PMP Exam Chapter 10 Communication Management

2. How many additional channels of communication are there if the number of stakeholders increases from 7 to 9? A. 15 B. 36 C. 21 D. 19

A. 15 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question. This question is asking the difference so you must calculate the number of channels for each situation and then calculate the difference between the two.

8. How many channels of communication exist if your project has 18 stakeholders? A. 153 B. 94 C. 136 D. 86

A. 153 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question.

5. How many additional channels of communication are there if the number of stakeholders increases from 15 to 17? A. 31 B. 59 C. 105 D. 136

A. 31 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question. This question is asking the difference so you must calculate the number of channels for each situation and then calculate the difference between the two.

17. While creating the agenda for a status meeting with the team, a project manager receives input from one team member that an item should be added. Another team member says the team is not ready to resolve the item during the meeting. After much discussion, the project manager decides to put the item on the agenda as an initial discussion item only. Which conflict resolution technique is the project manager using? A. Compromise B. Smoothing C. Forcing D. Withdrawal

A. Compromise This question moves back into the resource management knowledge area. Of the choices given, compromise is the lesser of four evils.

21. As a project manager you are dealing with a series of communication blockers. The most likely result of communication blockers is that: A. Conflicts will occur B. The project sponsor will be unsatisfied C. The project will fail to meet its schedule target D. Trust will be improved

A. Conflicts will occur The single most common result of blocked or poor communication is conflict. Remember, conflict is not necessarily bad. How we choose to handle it will define whether it is good or bad.

24. You are managing a large textile project and have discovered one of your resources is significantly underperforming. What is the best form of communication for addressing this problem? A. Informal verbal communication B. Informal written communication C. Formal verbal communication D. Formal written communication

A. Informal verbal communication This question is about communication between two parties. The first thing you need to do is let the resource know you are not happy with their performance and only when that does not work go to more formal styles of communication. Note that this does not mean you do not keep a record of the communication.

14. Your organization is having a difficult time managing all of its projects. You have been asked to help senior management get a better understanding of the problems. What do you do first? A. Meet with individual project managers to get a better sense of what is happening. B. Send a formal memo to all project managers requesting their project plans. C. Meet with senior managers to help them develop a new tracking system for managing projects. D. Review the project charters and Gantt charts for all projects.

A. Meet with individual project managers to get a better sense of what is happening. Always remember, the first step is to analyze the situation to see what is happening. If this is a choice take it!

13. Which of the following is the first process found in the communications Management Knowledge Area? A. Plan communications management B. Identify stakeholders C. Distribute information D. Report performance

A. Plan communications management p. 360 - The processes found in the communication management knowledge area include: Plan communications management Manage communications Monitor communications

43. You are leading a project that has 20 team members and affects more than a dozen departments in the organization. Your project has been going well and you are approximately 1/3 complete and the project has been going so well that you decide to hold a party to celebrate. You invite all the key stakeholders to the party so the team can have the opportunity to communicate informally with the stakeholders about their efforts. At the party, you walk around to try to discover any relevant information that would help you make the project even more successful. You happen to hear one of the senior stakeholders talking about setting up more regular meetings on the project. Which of the following would be the best thing to do? A. Review the information distribution methods on the project. B. Provide the executive a copy of the communications management plan and remind them that all such concerns should be brought to you, the project manager. C. Record the effectiveness of the party in the lessons learned for future events. D. Arrange the requested meeting with the stakeholder and team.

A. Review the information distribution methods on the project. This is another example of a question where you might want to do several of the items listed. The real question is what would you do first? In this case you must realize that the fact that one of your key stakeholders is asking for more meetings means they are not getting the information they need. Adding more meetings will not solve the problem and often too many meetings is a key problem for project managers. The correct answer is figure out why the stakeholder is not getting the information they require which requires a review of the information distribution methods of the project.

16. A company asks one of the project managers to lead a project to create a substantially improved version of one of the company's best selling products. The project manager is given total freedom of decision and resources, including whether to utilize contractor services and/or the company's resource pool. Under these circumstances, which of the following would be the best way for the project manager to build the team? A. She should choose her team from the top developers and fabrication workers in the company. B. She should create a team of company line workers and contracts the development services under a "cost reimbursable" contract with provisions to protect confidentiality. C. She should contract the entire team utilizing a "cost plus incentive fee" type of contract. D. She should contract selected team members on an ad hoc and as needed basis utilizing a "time and materials" type of contract.

