Question8 You are managing a project and one of your close friends is also a manager at the client organization. During the project execution, your friend asks for changes to be made in the project scope, and with the reasoning that the changes are critical to the success of the project, he asks you to handle them on an informal basis. He argues that if you want to follow the normal change procedures you will lose considerable time. What should you do in this situation?Select one alternative: Perform the changes according to the manager’s request because they are crucial to the project success, but document them later on when the project is on track and there are no more changes to be made. Comply with the manager’s request since it is critical to the project success. Since what the manager has asked you is unethical you should refuse the changes. Explain to the manager that the change should be handled through the formal change management process and it should be documented. ResetMaximum marks: 2

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When evaluating how to respond to a manager requesting informal scope changes, it’s important to weigh governance, ethics, and project control.
Option 1: 'Perform the changes according to the manager’s request because they are crucial to the project success, but document them later on when the project is on track and there are no more changes to be made.' This bypasses the formal change control process, which is a core mechanism to manage scope, risk, and cost. Documenting later does not retroactively legitimize the change, and it can lead to untracked scope creep, misalignment with stakeholders, and audit issues.
Option 2: 'Comply with the manager’s request since it is critical to the project success.' While the intent may be to help the project, this answer still sidesteps formal governance. Even if the changes seem critical, bypassing the approved process undermines organizational controls, could set a precedent for ad hoc changes, and creates risk if the change isn’t properly analyzed or documented.
Option 3: 'Since what the manager has asked you is unethical you should refuse the changes.' The assertion that the request is unethical may be presumptive without a formal assessment. The ethical course is not simply to refuse; it is to steer the conversation toward the proper process. Refusal without attempting process guidance misses the responsibility to protect governance while addressing the need for change through sanctioned channels.
Option 4: 'Explain to the manager that the change should be handled through the formal change management process and it should be documented.' This option aligns with standard project management practice: all scope changes should go through the formal change control process, be assessed for impact on scope, schedule, cost, and quality, and be properly documented. It preserves governance, provides traceability, and ensures stakeholder alignment, while still acknowledging the need for timely consideration of changes when appropriate.

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