TOPIC: Free PMP® Exam Sample Question of the Week

Hello everyone! Here is this week's free PMP® exam sample question from the PM Exam Simulator.

During an inspection of a project deliverable, the team detects the same defect in the deliverable that has already been identified during a previous inspection. The project manager is confused how this could have happened since a change request was approved to correct the defect. After discussing the issue with the team, the project manager learns that the team never implemented the approved change request. What could have helped prevent this situation?

A. Holding an approved change requests review
B. Conducting a retrospective meeting
C. Performing a root cause analysis
D. Creating a quality report

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HINT: What can be done to ensure that all approved change requests were implemented as specified?

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Answer and Explanation:
The correct answer is A.

Inspections carried out as part of the Control Quality process may uncover defects or areas of noncompliance with project requirements, which, in turn, may generate change requests. It is the responsibility of the project team to ensure that those approved change requests are implemented and properly tested, completed, and certified. In this scenario, the project manager learns that an approved change request was never implemented. Retrospectives, root cause analysis, and quality reports would not have prevented this issue but could be used to help the team avoid such a mistake in the future. An approved change request review would have provided the project manager and the team a mechanism for verifying that the approved change request was implemented and is, therefore, the best answer to the question asked.

Details for each option:

A. Holding an approved change requests review
Correct. One of the techniques used as part of the Control Quality process is meetings. A type of meeting known as an “approved change requests review” is for reviewing all approved change requests to verify that they were implemented as approved and properly tested, completed, and certified.

B. Conducting a retrospective meeting
Incorrect. Retrospectives are meetings held by a project team to discuss lessons learned, i.e., successful elements in the project/phase, what could have been improved, what to incorporate in the ongoing project and future projects, etc. A retrospective would not have prevented the issue described in the scenario from happening the first time.

C. Performing a root cause analysis
Incorrect. Root cause analysis is an analytical technique used to identify the source of defects. While this technique can be applied to identify flaws in processes, in the context of this question which describes the Control Quality process, root cause analysis is concerned with the defects in the project deliverables rather than in the project management processes.

D. Creating a quality report
Incorrect. Quality reports can be used to identify deliverables that are out of compliance. However, creating a quality report does not ensure that approved change requests will be implemented.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 305

I feel apt choice is not given. From the list of options, holding approved change request review may be correct.
There are two processes to ensure we don't fall prey to this situation.
1) Manage Quality - Checks if approved change requests are completed. Audit is one tool specified in PMBOK.
2)Control Quality - Checks if approved change requests are implemented correctly.

Let me know your thoughts on this.