The project schedule is slipping and the project manager notices the team is spending most of their time preparing documentation instead of performing project tasks. What should the project manager do to ensure the team focuses on project work?

The project manager should review and adapt appropriate project artifacts because this directly addresses the root cause of the team spending too much time on documentation. Project artifacts, such as the project management plan, communication management plan, or even the project charter, define what documentation is required and how it should be managed. By reviewing these, the project manager can identify if the documentation requirements are excessive, redundant, or not aligned with project needs, and then adapt them to be more efficient. Assigning a team member to handle documentation only shifts the burden without solving the underlying issue of potentially excessive documentation. Coaching the team to complete documentation doesn't address the efficiency problem; it just pushes them to do more of what's already inefficient. Saving all documentation until the end of the project is risky, as it can lead to a massive, unmanageable workload, loss of critical information, and non-compliance with project or organizational standards.