A project manager is assigned halfway through a project. Team members are distributed across the country and rarely meet in person. During a status review, a stakeholder says they were unaware of the deliverable status. What should the project manager do first?

The project manager's first step should be to review the existing communications management plan. This plan dictates how and when project information, including deliverable status, is communicated to stakeholders. By checking this plan, the project manager can determine if the stakeholder's communication requirements were initially identified and addressed. If the plan is deficient, it will need to be updated. Scheduling a meeting (option A) or asking the team to add details (option C) are actions that might follow, but the initial step is to understand the existing communication strategy. Reviewing the stakeholder management plan (option D) is also important, but the immediate issue is a communication breakdown, making the communications management plan the primary document to consult first.