A. She should choose her team from the top developers and fabrication workers in the company. Hopefully, this was an easy one. The key here is remembering to always take the best resources you can. Most of the question is a ruse designed to distract you.

9. Your project has run into a series of highly complex problems that must be solved. Increasing the use of what type of communication is likely to improve the odds of success? A. Written B. Formal C. Informal D. Verbal

A. Written PMI® breaks down the types of communication as formal vs. informal and verbal vs. written. The more complex the situation the more written, formal communication is beneficial.

1. How many additional channels of communication are there if the number of stakeholders increases from 11 to 13? A. 55 B. 23 C. 78 D. 133

B. 23 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question. This question is asking the difference so you must calculate the number of channels for each situation and then calculate the difference between the two.

7. How many additional channels of communication are there if the number of stakeholders increases from 9 to 12? A. 24 B. 30 C. 36 D. 54

B. 30 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question. This question is asking the difference so you must calculate the number of channels for each situation and then calculate the difference between the two.

6. How many channels of communication exist if your project has 12 stakeholders? A. 54 B. 66 C. 74 D. 90

B. 66 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question.

34. Which of the following are always stakeholders? A. A person who does not want the project completed B. A union worker who will use the product or service C. A functional manager from the finance department D. A worker who might lose their job because of the project

B. A union worker who will use the product or service The user of the result of a project is always a stakeholder. The others might or might not be stakeholders.

33. You are on a business trip visiting a client site at a location that is in a time zone two hours ahead of the client site. As the project manager you are conducting your weekly status meeting with your team via telephone. Which of the following is the most important to ensure good communication with your team? A. Review the list of attendees and deliverables B. Ask team members to repeat back what you ask them to do C. Ask the team members to discuss change requests D. Review work status

B. Ask team members to repeat back what you ask them to do This question is taking you back to the didactic communication model. That model describes the importance of two loops. The initial communication loop goes from the sender to the receiver and the second loop (required to ensure good communication) goes from the receiver back to the sender.

12. Which of the following is not a process found in the communications management knowledge area? A. Plan communications management B. Define communications requirements C. Monitor communications D. Manage communication

B. Define communications requirements p. 360 - The processes found in the communication management knowledge area include: Plan communications management Manage communications Monitor communications

45. One of your project resources calls in to a normal status meeting. During their update you cannot hear them well due to interference from their cell phone. A few weeks later you call the resource to locate a past due deliverable and the resource reminds you that they had told you previously that the deliverable would be late. You do not remember being told and question when the resource informed you of the delay. They tell you it was during the meeting where they were on the phone. What could have been done to avoid this problem? A. Para-lingual communication B. Feedback during the communication C. Better attention to determining communication requirements D. Adding to the issue log after the phone call

B. Feedback during the communication Giving and requesting feedback is always the best way to ensure understanding. Para-lingual is simply dealing with the pitch and tone of communication and adds no value. The issue log would not have prevented the problem as the project manager did not know what to write.

39. A project manager has a project team consisting of people in four countries. The project is very important to the company, and the project manager is concerned about its success. The length of the project schedule is acceptable. What type of communication should he use? A. Informal verbal communication B. Formal written communication C. Formal verbal communication D. Informal written communication

B. Formal written communication Because of the differences in culture and the distance between team members, formal written communication is needed.

42. During the middle of the project, things have been going well. The work authorization system has allowed people to know when to start work, and the issue log has helped keep track of stakeholders' needs. The sponsor has expressed has appreciation for the team members' efforts by hosting a milestone party. The project manager gets a call from a team member saying the results from the completion of her activity's predecessor are two days late. Which of the following reasons would best describe why this occurred? A. The project manager was focusing on the sponsor's needs. B. Functional management was not included in the communications management plan. C. The successor activities should have been watched, not the predecessors. D. The right people were not invited to the milestone party.

B. Functional management was not included in the communications management plan. Since there is no information about the sponsor or his needs in this situation, focusing on his needs cannot be best. The statement that successor activities should have been watched, rather than predecessors, is not a correct statement. A good project manager always watches both. Often forgotten in communications management plans are the bosses of team members. In addition, it helps the functional managers to manage their resources effectively. If the functional manager of the team member assigned to the predecessor activity had been included in the project planning processes, he would have known when the team member was needed to do the work for the project and the impact of any delay. They communications management plan should have also included a method to communicate potential delays.

