During execution, the project manager finds a key deliverable missing from the scope of work. After investigation, the team determines the missing deliverable will impact the critical path. What should the project manager do to avoid future delays?

The correct answer is to submit a change request. Since a key deliverable is missing from the scope of work and impacts the critical path, it represents a change to the project's baseline. All changes to scope, schedule, or cost baselines must be formally requested, reviewed, and approved through the integrated change control process. This ensures the change is properly documented, assessed for its impact, and authorized before implementation. Adding additional resources might help if the issue were a resource constraint, but it doesn't address the fundamental problem of a missing deliverable from the scope. Updating the scope of work directly without a change request bypasses the formal change control process, which is critical for maintaining project integrity and stakeholder alignment. Reviewing the risk management plan is important for proactive risk identification, but in this scenario, the issue has already occurred and requires a formal change process, not just a review of potential future risks.