Question 330
At the next sponsor and team checkpoint on a predictive initiative, a regional infrastructure rollout double-books the only certified electrical inspector across two sites. What should the project manager do first to address the specific problem?
Explanation
Correct Answer
Resolve capacity contention through an integrated constrained-resource schedule. The intervention directly targets the cause described in the scenario rather than creating an unrelated process change. In this case, critical scarce skills require a plan based on actual availability, not wishful assignment. The stated constraint is: A regional infrastructure rollout double-books the only certified electrical inspector across two sites. The chosen action is the most direct response under these conditions.
Incorrect Answers
Plan overlap and a fallback qualified resource before the contract gap occurs. This response addresses another situation in the same task area: A global product team uses a contractor whose exit date precedes a critical data-migration cutover. There, resource continuity risk must be addressed before its effect appears on the critical path. For the current situation—A regional infrastructure rollout double-books the only certified electrical inspector across two sites—this option would leave the specific need unresolved: critical scarce skills require a plan based on actual availability, not wishful assignment.
Identify the environmental bottleneck before increasing headcount again. This response addresses another situation in the same task area: A software team adds four developers but deployment throughput stays flat because the test environment is shared. There, adding resources at a nonbottleneck does not improve the constrained delivery system. For the current situation—A regional infrastructure rollout double-books the only certified electrical inspector across two sites—this option would leave the specific need unresolved: critical scarce skills require a plan based on actual availability, not wishful assignment.
Reorder work using team capacity and explicit value tradeoffs rather than assigning both. This response addresses another situation in the same task area: An adaptive team has a specialist who can serve only one of two high-priority backlog items per sprint. There, limited specialist capacity determines feasible work in progress. For the current situation—A regional infrastructure rollout double-books the only certified electrical inspector across two sites—this option would leave the specific need unresolved: critical scarce skills require a plan based on actual availability, not wishful assignment.