TOPIC: Free PMP® Exam Sample Question

You are leading a software development project where the developers are colocated within rented office space. Writing the code is taking longer than anticipated, and you have contacted the landlord requesting to rent the office for another week. Unfortunately, the landlord tells you that the office is already booked. You capture the problem in the project documents.

What should you do next?

A. Record the issue in the issue log
B. Revise the resource management plan
C. Update the risk register
D. Request additional funds

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HINT: What component of the project management plan should be updated in this scenario?

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Answer and Explanation:
The correct answer is B.

The office is a physical project resource. Contacting the landlord requesting to rent the office for another week is a function of the Control Resources process. Control Resources is the process of ensuring that the physical resources assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned, as well as monitoring the planned versus actual utilization of resources and performing corrective action as necessary.

In this case, the actual utilization of the office space will exceed the planned utilization. The resource management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how project resources are acquired, allocated, monitored, and controlled.

Updates to the resource management plan are an output of the Control Resources process. The plan may be updated to reflect actual experience in managing project resources.

Therefore, among the available options, revising the resource management plan is what you should do next.

Note, an approved change request will be required to update the resource management plan as it is a component of the project management plan.

Details for each option:

A. Incorrect. New issues that arise as a result of the Control Resources process implied by the scenario are recorded in the issue log. However, the question indicates that the problem has been captured in the project documents. Since the issue log is considered a project document, it can be assumed that the issue described by the question has already been recorded in the issue log.

B. Correct. As a result of the Control Resources process, the resource management plan may and, in this case, should be updated to reflect actual experience in managing project resources. Note, an approved change request will be required to update the resource management plan as it is a component of the project management plan.

C. Incorrect. The risk register can be updated with any new risks associated with resource availability, utilization, or other physical resource risks. However, the question indicates that the problem has been captured in the project documents. Since the risk register is considered a project document, one can assume the issue described by the question has already been captured in the risk register.

D. Incorrect. The additional week for software development may result in additional costs for the project. However, to make this determination, a change request should be submitted first, and all project constraints should be analyzed. It is possible that contingency reserves are sufficient to cover the cost of delay in writing the code.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 358