Question 190
During an integrated project review on a predictive initiative, a contractor holds sole knowledge of project scheduling assumptions in an undocumented spreadsheet. What should the project manager do first to address the specific problem?
Explanation
Correct Answer
Document schedule rationale and pair an internal planner on forecast reconstruction. The intervention directly targets the cause described in the scenario rather than creating an unrelated process change. In this case, transfer is verified through independent reproduction, not file possession. The stated constraint is: A contractor holds sole knowledge of project scheduling assumptions in an undocumented spreadsheet. The chosen action is the most direct response under these conditions.
Incorrect Answers
Schedule knowledge capture and paired incident walkthroughs before the handover date. This response addresses another situation in the same task area: An engineer who designed an integration gateway is leaving before the operations team takes ownership. There, a repository is insufficient if the recipient cannot perform the critical work. For the current situation—A contractor holds sole knowledge of project scheduling assumptions in an undocumented spreadsheet—this option would leave the specific need unresolved: transfer is verified through independent reproduction, not file possession.
Arrange a hands-on restore exercise with the incoming support team. This response addresses another situation in the same task area: A project is handing over a high-availability database with only architecture diagrams and no recovery practice. There, operational knowledge transfer must prove ability to execute recovery steps. For the current situation—A contractor holds sole knowledge of project scheduling assumptions in an undocumented spreadsheet—this option would leave the specific need unresolved: transfer is verified through independent reproduction, not file possession.
Use domain experts to capture exception examples and validate them as regression tests. This response addresses another situation in the same task area: A software team plans to replace a legacy rules engine but has no documentation of exceptional business cases. There, tacit decision knowledge needs executable examples before system replacement. For the current situation—A contractor holds sole knowledge of project scheduling assumptions in an undocumented spreadsheet—this option would leave the specific need unresolved: transfer is verified through independent reproduction, not file possession.