22. One of the key issues when dealing with didactic communication is that the sender ______ the receiver. A. Uses more than one channel with B. Shows concern for the perspective of C. Enunciates clearly to D. Talks more loudly to

B. Shows concern for the perspective of Didactic communication, or one-on-one communication, is most successful when the sender displays empathy for the receiver's perspective.

23. When is it most likely that formal written communication with the customer is required? A. Quality audits fail B. Stakeholders request additional features not specified in the contract C. Changes to the critical path are required to meet the deadline D. The project has cost overruns

B. Stakeholders request additional features not specified in the contract The introduction of the word contract creates a level of formality that does not exist in the other options. It is therefore the best option.

19. A resource assigned to your project contacts you, trying to get off the team. He knows that an important project in his department is going to be approved and will take place at the same time as yours. He wants to work on the other project. Under the circumstances, what should you do? A. Release him from the team. B. Talk to the functional manager about releasing him from the team. C. Release him after he finds a suitable replacement. D. Speak with the project sponsor about releasing him from the team.

B. Talk to the functional manager about releasing him from the team. There are two issues here. First, a resource that does not want to be on your project is likely not going to be that committed to the effort. Secondly, if you are willing to try to help the resource out you can build trust with them for the next project.

28. You are preparing to lead a large project within your organization that will require over 40 resources and likely take more than 18 months. Where will you likely define the communication requirements and technology used to support good project communication? A. The stakeholder management strategy B. The communications management plan C. The information distribution plan D. The project management plan

B. The communications management plan Although the communications management plan is part of the project management plan, the communications management plan is the best answer as it directly answers the question.

27. You are leading an effort to complete negotiations for a major new initiative for your organization. In this situation how important are nonverbal communication skills? A. Not important B. Very important C. Important only when dealing with requirements D. Important to ensure you win

B. Very important Remember that nonverbal communication accounts for 55% of understanding in any communication scenario.

3. How many channels of communication exist if your project has 8 stakeholders? A. 31 B. 56 C. 28 D. 48

C. 28 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question.

15. Project A has had poor project meetings since its inception. There have been complaints that information does not get to the right people, some people are talking too much during the meeting, and the right people are not there to resolve issues. What is most likely missing from this project? A. A scope management plan B. A responsibility chart C. A communications management plan D. A resource matrix

C. A communications management plan A common cause of project failure is not having a communication management plan. It is a simple document that provides significant help managing expectations.

32. It is Friday afternoon and you are conducting your normal end-of-week status meeting. Unfortunately, it is not going well. Everyone is talking over each other, some team members are not participating, and topics are being raised and discussed totally randomly. Which of the following rules for effective meeting management is not being followed? A. Every meeting must have a purpose and the correct participants in attendance. B. Meetings should be scheduled in advance. C. Create and publish an agenda with a set of rules for controlling the meeting. D. Participants should demonstrate courtesy and take turns speaking.

C. Create and publish an agenda with a set of rules for controlling the meeting. This is a problem where the meeting participants lack any structure and are therefore not achieving the desired results. Meetings should always have an agenda, and the team needs to have a standard set of rules by which it will operate.

35. Six months into a one-year project everything is going well. The project currently has an SPI of 1.05 and a CPI of .99. The stakeholder management strategy has worked well and the BCI has been steadily improving. The sponsor just left your office after expressing their gratitude for you and your team's hard work. You get a call from one of your resources saying the deliverable from the completion of their activity's predecessor is three days late. Which of the following reasons would best describe why this occurred? A. The project manager was focusing on the sponsor's needs. B. The successor activities should have been watched, not the predecessors. C. Functional management was not included in the communications management plan. D. The right people were invited to the milestone party.

C. Functional management was not included in the communications management plan. Since the question does not provide any information about the sponsor, focusing on their needs cannot be the answer. A good project manager watches both predecessors and successors, and notifying different people about the achievement of milestones would not impact the call you received. Often we forget the bosses of team members in the communication management plan. If the functional manager of the team member assigned to the predecessor activity had been included, he or she would have known when the team member was needed to do work and the impact of any delay.

