COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT
1. Which of the following media can a communicator use to present infor-
mation?
a. Visual
b. Audio and visual
c. Tactile
d. Visual, audio, and tactile
2. The three principal interests in maintaining good document control are:
a. Timely communication, collection of performance appraisal data,
and assuring proper disposal of sensitive documents.
b. Timely communication, maintaining proper approvals, and com-
munication cost control.
c. Effective communication, ability to reconstruct why decisions were
made, and historical value.
d. Security, change management, and procedural documentation.
3. A project manager wants to handle communications well in his project.
In order to do this he has chosen to write a communications plan. Of
the items listed below, which one is not part of the communications
plan?
a. Collection and filing structure
b. Distribution plan
c. Method for accessing information
d. Project organizational structure
4. Which of the following are filters that the receiver uses to filter mes-
sages?
a. Language and knowledge
b. Distance
c. Culture and distance
d. Language, distance, culture, and knowledge
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5. A project manager has many different ways of communicating. Which
of the following is a good communication tool for the project manager
to use?
a. Sending a video tape of the project progress to the client
b. Inputting a task into the project manager’s personal computer
c. Writing notes on a hand held computer
d. Putting the project budget into a spreadsheet
6. The use of brainstorming as a communications technique encourages
which of the following?
a. Team building and convergent thinking
b. Divergent thinking
c. Analytical results
d. Use of the scientific method
7. Which of the following techniques allows for the participants to be
anonymous?
a. Brainstorming
b. Nominal group
c. Delphi technique
d. Crawford slip
8. Which of the following is not a standard type of communication?
a. Written
b. Verbal
c. Nonverbal
d. Clairvoyant
9. During a project meeting a disagreement between two members of the
project team began. The disagreement was over a technical detail of the
project. The project manager was in attendance in the meeting. It is
important that the conflicting opinions of the two team members be
resolved as quickly as possible. It is even more important that the differ-
ence of opinion be resolved correctly. What should the project manager
do?
a. The project manager should make the decision right away to save
time and not let the two disagreeing parties stay in disagreement
very long.
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307Communications Management
b. End the meeting and give everyone a few days to cool off.
c. Assign someone to find out more factual information about the
problem.
d. The project manager should suggest a compromise between the two
disagreeing team members.
10. In the communications model, communications between the sender
and the receiver often are affected by communications barriers. These
include all of the following except:
a. Cultural differences.
b. Differences in motivation.
c. Educational differences.
d. Lack of a communications device.
11. A project manager has one member of the project team working on a
critical problem. The person working on the problem verbally commu-
nicates to the manager that this correction to the problem will probably
cost $1,000. Which form of communication should the project man-
ager use to respond to the team member?
a. Written
b. Oral
c. Form letter
d. Formal
12. Who is responsible for communications for the project team?
a. The human resources representative
b. The representative from the management information systems de-
partment
c. The project manager
d. The communications department
13. Statements such as ‘‘It’s never been done before’’ or ‘‘It will cost a
fortune’’ are examples of:
a. Feedback.
b. Communication blockers.
c. Conflict generators.
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308 Preparing for the ProjectManagement Professional Certification Exam
d. Forcing.
e. Facilitation.
14. The project manager has a very complex communication to prepare for
the program manager. In order to ensure that the communication will
be understood as completely as possible, what method of communica-
tion should be used?
a. Oral
b. Written
c. Nonverbal
d. Oral, written, and nonverbal
15. There are many ways to organize projects. The persons involved with
these projects have several titles that describe their management respon-
sibilities. Which of the following titles describes a person that has a
primary responsibility for communications?
a. Project manager
b. Project manager in a strong matrix environment
c. Project manager in a weak matrix environment
d. Project expediter
16. A project manager is responsible for performance reporting. Which of
the following is not one of the tools and techniques that the project
manager can use for performance reporting?
a. Variance analysis
b. Earned value reports
c. Performance reviews
d. Past project review
17. The technologies or methods that are used to transfer information back
and forth between project stakeholders can vary significantly. Which of
the following is a communications technology factor for projects?
