Product Scope

Correct Answer: Ask the team member to submit a change request and evaluate its impact.

The best course of action for the project manager would be to ask the team member to submit a change request and evaluate its impact. In project management, changes to the project scope, such as the addition of a new feature, should go through the change control process, which includes the submission and evaluation of a change request. This would allow the project manager and other key stakeholders to assess the benefits, costs, and risks associated with the change, and to make an informed decision. The other options are less ideal: directly including the new feature would circumvent the change control process, potentially leading to scope creep and other issues; asking the team member to implement the new feature without a change request would similarly bypass this process; and rejecting the idea outright because it is not in the product scope would discount the potential benefits of the suggested feature without considering its merits.

Correct Answer: Analyze the impact of the change on the project constraints.

When a customer requests a change to the product scope in a project, the first thing a project manager should do is to 'Analyze the impact of the change on the project constraints'. This includes reviewing its potential effects on the project's schedule, cost, resources, risks, quality, and other related areas. Only after thorough analysis, a decision whether to incorporate the change can be made The other answers are incorrect for the following reasons: 'Immediately incorporate the change in the project scope' is wrong since it entails skipping the analysis phase which could cause project overload, increased risks and may lead to failure. 'Reject the change request' is not an accurate first step as the change might be beneficial for the project despite being a divergence from the original plan 'Update the project management plan' is also incorrect. While a change may require an update in the plan, this should not be the first step. It is critical to first understand the impact of the change before adjusting the project management plan.

Correct Answer: Perform integrated change control.

The most suitable answer is 'Perform integrated change control.' In project management, when a customer requests a change in design, especially one that requires additional square footage, performing integrated change control is a systematic approach that would involve evaluating the potential impact of the change on the entire project, including scope, timeline, costs and resources. This will enable the project manager to decide whether the change request is beneficial, achievable or not. This process helps to keep the project aligned with the project objectives, including the initially defined scope. The answer 'Reject the change request' is wrong, because it doesn't consider the evaluation of the change impact. Automatically 'Approving the change request' without understanding its impact can result in scope creep, increased costs, and delays, thus it is also a wrong answer. 'Ask the customer to submit a formal change request' is a part of managing changes, but it is not the complete answer as after receiving the request, the project manager has to then perform the integrated change control.