PMP · Question #1283
A project manager is working on a time and materials (T&M) project using a hybrid approach. The milestones and outcomes are defined for the first 6 months with incremental releases every month. After
The correct answer is D. Document the information in the meeting minutes and share it with the project stakeholders.. After understanding the client's newly desired milestones and outcomes, the project manager should first document this information in meeting minutes and share it with all project stakeholders.
Question
A project manager is working on a time and materials (T&M) project using a hybrid approach. The milestones and outcomes are defined for the first 6 months with incremental releases every month. After the first 2 months, the client communicates their dissatisfaction with the results and asks to change the course of the project. The project manager held a face-to-face meeting with the client and now has a better understanding of the newly desired milestones and outcomes. What should the project manager do first?
Options
- ADraft a contract change with the desired scope changes and send it to the client for approval.
- BForward the client's request to management as a change request to get formal approval.
- CFinish the current monthly release as it was planned and replan for the future months.
- DDocument the information in the meeting minutes and share it with the project stakeholders.
How the community answered
(52 responses)- A4% (2)
- B13% (7)
- C6% (3)
- D77% (40)
Why each option
After understanding the client's newly desired milestones and outcomes, the project manager should first document this information in meeting minutes and share it with all project stakeholders.
Drafting a contract change is a subsequent step, which should occur after internal documentation, analysis, and alignment on the proposed changes with the project team and other stakeholders.
Forwarding the client's request as a formal change request is a later step, following initial documentation and internal assessment of the newly desired outcomes.
Finishing the current monthly release as planned without acknowledging the client's dissatisfaction and new direction would ignore crucial feedback and risk further client alienation.
Following a significant discussion with a client about changes to project direction, the immediate and crucial first step is to formally document the newly understood milestones and outcomes in meeting minutes. Sharing these minutes with all relevant project stakeholders ensures transparency, creates a common understanding of the potential changes, and allows for collective awareness before proceeding with formal change requests, contract amendments, or replanning activities within a hybrid approach.
Concept tested: Communications management, change request initiation readiness
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Prof. SaraMar 7, 2026D is correct. The PM just gathered new information in that face-to-face meeting, and the very first step is always to capture and document those newly desired milestones in the meeting minutes. Only after the updated outcomes are documented and shared with stakeholders can you properly evaluate the impact and process a formal change request. Think of the sequence as Document, Discuss, Decide, then Do.
Nina C.Mar 15, 2026Going with B. T&M means scope changes need formal approval before proceeding.
Prof. SaraMar 17, 2026Actually D is correct, Nina, because T&M is precisely the flexible vehicle where scope changes do not require formal pre-approval before work proceeds, that flexibility being the whole point of using it over a fixed-price contract.
Hiroshi T.Mar 30, 2026B. On a T&M contract, scope and direction changes go through formal change control before any replanning or contract amendment, and forwarding the request to management for approval is the documented first step in the PMI change-control flow.
Imani T.Apr 1, 2026Actually D is correct here. On a T&M contract the buyer has direct authority over scope and direction changes, so the seller proceeds with the work as directed without routing through formal change control first, that flow applies to fixed-price arrangements where contract amendments protect the seller.
Imani T.Apr 7, 2026D is correct here and it comes down to process order. You just had a meeting where you gathered new information, so step one is always to document what was discussed and get it distributed to stakeholders. A is tempting because it jumps straight to a contract change, but you need that shared record first so everyone is aligned before formal changes get drafted. On T&M work especially, you want a paper trail of what the client actually asked for before you start modifying scope or looping in management.
Lena V.Mar 21, 2026A is the call here. On a T&M contract the scope change has to be captured as a contract amendment before any new work proceeds, and since the PM already met with the client and nailed down the new milestones, drafting the contract change for approval is the immediate next step.
Prof. SaraMar 22, 2026D is correct here because Lena V. is skipping the internal change control step. Before a contract amendment is drafted on a T&M contract, the PM must submit a change request through the organization's internal change control process so the impact on budget, schedule, and resources is formally reviewed and approved.