A newly assigned project manager joins a team developing a new design product. The WBS and activity assignments are complete, but the manager finds tasks that other team members could complete sooner. If assignments remain unchanged, the project will be delayed two weeks. What should the project manager do?

The project manager's primary responsibility is to ensure project success, including meeting schedule objectives. Reviewing work allocation and reassigning tasks to optimize the schedule is a proactive and effective way to address potential delays. This approach directly targets the critical path, which determines the project's overall duration. Asking team members to work overtime (A) is a short-term solution that can lead to burnout and decreased quality. Keeping task assignments and compressing other tasks (C) might be an option, but reassigning tasks is often more efficient if resources are available and can lead to a more sustainable schedule. Keeping task assignments unchanged (D) would lead to a known delay, which is contrary to good project management practice, even if the plan was previously approved; plans are living documents and should be adjusted as needed.