The development team cannot find design documentation needed for the upcoming sprint. The product owner had said the documents were uploaded to the project repository before going on vacation. What should the project manager do?

The correct answer is to audit the effectiveness of the management of project artifacts. This situation indicates a breakdown in how project documents are stored and accessed, even if the Product Owner believed they were uploaded. An audit will identify the root cause of the problem, such as unclear procedures, inadequate training, or issues with the repository itself. Assigning a team member (A) might be a temporary fix but doesn't address systemic issues. Improving email protocols (C) is unlikely to solve a repository management problem, as emails are not the primary storage for project artifacts. Investigating new software tools (D) is premature; the current system's effectiveness needs to be understood before considering new solutions.