44. The requirements from several of your stakeholders were not approved for inclusion in your project, and you had a difficult time receiving formal approval of the project management plan. The stakeholders argued and held up the project with meeting after meeting about their requirements. The project was finally approved and work began three months ago. All of the following would be good preventive actions to implement except which: A. Maintain an issue log. B. Ensure the change control process is not used to reintroduce the requirement back into the project. C. Hold meetings with the stakeholders to go over the work that will not be added to the project. D. Keep a log of the not included requirements.

C. Hold meetings with the stakeholders to go over the work that will not be added to the project. You have already held a lot of meetings which added little value. Holding more meetings will not help to convince the stakeholders about something they feel passionate about. The best you can hope for is establishing parameters to protect the project.

11. Which of the following is the last process of the communications management knowledge area? A. Plan communications management B. Manage communications C. Monitor communications D. Manage stakeholder expectations

C. Monitor communications p. 360 - The processes found in the communication management knowledge area include: Plan communications management Manage communications Monitor communications

18. To a project manager, what is a disadvantage of progress reports over watching what is going on in a project, asking questions, and assisting team members? A. Progress reports include information from all the team. B. Progress reports include information from stakeholders. C. Progress reports generally show problems after they have occurred. D. Progress reports supply information about trends.

C. Progress reports generally show problems after they have occurred. This question is driving at the important distinction between being reactive and proactive. As a project manager your goal is to always be proactive.

37. Changes to some project deliverables have been documented in the project management plan. These changes, and other project information, have been distributed according to the communications management plan. One stakeholder expressed surprise to the project manager upon hearing of a documented change to a project deliverable. All stakeholders received the communication containing notification of the change. What should the project manager do? A. Determine why the stakeholder did not receive the information and let him know when it was published. B. Ask the functional manager why the stakeholder did not understand his responsibility. C. Review the communications management plan and make revisions if necessary. D. Address the situation in the next steering committee meeting so others do not miss published changes.

C. Review the communications management plan and make revisions if necessary. The question states that all stakeholders received the information, so the issue is not that this stakeholder did not receive it. The problem presented here illustrates that there is something missing in the communications management plan. The best answer is to review the communications management plan in order to prevent future problems and find any instances of similar problems.

29. You are leading a $300,000 manufacturing project. The project has been going for six months and has another four months scheduled. Project information has consistently been delivered in accordance with the communications management plan, and all scope changes have followed the appropriate change management guidelines. One day you are approached by a key stakeholder who is very surprised to learn about a change that was approved two months ago and received by all stakeholders. What should you do? A. Ask the sponsor why the stakeholder did not understand their responsibilities. B. Address the situation in the next steering committee meeting to ensure no one else missed the change. C. Review the communications management plan to see what revisions are necessary. D. Determine why the stakeholder did not receive the information and let them know when it was published.

C. Review the communications management plan to see what revisions are necessary. This is a trick question of sorts. The question states that all stakeholders received the information about the change so option D is out. The next best option is reviewing the communications management plan and determining what changes need to be made.

4. How many channels of communication exist if your project has 15 stakeholders? A. 125 B. 78 C. 64 D. 105

D. 105 To answer this question you must remember the formula for Didactic Communication: (n * (n-1)) / 2 where n represents the number of people in question.

10. You are taking over a project for a very senior project manager who is retiring. As they leave they advise you to make extensive use of a work breakdown structure to help ensure success. Which of the following would likely explain this recommendation? A. A WBS is a very effective tool within a project team B. A WBS is a very effective tool within the organization C. A WBS is a very effective tool with your external customer D. A WBS is a very effective tool both internally and externally to the project

D. A WBS is a very effective tool both internally and externally to the project According to PMI®, the WBS is one of the most effective tools possible for communicating what deliverables must be produced to anyone involved in the project. Remember, according to PMI® WBSs rule!

41. A project manager overhears a conversation between two stakeholders who are discussing how unhappy they are with the impacts of the project on their own departments. Stakeholder A asks if the project is on time, and stakeholder B replies that the SPI is 1.05. Stakeholder A asks if the project manager for the project knows of stakeholder B's concern. Stakeholder B responds that he is not sure. What is the best thing for the project manager to do? A. Make sure the stakeholders see that the project manager overheard. Then ask them to direct any questions in writing to the project manager. B. Make a presentation to all the stakeholders regarding the status of the project. C. Send both stakeholders a copy of the issue log and ask for additional comments. D. Arrange a meeting with both stakeholders to allow then to voice any concerns they may have.

