PMP · Question #7
A state-of-the-art product was delivered at the end of a project life cycle. However, the customer claims the product was not designed to specifications. What should the project manager have done to a
The correct answer is C. The customer's requirements should have been captured in order to meet the customer's. To prevent a product from failing to meet specifications, the project manager should have thoroughly captured and documented the customer's requirements from the outset, ensuring all development aligns with these expectations.
Question
A state-of-the-art product was delivered at the end of a project life cycle. However, the customer claims the product was not designed to specifications. What should the project manager have done to avoid this issue?
Options
- AThe customer's requirements should have been captured and modified to meet the supplier's
- BThe iteration review planning meeting should have been planned accordingly.
- CThe customer's requirements should have been captured in order to meet the customer's
- DThe sprint retrospective meeting should have included necessary stakeholders.
How the community answered
(26 responses)- A4% (1)
- B4% (1)
- C81% (21)
- D12% (3)
Why each option
To prevent a product from failing to meet specifications, the project manager should have thoroughly captured and documented the customer's requirements from the outset, ensuring all development aligns with these expectations.
Modifying customer requirements to meet the supplier's capabilities rather than the customer's needs would directly cause dissatisfaction, as the product would not fulfill the intended purpose for the customer.
While iteration review planning is part of agile execution, the issue described is a fundamental mismatch with initial specifications, which points to a breakdown in upfront requirements definition, not just a specific meeting's planning.
The fundamental reason a product fails to meet customer specifications is often a failure in requirements management. The project manager must meticulously capture, document, and confirm the customer's detailed requirements at the project's inception to ensure that the final product design and functionality directly align with these agreed-upon specifications, thus setting clear expectations for acceptance.
A sprint retrospective meeting focuses on improving team processes, not on external validation of product specifications with stakeholders, which is typically covered in review meetings or acceptance testing stages.
Concept tested: Requirements gathering, scope definition, quality planning
Topics
Community Discussion
7
Viktor S.Dec 21, 2025C is correct, and A is a trap that would get you fired in real life. You capture requirements to meet the customer's needs, not modify them to suit your own convenience.
Ingrid P.Dec 14, 2025C is correct. Requirements traceability ensures delivered scope matches customer expectations.
Yusuf A.Dec 14, 2025Agree on C, and the senior on my team also pointed out it gives you a head start on the scope validation piece come project closure.
Yusuf A.Dec 25, 2025C is the right call here. One of the senior PMs at my company always says that delivering a "state-of-the-art" product means nothing if it is not what the customer actually asked for. The core issue is that requirements gathering has to focus on capturing what the customer needs, not what the supplier thinks is best or what is easiest to build. Option A is a trap because modifying requirements to fit the supplier goes against the whole point of scope management. I am still a bit fuzzy on why option B mentions iteration review planning, since this sounds more like a traditional waterfall project than an agile
Wei W.Dec 26, 2025Good call on C, Yusuf, and on the iteration review question: iteration reviews are an agile mechanism where the team and stakeholders inspect the working increment together, which is exactly where you discover whether you built what the customer actually needs versus what you assumed they needed.
Wei W.Dec 28, 2025Going with A. Requirements need supplier alignment or delivery fails.
Viktor S.Dec 30, 2025C is correct here. The question is about where to store the data for this scenario, not about supplier alignment, so youre solving the wrong problem, Wei.