A new major project is starting that consists of two interconnected subprojects. One of the subprojects was assigned to a contractor who commits to submitting biweekly status reports and attending wee

The correct answer is A. Assess the situation as a risk and reach out to the contractor to check the origin of this resistance.. By initially assessing the situation as a risk and working collaboratively with the contractor, the project manager can address the issue effectively while maintaining project momentum and stakeholder relationships.

Submitted by cyberguy42· Apr 18, 2026People

Question

A new major project is starting that consists of two interconnected subprojects. One of the subprojects was assigned to a contractor who commits to submitting biweekly status reports and attending weekly integration meetings. Halfway through the project, the contractor stops participating in the meetings and does not submit the reports. Their excuse is that these activities are consuming too much time. How should the project manager handle this situation?

Options

AAssess the situation as a risk and reach out to the contractor to check the origin of this resistance.
BFile a claim for not fulfilling the contract terms in accordance with alternative dispute resolution.
CRemind the contractor to join the meetings and submit their report as this is their commitment.
DCompromise with the contractor to only attend the weekly meetings without submitting the

How the community answered

(30 responses)

A
80% (24)
B
3% (1)
C
7% (2)
D
10% (3)

Explanation

By initially assessing the situation as a risk and working collaboratively with the contractor, the project manager can address the issue effectively while maintaining project momentum and stakeholder relationships.

Topics

#Stakeholder Management#Communication Management#Risk Management#Conflict Resolution

Community Discussion

Yusuf A.Jul 5, 2026

Going with A. One of the senior PMs at my company told me the exam always wants you to investigate the root cause and treat new problems as risks before you escalate or compromise. Filing a claim right away is too aggressive, and compromising basically lets the contractor rewrite the agreement. Assessing the risk first shows you understand that a contractor skipping meetings usually points to a deeper issue you need to identify. Anyone know if the real exam tends to pair the word "resistance" with this type of scenario a lot?

Brenda K.Jul 5, 2026

A is the fast pick here because PMP wants you to assess root cause before escalating or compromising. C sounds logical but its too confrontational for a first step, and D undermines your own contract terms. B is premature since you have not yet explored why the contractor is balking. Flag B and C as traps if you see this one, spend maybe 40 seconds, and move on. One thing I keep second guessing, does anyone know if PMI treats a contractor skipping required reports as a performance issue that needs corrective action first, or is the risk assessment in A considered the corrective action in

Olusegun A.Jul 5, 2026

Saw this on my exam last March and picked A because the PMBOK wants you to treat contractor disengagement as a risk first, not jump straight to claims or enforcement. Had a similar thing happen on a real integration project where the vendor ghosted our syncs, and pulling them into a side conversation to understand the resistance got us back on track without burning the relationship.

Yusuf A.Jul 7, 2026

That matches what my mentor showed me from the PMBOK, but he also emphasized documenting the issue in the risk register before you have that side conversation, so you have a paper trail if the relationship does go south.

Anjali D.Jul 5, 2026

Our group landed on A because the PMBOK approach is to treat unexpected contractor behavior as a risk first and investigate root cause before escalating. Most of us agreed that jumping straight to a claim or a simple reminder skips the collaborative problem-solving step. A few people leaned toward C initially, arguing the contractor signed up for these obligations so a reminder should suffice, but the consensus was that resistance like this needs a conversation, not just a nudge. One thing we kept going back and forth on: where exactly is the line between assessing resistance as a risk versus treating it as a performance issue that requires formal

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