PMP · Question #990
A new quality report was distributed to stakeholders after the sponsor approved it. A senior manager requests changing the colors and sizes of some of the graphs included in the report. What should…
The correct answer is D. Advise the manager to raise a change request. Since the quality report was already approved by the sponsor, a senior manager's request for cosmetic changes to graphs constitutes a formal change to an approved deliverable. Therefore, the project manager should advise the manager to raise a change request.
Question
A new quality report was distributed to stakeholders after the sponsor approved it. A senior manager requests changing the colors and sizes of some of the graphs included in the report. What should the project manager do?
Options
- AReject the change as the report was approved previously.
- BIncorporate the change in a future report.
- CAsk the team to make the manager's requested changes.
- DAdvise the manager to raise a change request.
How the community answered
(58 responses)- A3% (2)
- B10% (6)
- C5% (3)
- D81% (47)
Why each option
Since the quality report was already approved by the sponsor, a senior manager's request for cosmetic changes to graphs constitutes a formal change to an approved deliverable. Therefore, the project manager should advise the manager to raise a change request.
Rejecting the change outright without following the change control process can lead to stakeholder dissatisfaction and may bypass a valid need.
Incorporating the change in a future report might be an option after a change request is approved, but simply deferring it isn't the first step when a formal change process is needed.
Asking the team to make changes without a formal change request bypasses the change control process, which is critical for maintaining project baselines, managing scope, and ensuring stakeholder alignment for approved deliverables.
Once a report, especially a quality report, has been approved by the sponsor and distributed, any changes to its content or presentation (even cosmetic ones like colors and sizes of graphs) constitute a formal change to an approved deliverable. The project manager must follow the established change control process, which typically involves advising the requesting manager to raise a formal change request to ensure proper review, impact analysis, and re-approval if necessary.
Concept tested: Change control process
Source: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/change-control-boards-project-management-8608
Topics
Community Discussion
9
Mateus R.Apr 23, 2026D is correct. Think of it like a restaurant menu that's already been printed and handed out to customers. If a regular walks in and asks the waiter to swap the side dish on a listed entree, the waiter does not just scribble on the menu or tell the kitchen to figure it out. He routes the request through the proper channel so the owner can decide if it is worth a formal menu update. Same deal here. Once the sponsor approved that quality report, it became a baselined artifact, and any tweak, even something cosmetic like graph colors, has to go through Perform Integrated
Yuki V.Apr 25, 2026Good analogy but I would tighten it to say the waiter writes up the change request and hands it to the owner, since on my exam the correct answer was always the formal documented request, not just routing it through the channel.
Luis F.Apr 16, 2026I first leaned toward A since the sponsor already approved it and I figured that meant locked. But cosmetic tweaks are still changes to a baselined artifact, so the senior manager needs to go through the formal change control process. D is the correct answer because the project manager shouldnt just absorb ad hoc requests or tell the team to do it without review. The change request creates a record and lets the right people evaluate even small stuff.
Yuki V.Apr 17, 2026Agreed on D, and the other thing to remember is that even sponsor approved changes still need to go through the formal process to keep the audit trail clean, which is exactly what the change control board is there for.
Yuki V.Apr 10, 2026D for sure. A is tempting but cosmetic changes still need a CR.
Mateus R.Apr 10, 2026Cosmetic is right but the key tell is anything touching a production system, even a typo fix on a webpage, still needs that paper trail so the CAB can sequence it alongside other changes.
Viktor S.May 13, 2026C. Cosmetic tweaks after approval don't need the full change control gauntlet.
Mateus R.May 15, 2026Good analogy, but D is the right call here. Cosmetic changes are like repainting a wall in your house, no structural impact, so they typically get a lightweight or streamlined change process rather than skipping it entirely.
Hiroshi T.May 3, 2026D is correct per the Perform Integrated Change Control process in the PMBOK Guide. A is tempting since the report is already approved, but any modification, even cosmetic ones, still needs to go through the formal change control process.