At a recent steering committee meeting, the project sponsor requested adding a major feature to the final product. After consulting the team, you determine the change will significantly affect the original delivery date and budget. What should the project manager do to evaluate priorities and meet the new objective?

The project manager's primary responsibility in this situation is to manage stakeholder expectations and the project scope. Communicating the impact of the requested change on the delivery date and budget, then negotiating with the sponsor, ensures transparency and allows for an informed decision on how to proceed. This aligns with the principle of managing changes through a formal process. Submitting a change order request to the PMO is a subsequent step, but first, the project manager must engage with the sponsor to discuss the implications. Initiating a crashing routine or asking the team to work overtime are potential solutions that might be discussed after the impact is communicated and negotiation occurs, but they are not the immediate first step for evaluating priorities and meeting the new objective. These actions also carry their own risks and costs that need to be weighed.