PMP · Question #1250
A new privacy law will go into effect at the beginning of the next calendar year. The project manager realizes the project needs to be compliant with the new law. What should the project manager do…
The correct answer is C. Inform the project steering committee of this constraint. The project manager should inform the project steering committee about the new privacy law as it represents a significant external constraint requiring strategic awareness and potential project adjustments. This ensures executive-level awareness and support for necessary changes.
Question
A new privacy law will go into effect at the beginning of the next calendar year. The project manager realizes the project needs to be compliant with the new law. What should the project manager do next?
Options
- AInform the legal department that the project scope will be updated.
- BInform the product owner that the project will continue as planned.
- CInform the project steering committee of this constraint.
- DInform the project team and create a spike for the next iteration.
How the community answered
(43 responses)- A5% (2)
- B9% (4)
- C70% (30)
- D16% (7)
Why each option
The project manager should inform the project steering committee about the new privacy law as it represents a significant external constraint requiring strategic awareness and potential project adjustments. This ensures executive-level awareness and support for necessary changes.
Informing the legal department that the scope will be updated is premature; the project manager needs guidance and approval before committing to scope changes.
Continuing as planned without addressing a new compliance requirement is highly irresponsible and could lead to severe legal and financial repercussions.
A new privacy law is an external regulatory constraint that can significantly impact project scope, schedule, cost, and ultimately, its success and compliance. The project steering committee, being a high-level governance body, needs to be informed immediately to understand the strategic implications and provide guidance or approval for any necessary changes to ensure project compliance and alignment with organizational objectives.
While the project team will eventually be involved, and a spike might be a tactical response, the strategic implication of a new law requires informing higher-level governance (steering committee) first for strategic direction and resource allocation.
Concept tested: External constraint identification and stakeholder communication
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok/constraints-and-assumptions
Topics
Community Discussion
7
Mateus R.Mar 30, 2026Think of it like a town discovering a new building code is coming next year, you don't just start hammering nails differently or tell the carpenters to figure it out, you take that new rule straight to the city council so they can update the official town plan. In project terms, a new legal requirement is an external constraint that affects the project baseline, and the steering committee is the governance body that needs to know about it first. Answer C is correct because compliance constraints must be communicated to the steering committee so they can decide how it impacts scope, schedule, and cost. Option A jumps
Imani T.Apr 1, 2026Agreed on C, but the PM shouldn't just hand it off and wait, you bring the steering committee the compliance change plus a recommended impact analysis so they have something to actually decide on instead of starting from scratch.
Imani T.Mar 6, 2026C is correct here because a new legal requirement is an external constraint and the steering committee needs to know about constraints that can impact scope, schedule, or budget. Anyone know if PMI treats regulatory compliance changes as triggers for a formal change request automatically, or does that only happen after the committee acknowledges the constraint?
Toby R.Mar 15, 2026Confirmed C on my exam. Why steer committee and not legal first?
Imani T.Mar 15, 2026C is right because the steer committee owns prioritization and funding, but in practice you loop in legal right after so they are not finding out late and blocking you.
Wei W.Mar 26, 2026A is right. Compliance changes scope, so legal has to know first.
Mateus R.Mar 26, 2026Actually C is the right call here. Think of it like a restaurant changing its menu: you tell the kitchen staff what is changing before you hang the new menu out front, because the people doing the work need to adjust their process first. In policy management, the operational teams who enforce the compliance changes have to be notified before legal publishes the updated policy externally.