On a hybrid delivery project, a senior manager (new to the organization and inexperienced with agile) asks for a complete redesign of the functionality during an iteration review. What should the project lead do first?

The project lead should first ask the manager for more details about their expectations. This approach aligns with agile principles of collaboration and understanding stakeholder needs. By seeking clarification, the project lead can understand the underlying problem or desired outcome, which may not necessarily require a complete redesign. This also allows for a constructive conversation about the impact of such a change. Asking the development team how the functionality was implemented is premature; the immediate need is to understand the manager's concern. Telling the manager the scope cannot be changed is confrontational and unhelpful, especially given the manager's inexperience with agile and the project's hybrid nature, which often allows for some flexibility. Escalating to the project sponsor is an aggressive step that should be reserved for situations where direct communication has failed or the impact is significant and unresolvable at the project level.