During prototype development the customer asks to stop the production line and purge a specific component after reliability tests found it deficient. The quality management plan has no reference to that component. What should the project manager do next?

The correct action is to convene a technical meeting with the customer to agree on specifications and document them. This proactive approach addresses the immediate quality concern, ensures customer satisfaction, and prevents future recurrence by formally incorporating the component into the quality management plan. Continuing production is incorrect because it ignores a known quality issue, potentially leading to defects and rework. Informing the sponsor and awaiting direction is too passive; the project manager should take the initiative to resolve the problem. Submitting a change request to replace the component without first agreeing on specifications with the customer is premature and may not address the root cause of the deficiency.