a. Expected project staffing
b. Schedule for the project
c. Work breakdown structure
d. Project scope definition
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309Communications Management
18. Formal acceptance by the client or the sponsor of the project indicates
that they have accepted the products of the project. This document
should be signed off during what part of the project?
a. Administrative closure
b. As the last task in the project plan
c. After the project is closed out
d. When requested by the program manager
19. In the model for communications there is a sender and a receiver. The
sender is responsible for which of the following?
a. Scheduling the communications to take place
b. Confirming that the message was understood
c. Sending feedback to the receiver
d. Understanding the best channel to use
20. A project manager finds that she is having trouble concentrating on
what is being said in meetings. One of the things that she might try to
improve her listening ability might be:
a. Interrupt the speaker to give her own opinion.
b. Make telephone calls when the subject is not interesting.
c. Show the speaker that she is interested by showing attention and
support.
d. Concentrate exclusively on the facts the speaker is using.
21. Communication barriers are a more frequent source of conflict in ma-
trix and projectized environments than functional organizations for all
the following reasons except:
a. Communication is the prime focus of an expediter type of project
manager.
b. Team members are often physically separated in a matrix or project
environment.
c. There are increased number of levels of authority in a matrix or
project environment.
d. Team members are often separated in the timing of their contribu-
tions to a matrix or project environment.
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310 Preparing for the ProjectManagement Professional Certification Exam
22. A project manager must be able to effectively manage the communica-
tions necessary for the project and the project team. In order to commu-
nicate within the project team the project manager should:
a. Control all communications between project team members.
b. Control all communications outside of the project team.
c. Promote communications between project team members and en-
sure that feedback occurs.
d. Require all project team members to write formal progress reports
each week.
23. A project manager has six people on a team. It is important that each
of them communicates information to each of the others. How many
lines of communication are there in this group of people?
a. Fifteen
b. Twenty-one
c. Seven
d. Six
24. The project manager of a project must hold several meetings. The meet-
ings should be efficient and not waste people’s time when they are held.
One of the things that the project manager can do when he or she is
leading a meeting is to:
a. Get out of the way and let the team make all the decisions.
b. Make all of the decisions of importance.
c. Frequently summarize what has taken place.
d. Introduce all new ideas.
25. The study of the way words are used and the meaning that they convey
is called:
a. Wordsmanship.
b. Semantics.
c. Language.
d. Communications.
26. A project manager is considering how her time is being spent in the
project. One of the things that concerns her is how much time she will
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311Communications Management
be spending communicating. The percent of time that is generally spent
communicating by project managers is:
a. 10 percent.
b. 20 percent.
c. 50 percent.
d. 90 percent.
27. The process of collecting and disseminating information in order to
provide the stakeholders with information about the project and how
the projects resources are being used to reach the project objectives is
called:
a. Activity reporting.
b. Performance reporting.
c. Project reports.
d. Status reports.
28. The major processes of project communications management are:
a. Communication, requirements, information distribution, perform-
ance reporting, and administrative procedures.
b. Communications planning, information distribution, performance
reporting, and administrative closure.
c. Communications planning, response planning, progress reporting,
and information distribution.
d. Communications planning, information distribution, schedule re-
porting, and stakeholder analysis.
29. The three main types of communication are:
a. written, oral, and graphic.
b. written, oral, and visual.
c. verbal, written, and electronic.
d. verbal, formal documentation, and informal documentation.
30. A project manager hears a rumor through the project team that the
client for the project is supposed to visit the project team office and
present the project manager with a purchase order for a large change in
the project. The change will authorize new budget for $50,000. This is
an example of what type of communications?
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312 Preparing for the ProjectManagement Professional Certification Exam
a. Formal
b. Informal
c. Verbal
d. Nonwritten
31. A project manager uses manual filing systems, electronic text databases,
and projectmanagement software to manage his project. These are ex-
amples of:
a. Communications technology.
b. Information retrieval systems.
c. Project records.
d. Information distribution systems.
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TEAMFLY
Team-Fly
®
. communications?
a. Project manager
b. Project manager in a strong matrix environment
c. Project manager in a weak matrix environment
d. Project expediter
16. A project. A project manager hears a rumor through the project team that the
client for the project is supposed to visit the project team office and
present the project