Near project close, a key stakeholder requests a product feature change that will add two weeks to the critical path. What should the project manager do?

The project manager should perform a detailed assessment to analyze the impact of the requested change. This involves evaluating the change's effect on scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, and risks. This assessment provides the necessary information for the change control board (CCB) to make an informed decision. Initiating a risk response is premature; the request is a change, not an identified risk event. Rejecting the change outright without assessment is not a professional approach and bypasses the change control process. Using schedule compression techniques might be a potential solution after the impact is understood and the change is approved, but it's not the immediate next step.