Aclient complains that an in-process multimillion-dollar project is not meeting their needs. The clients have consulted the project manager several times. What should the project manager do?

According to PMI principles, when a client feels an in-process project is not meeting their needs, the project manager must proactively address this expectation gap. The most appropriate action is to review the approved project scope with the client to clarify the agreed-upon deliverables and objectives. Concurrently, the project manager should review the change management process. This empowers the client by providing a structured, formal mechanism to submit change requests if their business needs have evolved or were initially misaligned. This collaborative approach manages stakeholder expectations, maintains project governance, and directly addresses the client's concerns without bypassing established project controls.

B: The project management plan dictates how the project is managed. Reviewing the specific scope baseline and change process is a much more direct and actionable way to address unmet needs. C: Delegating the issue to an account manager is an avoidance tactic. The project manager is directly responsible for managing stakeholder expectations, project scope, and integrated change control. D: Escalating to a committee board is premature. The project manager must first attempt to resolve expectation misalignments using established project governance, such as the change management process.

1. Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition.

Section 4.6 "Perform Integrated Change Control" (pp. 113-115): Details the process of reviewing all change requests and managing changes to deliverables and project documents.

Section 5.3 "Define Scope" (pp. 150-154): Explains how the scope statement documents the entire scope

including project and product scope

to manage stakeholder expectations.

2. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition.

Section 2.1 "Stakeholder Performance Domain" (pp. 8-15): Emphasizes the project manager's responsibility in proactively engaging stakeholders and aligning project execution with their evolving needs.

Section 2.8 "Delivery Performance Domain" (pp. 82-85): Discusses managing evolving requirements and utilizing change control systems to ensure the project delivers intended value.