According to the PMBOK® Guide, specifically the Perform Integrated Change Control process, any request that deviates from the established project baselines (Scope, Schedule, or Cost) must be handled through a formal governance structure.
Impact Analysis: When a customer proposes a new feature in a predictive (traditional) project, the project manager ' s first responsibility is to evaluate the impact. This involves assessing how the new feature affects the critical path, the budget, the resource allocation, and the overall project risk. This is the " investigation " phase mentioned in the answer.
Formal Change Request: In predictive projects, the scope is baselined. To change that baseline, a formal Change Request must be submitted. This request is then reviewed by the Change Control Board (CCB) or the project sponsor to determine if the benefits of the new feature outweigh the impacts on the project ' s constraints.
Maintaining Project Integrity: By following this process, the project manager prevents scope creep (uncontrolled changes) and ensures that all stakeholders are aware of the trade-offs (e.g., " We can add this feature, but it will delay the launch by two weeks " ).
Analysis of other options:
Option A: Declining the request outright is bad stakeholder management. While the PM must protect the scope, they should always facilitate the process for change rather than acting as a roadblock to potential business value.
Option B: Accepting the request immediately without an impact analysis is a primary cause of project failure and budget overruns. In a predictive project, " just saying yes " bypasses necessary governance.
Option C: The Management Reserve is intended for " unknown unknowns " (unforeseen risks), not for funding elective scope changes. Using reserves to cover overtime for a new feature without a formal change process is a violation of financial control standards.
Per PMI standards, the project manager must act as the guardian of the project plan by first analyzing the impact of any change and then following the Integrated Change Control procedure to seek formal approval.
