You are managing a defense contractor project with 30 team members working on classified deliverables. Three months into the project, a key architect who designed the overall solution structure has received a more lucrative offer from a competitor and will leave in two weeks. This architect's knowledge is essential for the next phase, and direct replacement is complicated by security clearance requirements that take 4-6 months. You have identified an internal candidate with relevant experience but who lacks the specific domain expertise. The project baseline includes detailed technical specifications, but much of the architect's design rationale exists only in email threads and meeting notes. Your sponsor is pressing you to maintain the current schedule. What is your best course of action?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A. Option A is correct because it simultaneously addresses the immediate knowledge capture urgency, evaluates realistic internal options, and provides the sponsor with transparent information for decision-making (ECO People Task 2.4). This approach maximizes knowledge preservation during the available two-week window while assessing whether the internal candidate can succeed with proper support, and prepares the sponsor for potential trade-off decisions with complete information. Option B appears attractive but is incorrect as the best first action because it assumes the architect is willing to stay for any price and that the sponsor has budget flexibility—both uncertain. More critically, it delays the essential knowledge transfer and documentation work that should begin immediately regardless of retention outcome. If retention negotiations fail, valuable time is lost. Option A can incorporate retention attempts while simultaneously protecting the project through immediate knowledge capture.

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