PMP Referenced Question 15: Managing Risks During System Integration Projects
This PMP-style scenario tests how a project manager should respond to known production issues during a system integration effort. The correct response focuses on proactive risk management and impediment removal.
📘 Scenario
A company is working on a project to develop an integration of their existing systems. There are known issues in production.
❓ Question
What should the project manager do?
- A. Identify and remove impediments and mitigate the risks
- B. Ensure the product owner reviews requirements with the team
- C. Include acceptance criteria in the definition of done (DoD)
- D. Review the quality control processes and procedures
✅ Correct Answer: A. Identify and remove impediments and mitigate the risks
- 🚧 Integration projects often **inherit risks** from existing production systems.
- 🛠 PMI encourages the project manager to **proactively identify, escalate, or remove impediments**.
- 📉 Known issues = known risks. They must be tracked and mitigated to protect the project scope and timeline.
✔ Why Option A is Correct
Proactively identifying and removing impediments aligns with PMI’s emphasis on risk management and adaptive leadership. The project manager must ensure these issues don’t block integration or introduce instability.
✖ Why Other Options Are Incorrect
- B. Reviewing requirements is part of backlog grooming — but does not address live production issues.
- C. Updating the DoD helps future deliverables but does **not mitigate current system issues**.
- D. Quality control review is reactive. What’s needed now is **active risk and impediment resolution**.
📌 Key Takeaway
When production issues exist, project managers must act as **risk owners**. Removing impediments and mitigating risks is the fastest path to protecting integration progress and project delivery.
PMP candidates must know that early identification and resolution of risks and impediments are core duties of a proactive project manager. This ensures smoother delivery in integration-heavy environments.