Near the end of the fifth of six iterations, a customer adds a new regulatory feature that exceeds the remaining iteration capacity. What should the project lead do?

The correct approach is to estimate the impact and consult with the product owner. In agile environments, the product owner is responsible for managing the product backlog and prioritizing features. When a new, high-priority request emerges late in the project, the project lead should first understand its scope and impact on existing work. Then, they must collaborate with the product owner to determine how this new feature fits into the current plan, potentially leading to re-prioritization, scope adjustments, or deferral of other features. Logging an issue and escalating to the project sponsor is premature; the product owner is the primary decision-maker for backlog changes. Inviting stakeholders to discuss new prioritization bypasses the product owner's role and can lead to inefficient discussions without a clear understanding of the impact. Increasing team capacity to finish on time is often not feasible late in a project and can introduce more problems than it solves (e.g., communication overhead, reduced efficiency due to new team members).