Scope Statement

Correct Answer: Communicate the revised scope statement to all relevant stakeholders and project team members.

As a project manager, when there is a change request impacting the scope statement, it is your responsibility to communicate the revised scope statement to all relevant stakeholders and project team members. Each member involved in the project must understand the new scope in order to align their tasks and efforts accordingly. Therefore, keeping the revised scope statement to oneself until the project is completed or communicating the revised scope only to specific individuals is not the right approach, as it can lead to confusion and misalignment of efforts. Effectively, there should be transparency among all stakeholders on project changes, which is why sending the revised scope statement solely to the project team and not to other stakeholders is also an incorrect response.

Correct Answer: Direct the team to halt the additional work and use the scope statement to initiate a formal change control process.

The project manager should direct the team to halt the additional work and initiate a formal change control process. Best project management practices dictate that any changes to the project scope must go through a formal change control procedure. This ensures that all impacts on scope, schedule, cost, and quality are thoroughly assessed, and that necessary approvals are obtained before proceeding. Proceeding with work not outlined in the scope statement without formal approval can lead to scope creep, budget overruns, and schedule delays. Halting the unauthorized work prevents further deviation from the approved plan and maintains project control. Simply updating the scope statement or allowing the team to continue without following the formal process bypasses critical evaluation and approval steps, risking project success. Informing the stakeholder that the tasks cannot be accommodated without considering them through the change control process may damage stakeholder relationships. The formal process allows for stakeholder input while maintaining project governance.

Correct Answer: Revise the scope statement to highlight stakeholder prioritization criteria.

The best approach is to revise the project scope statement to reflect stakeholder priorities. This ensures that the project aligns with stakeholder expectations about project deliverables and outcomes (in this case, scope, schedule, and cost). The second answer, ignoring stakeholder priorities, is not a good approach because failing to incorporate stakeholder expectations risks project failure. The third answer, including a timeline and budget in the scope statement, also is not recommended. The scope statement should focus on deliverables and project boundaries, not specific scheduling or budgeting details. Lastly, having stakeholders communicate their priorities directly to the project team, as suggested in the fourth answer, might cause miscommunication. It's better for the project manager to be the liaison between stakeholders and the project team.