PMP · Question #417
The project schedule is falling behind and the project manager observes that the project team seems to be spending the majority of their time writing documentation instead of performing project…
The correct answer is C. Review and adapt the appropriate project artifacts. If a project is falling behind due to excessive documentation, the project manager should review and adapt project artifacts to streamline documentation, ensuring focus on value-delivery tasks.
Question
Options
- AAssign a team member to handle the documentation activities
- BCoach the project team to complete the project documentation activities
- CReview and adapt the appropriate project artifacts
- DSave all documentation activities until tire end of the project
How the community answered
(23 responses)- A13% (3)
- B4% (1)
- C78% (18)
- D4% (1)
Why each option
If a project is falling behind due to excessive documentation, the project manager should review and adapt project artifacts to streamline documentation, ensuring focus on value-delivery tasks.
While assigning a dedicated team member might offload documentation, it doesn't address the root cause if the *amount* or *type* of documentation itself is the problem, potentially still being an inefficient use of resources.
Coaching the team to complete documentation activities faster doesn't solve the issue if the documentation itself is excessive and not contributing sufficient value, still preventing the team from focusing on core tasks.
In an agile or lean context, extensive documentation can become an impediment, diverting resources from core value delivery. The project manager should review the necessity and format of project artifacts to ensure they are lean, valuable, and directly support project goals, which might involve reducing detail, choosing simpler formats, or eliminating unnecessary documentation to free up the team's time for critical project tasks.
Saving all documentation until the end of the project is risky, as it can lead to a massive bottleneck, potential loss of information, and may not comply with regulatory or organizational requirements for traceability and knowledge transfer.
Concept tested: Lean documentation, agile adaptation, process optimization
Source: https://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
Topics
Community Discussion
6
Yusuf A.May 30, 2026C is the answer. One of the senior PMs at my company told me to watch for this pattern, because when documentation is eating all your time it usually means your artifacts are too heavy or outdated for what the project actually needs, so you review and adapt them rather than just shuffling the work around.
Wesley A.Jun 8, 2026I first picked B on my first attempt because coaching the team sounded like a proactive leadership move, but the real issue is that the process itself is broken and the PM needs to figure out why documentation is eating all the time. C is correct because you adapt the artifacts to fit the situation instead of just pushing the team harder on something that is already derailing the schedule.
Grace U.May 31, 2026D. Park the docs till the end so the team can catch up on the real work now.
Yusuf A.Jun 3, 2026Actually it is C, since documentation should happen continuously alongside the work, not get deferred till the end. One of the seniors on my team always says if you wait to document, you will forget half the context, and the docs end up rushed and incomplete.
Brenda K.Jun 20, 2026C is the quick win here. Does adapt mean tailoring docs to only what adds value?
Wesley A.Jun 23, 2026Yeah C is right, I picked it wrong my first go because I overthought it, but keep in mind adapt also means adjusting the level of detail to the audience, not just trimming content.