PMP · Question #1421
An agile project team is working on an infrastructure product to be delivered incrementally over several iterations. Midway through the third iteration, the whole company is informed that the…
The correct answer is D. Schedule a session with stakeholders to understand the impact. When a significant, company-wide change impacts the project's foundation, the project manager's first action should be to convene stakeholders to thoroughly understand the full scope of the impact and implications.
Question
An agile project team is working on an infrastructure product to be delivered incrementally over several iterations. Midway through the third iteration, the whole company is informed that the operating systems supported by the infrastructure will be terminated in the upcoming quarter. Several thousand machines will be impacted by this change. What should the project manager do first?
Options
- AAdd product backlog items to prioritize operating system stories.
- BInform the product owner and request more project resources.
- CPrioritize the upgrade of project machines with the IT department.
- DSchedule a session with stakeholders to understand the impact.
How the community answered
(36 responses)- A19% (7)
- B6% (2)
- C11% (4)
- D64% (23)
Why each option
When a significant, company-wide change impacts the project's foundation, the project manager's first action should be to convene stakeholders to thoroughly understand the full scope of the impact and implications.
Adding product backlog items to prioritize OS stories is an action that should follow an understanding of the change's impact and implications; without a clear understanding, these items might be misprioritized or incorrectly defined.
Informing the product owner is part of stakeholder communication, but requesting more resources without first understanding the full impact is premature and might not be the correct solution.
Prioritizing the upgrade of project machines with the IT department is a potential solution or action, but it should only be considered after a comprehensive understanding of the impact and potential strategic directions determined with stakeholders.
A major announcement of operating system termination affecting thousands of machines is a significant external change that will fundamentally impact the project's relevance, scope, and direction. The first action is to schedule a session with relevant stakeholders to thoroughly understand the full scope, implications, and urgency of this change before making any project-specific decisions.
Concept tested: Stakeholder engagement and impact analysis in Agile
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok/perform-integrated-change-control
Topics
Community Discussion
9
Mateus R.Mar 17, 2026D is correct. Think of it like a farmer hearing a storm warning on the radio: before running out to buy tarps or move the tractor, you first step outside and check which fields are actually in the storm's path. Same deal here. The PM needs to schedule a session with stakeholders to understand the impact before touching the backlog or chasing resources, because in Agile you always assess the ripple effect of a change with the people who feel it before you act.
Yusuf A.May 4, 2026D is correct. One of the senior PMs at my company always says before you touch the backlog or ask for more resources, you have to figure out what actually changed. In agile, the product owner owns priorities, but neither the PM nor the PO can reprioritize operating system stories without first understanding the real impact on the thousands of affected machines. Scheduling a session with stakeholders is the only option that gets you that information before making decisions. It also keeps the process transparent, which matters a lot on the exam.
Zlatan X.Apr 23, 2026D is correct because at the program level an external dependency like an OS termination is a benefits realization threat that requires stakeholder alignment before any component backlog gets touched. Curious though, would the exam ever expect you to escalate to governance first if this OS change cascades across multiple programs, or is stakeholder impact analysis always the entry point?
Bao N.Apr 24, 2026D is right but in my experience the exam usually wants you to loop governance in alongside stakeholder alignment whenever an external dependency crosses program boundaries, not after.
Wesley A.Mar 13, 2026Failed this one on my first attempt because I jumped straight to action like option A. D is correct, you always assess impact with stakeholders before reprioritizing backlog items or throwing resources at the problem.
Mateus R.Mar 15, 2026Co-sign D, and think of it like a farmer noticing a leaky irrigation pipe: you do not immediately reroute water or buy new pipe, you walk the line with the farmhands to see how much crop is actually at risk before you touch the valves, which in Agile terms is the impact assessment with stakeholders that gates any backlog reprioritization.
Toby R.Apr 22, 2026Passed last month and got a near-identical question. B is the trap because the instinct is to escalate and ask for help, but agile PMs assess before they act, so D is the move. The phrase upcoming quarter also clues you in that there is time to gather stakeholders and figure out the real impact before touching the backlog.
Zlatan X.Apr 23, 2026Good catch on the time horizon being the tell, but I would frame D as benefits dependency mapping at the program level, not just stakeholder consultation, since you need to trace whether that capacity constraint ripples across component interdependencies before anything reaches the backlog.
Bao N.May 2, 2026Confirmed D on multiple practice tests. OS termination is a major change, so assess stakeholder impact first.