According to the PMBOK® Guide, specifically within the Project Stakeholder Management and Planning Process Group, the arrival of a new project sponsor represents a significant change in the project ' s stakeholder landscape.
Why Choice B is correct: The Project Sponsor is a key stakeholder who provides resources, support, and is responsible for the project ' s success. When a sponsor switch occurs during the planning phase, the Project Manager must immediately update the Stakeholder Register and then Plan Stakeholder Engagement. This process involves developing approaches to involve the new sponsor based on their specific needs, interests, and potential impact on project success. Since the project is ready for plan review and approval, the Project Manager must ensure the new sponsor ' s expectations are aligned with the existing plans before proceeding.
Analysis of other options:
A (Plan Communications Management): While communication is vital, it is a subset of engagement. You must first understand the new sponsor ' s engagement needs (Choice B) to determine what, when, and how to communicate.
C (Perform Integrated Change Control): This process is used to review all change requests and approve changes to deliverables or project documents. While the sponsor has changed, " Perform Integrated Change Control " is usually triggered by a formal request to change a baseline. The immediate human/relational requirement is to plan for the new stakeholder ' s engagement.
D (Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis): A new sponsor is a risk/opportunity, but the primary action in the planning phase when a key stakeholder enters is to address their engagement strategy to ensure the project plan gains their approval.
The Project Manager should treat the new sponsor as a critical addition to the project and use the Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix to bridge any gaps between the new sponsor’s current level of engagement and the level required for successful plan approval.
