PMP · Question #850
The customer is reviewing the new reporting system and informs the project manager that one of the components in the printing module is not complete. The project manager reviews the work breakdown str
The correct answer is B. Meet with the project team to understand the issue and define actions.. A customer has identified an incomplete component that is confirmed to be in the WBS, indicating a discrepancy between planned and delivered work. The project manager's immediate first step should be to engage the project team to investigate the discrepancy, understand its root c
Question
Options
- AAsk the project team to conduct a quality audit of the printing module components.
- BMeet with the project team to understand the issue and define actions.
- CEscalate this issue to the project sponsor immediately.
- DRaise a change request to immediately implement the printing module component.
How the community answered
(33 responses)- A6% (2)
- B76% (25)
- C15% (5)
- D3% (1)
Why each option
A customer has identified an incomplete component that is confirmed to be in the WBS, indicating a discrepancy between planned and delivered work. The project manager's immediate first step should be to engage the project team to investigate the discrepancy, understand its root cause, and determine necessary actions.
Conducting a quality audit is a formal process that might be a later step if the cause isn't easily determined or if systemic quality issues are suspected, but not the first step for an identified missing component.
The first step when a customer reports an issue, especially one that contradicts the WBS, is to gather more information and understand the specific details and root cause from the team who performed the work. Meeting with the project team allows for clarification, investigation, and collective definition of appropriate actions to resolve the incomplete component.
Escalating to the project sponsor immediately is premature; the project manager should first try to understand and resolve the issue at the team level.
Raising a change request is premature; if the component is already in the WBS, it should have been completed. A change request would be for something new or a change to the scope, not for a confirmed missing deliverable.
Concept tested: Issue management and team collaboration
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok
Topics
Community Discussion
6
Mateus R.Mar 2, 2026B is correct. Think of it like a farmer noticing a broken fence on the north forty, you don't immediately call the bank to complain or order new lumber, you first walk out and talk to your hands to figure out what actually happened before deciding the fix. That is why the project manager meets with the team to understand the issue and define actions, which is analyze the problem before jumping to changes or escalations.
Olusegun A.Apr 12, 2026B. Always assess root cause before acting, but does the WBS listing it guarantee the work was actually done?
Carlos M.Apr 2, 2026Going with B. The PM already confirmed the component is in the WBS, so the work was planned but something went wrong in execution. Before raising a change request or escalating, you need to figure out why the work wasn't completed as planned. D is tempting if you assume the component was somehow missed, but the stem says it's already in the WBS. Meet with the team first, understand the gap, then take the right corrective action.
Toby R.Mar 20, 2026Passed last month and got this exact one, B is correct. The PM always goes to the team to understand the root cause before doing anything else, though I am curious why D gets tempting for some people since a change request would only make sense if the scope was actually missing from the WBS.
Ola B.Mar 12, 2026A is the move here because you need to verify whether the component was actually built to spec before touching anything else, and a quality audit is exactly how you surface that gap. Spin up a quick checklist in your head and walk the deliverable like you would in a real lab - inspect first, then act.
Mateus R.Mar 14, 2026Actually B is correct here, Ola. Think of it like buying a used car: before you pay a mechanic to inspect whether the engine was built right, you first check the seller's maintenance log to see if they followed the right process in the first place. A quality audit reviews whether your quality processes were followed, not whether the specific deliverable meets spec, so B fits the verify-the-process-before-the-product sequence.