D. Arrange a meeting with both stakeholders to allow then to voice any concerns they may have. This is another question with more than one right answer. Would asking for something in writing be the best way to communicate? In this particular situation, asking for the concern to be in writing might alienate the stakeholders. The issue log is where the issue should be listed, but the situation does not say if the project manager knows what the stakeholders' concern is. Therefore, using the issue log cannot be the best choice. This problem would likely require informal verbal communication to discover the real problem. Arranging a meeting with the concerned stakeholders is therefore the best choice.

20. A large, one-year telecommunications project is about halfway done when you take the place of the previous project manager. The project involves three different sellers and a project team of 30 people. You would like to see the project's communications requirements and what technology is being used to aid in project communications. Where will you find this information? A. Project management plan B. Information distribution plan C. Stakeholder management plan D. Communications management plan

D. Communications management plan This is a simple definitional question. The communication management plan defines all aspects of communication for the project.

40. The project status meeting is not going well. Many attendees are talking at the same time, there are people who are not participating, and any topics are being discussed at random. Which of the following rules for effective meetings is not being adhered to? A. Demonstrate courtesy and consideration of each other, and control who is allowed to speak. B. Schedule meetings in advance. C. Have a purpose for the meeting, with the right people in attendance. D. Create and publish an agenda and a set of rules for controlling the meeting.

D. Create and publish an agenda and a set of rules for controlling the meeting. Courtesy and consideration is not a "rule" for effective meetings. Since there is no indication that the meeting was not scheduled in advance or that there isn't a purpose, these cannot be the best answers. "Discussed at random" implies no agenda. If an agenda is issued beforehand, people will follow the outline and should not need random discussions.

31. You have been selected to lead a major project for a large petroleum company. The project is critical to the organization's success. The project is going to consist of resources from three different continents. What type of communication should be used? A. Informal verbal B. Informal written C. Formal verbal D. Formal written

D. Formal written Distance, the potential for language barriers, time barriers and cultural barriers make formal written communication the best choice.

26. You are leading a U.S. $250,000 information technology project. Your SPI is 1.04 and your CPI is 0.99. You are 70% through the deliverables of the project. When you do your weekly status updates, which type of communication does it represent? A. Informal verbal B. Informal written C. Formal verbal D. Formal written

D. Formal written Weekly status reports are assumed to be a formal written part of the project management process unless specifically defined otherwise.

25. When communicating within the boundaries of a contract which communication style tends to be most prevalent? A. Informal verbal B. Informal written C. Formal verbal D. Formal written

D. Formal written Whenever a contract becomes involved communication tends toward the formal and written style.

36. You are leading a small information technology project which is scheduled to take one year and is approximately halfway complete. You have just taken over as the project manager. The project involves four different external resources and a project team of 25 people. You would like to see the project's communications requirements and what technology is being used to aid in project communications. Where will you find this information? A. The project management plan B. The information distribution plan C. The bar chart D. The communications management plan

D. The communications management plan Although the information is found within the project management plan, the communications management plan is the best answer because it directly answers the question.

30. You are leading a manufacturing project for your organization that started five months ago. In your latest status meeting two of your resources argue about what needs to be done to complete a work package. To best understand what is going on you should pay the most attention to what? A. What is being said and when. B. What is being said, who is saying it, and the time of day. C. Physical mannerisms and what is being said. D. The pitch and tone of the voices and the physical mannerisms.

D. The pitch and tone of the voices and the physical mannerisms. The question amounts to asking you where do we get most of our understanding. We get 55% from nonverbal communication. We get 38% from tone and the remaining 7% from the actual words being said.

38. Two people are arguing about what needs to be done to complete a work package. If the project manager wants to know what is going on, she should pay most attention to: A. What is being said and when B. What is being said, who is saying it, and the time of day C. Physical mannerisms and what is being said D. The pitch and tone of the voices, and physical mannerisms

D. The pitch and tone of the voices, and physical mannerisms Remember that nonverbal communication represents 55%,of all communication. The choice including para-lingual communication (pitch and tone), as well as physical mannerisms, is the best choice.