Project Management Professional (PMP)® Examination Content OutlineProcessMedium
A project manager is leading a project to develop a new mobile application. During user acceptance testing (UAT), several critical defects are identified that prevent users from completing core functionalities. The project is nearing its scheduled release date. What is the BEST immediate course of action for the project manager?
- AEscalate the issue to senior management, providing a full report of the defects and potential impacts.
- BRelease the application as planned and address the defects in a post-release patch.
- CCollaborate with stakeholders to prioritize the defects and determine which ones must be fixed before release.
- DExtend the project schedule to allow the development team to fix all identified defects before release.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize the defects and determine which ones must be fixed before release.
When critical defects are found late in the project, the best approach is to involve stakeholders to prioritize. Releasing with critical defects is risky, and blindly extending the schedule might not be feasible or necessary for all defects. Prioritization allows for an informed decision on what absolutely needs to be fixed pre-release versus what can be addressed later.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Escalation is important, but only after an initial analysis and proposed solution (prioritization) has been developed.
- B. Releasing with critical defects can severely damage user experience and reputation.
- D. Extending the schedule without prioritization might be an overreaction and could be costly if not all defects are critical.
Defect Prioritization
The process of ranking identified defects based on their severity, impact, frequency, and business value to determine the order in which they should be addressed.
- Involves stakeholders to align with business objectives.
- Helps manage limited resources and time effectively.
- Often uses criteria like critical, high, medium, low.
Memory trick: Defects arise, but prioritize to optimize the fix.