PMP · Question #479
In a hybrid project, the customer decided on a major change for the project design. This change was approved and the impact on schedule and budget is known. The software team leader, who is supposed…
The correct answer is A. Add this risk to the risk register and monitor it according to the risk management plan. Given a software team's refusal to commit to delivery dates in a hybrid project due to agile methods, the project manager should formally add this uncertainty as a risk to the risk register for structured monitoring and response planning.
Question
In a hybrid project, the customer decided on a major change for the project design. This change was approved and the impact on schedule and budget is known. The software team leader, who is supposed to develop the software, refuses to commit to delivery dates claiming that they work using an agile approach and cannot commit to a final delivery date. The hardware team depends on this software to develop their part of the product. What should the project manager do?
Options
- AAdd this risk to the risk register and monitor it according to the risk management plan
- BEscalate this to higher management and ask for help to resolve the issue
- CImpose the delivery dates on the software team leader and notify the functional manager about
- DAsk the software team leader to use a predictive approach and commit to a delivery date
How the community answered
(22 responses)- A82% (18)
- B9% (2)
- C5% (1)
- D5% (1)
Why each option
Given a software team's refusal to commit to delivery dates in a hybrid project due to agile methods, the project manager should formally add this uncertainty as a risk to the risk register for structured monitoring and response planning.
The software team's refusal to commit to delivery dates, especially with the hardware team's dependency, constitutes a significant schedule risk for the hybrid project. The project manager's immediate step should be to formally identify, document, and analyze this risk in the risk register, then develop a plan to monitor it and determine appropriate risk responses (e.g., mitigation strategies, contingency plans, or more frequent synchronization).
Escalation to higher management may become necessary later, but the project manager should first attempt to manage the risk within the project framework and explore internal solutions.
Concept tested: Risk identification and management in hybrid projects
Topics
Community Discussion
4
Zlatan X.Nov 1, 2025A is the correct call here. In a hybrid program, component interdependencies are where benefits realization lives or dies, and the hardware team's dependency on the software team is now a realized schedule risk with quantified cost and schedule impact. You cannot force an agile component into a predictive commitment model, and escalating before you have captured and assessed the risk undermines your own governance authority. Logging it in the risk register lets you monitor the interdependency, plan a mitigation strategy, and keep the program on track for value delivery without violating the team's chosen approach.
Olusegun A.Oct 29, 2025A is the right call but the wording undersells what the PM actually needs to do here. You are not just logging a risk and walking away, you are capturing the schedule dependency exposure that the software team leader just created, then working that risk through the normal mechanisms, which in a hybrid environment means pushing the agile team toward relative estimation and refined velocity so the hardware team gets some kind of forecast window. D is the trap because it sounds decisive, but you do not convert an agile team to predictive by fiat and PMI does not reward that move. B is premature escalation and C is pure command
Brenda K.Oct 18, 2025A is your 30-second pick here because the hardware dependency creates a schedule risk that belongs in the register, and it is a total time sink if you start debating agile philosophy with the team leader. Quick question though, has anyone seen a variant of this where they expect you to facilitate a dependency mapping session between the teams instead of just logging the risk?
Yuki V.Oct 21, 2025Confirmed A on my exam. In hybrid, unresolved dependency delays still count as risks, right?