract is a dispute over what was agreed to, so the PM reviews the contract terms first to determine the actual obligations before touching the stakeholder engagement plan.