COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGEMENT
1. Answer: d
A communicator can use all three media to communicate.
2. Answer: c
The project manager has three main reasons for or interests in having good
document control: effective communications, making sure that all necessary
information is distributed and received by all those who need it; be able to
reconstruct why certain decisions were made and the conditions under which
they were made; historical value, so that lessons learned can be used in the
future on other projects.
3. Answer: d
From the Guide to the PMBOK 2000:
‘‘A communications management plan is a document which provides:
• A collection and filing structure which details what methods will be used to
gather and store various types of information. Procedures should also cover
collecting and disseminating updates and corrections to previously distributed
material.
• A distribution structure which details to whom information (status reports,
data, schedule, technical documentation, etc.) will be used to distribute vari-
ous types of information. This structure must be compatible with the respon-
sibilities and reporting relationships described by the project organization
chart.
• A description of the information to be distributed, including format, content,
level of detail, and conventions/definitions to be used.
• Production schedules showing when each type of communication will be
produced.
• Methods for accessing information between scheduled communications.
• A method for updating and refining the communications management plan
as the project progresses and develops.’’
4. Answer: d
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367Communications Management
5. Answer: a
The act of communicating involves an exchange of information between two
parties. The definition of communications is: An exchange of information be-
tween two parties with understanding.
6. Answer: a
Brainstorming encourages team building if handled properly. Participants feel
that they are part of the decision making process and have a sense of participa-
tion. In the evaluation part of brainstorming, the participants’ thinking con-
verges to a common agreement.
7. Answer: c
The Delphi technique allows participants to be located in different parts of the
world. It lends itself to using e-mail. In the process, the participants submit
their ideas anonymously. The facilitator receives the ideas, categorizes them,
and returns the list to the participants.
8. Answer: d
Clairvoyance would be nice to have in many projects, but it is not practical for
general use.
9. Answer: c
The situation described is a conflict. As applied to human behavior it is a
disagreement between individuals, which can vary from a mild disagreement to
a win/lose, emotion-packed confrontation. There are two basic, but opposing,
views of conflict, the traditional and the modern. The traditional view sees
conflict as being primarily negative. In this view, troublemakers cause conflict
and it should be avoided. The manager who views conflict in this way avoids
admitting that it exists, keeps it under cover, and tries to suppress it. The con-
temporary view sees conflict in a more positive light. According to this view,
conflict is inevitable. It is a natural result of change and is frequently beneficial
to the manager if properly managed. In particular, an atmosphere of tension,
and hence conflict, is essential in any organization committed to developing or
working with new ideas, for innovation is simply the process of bringing to-
gether differing ideas and perspectives into a new and different synthesis.
In resolving conflict there are several methods: forcing, withdrawal,
smoothing, compromise, and problem solving. Of these, problem solving is the
best, because the new facts allow the two disagreeing parties to resolve their
differences with factual information and not opinion.
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10. Answer: d
Communication involves at least two people who may have very different back-
grounds, experience, and education. Many times these individuals come from
different cultures, speak different languages, and certainly have different drives.
11. Answer: b
Unless there is reason to do so, the communication method used to respond to
a communication should be the same form as the original communication.
12. Answer: c
The project manager is responsible for the functions of the project team. As
such the project manager is responsible for the communications that the team
must make. The project manager has a wide range of responsibilities and is
responsible for the guidance, motivation, output, planning, and control of the
project team.
13. Answer: b
Too many innovative ideas are smothered by negative thinking before they are
given any chance to prove their worth. It is much easier to think of dozens of
reasons why something will not work than to figure out how to make it work.
People who are prone to this type of thinking, particularly if they overdo the
‘‘devil’s advocate’’ role, will act as communication blockers and seriously im-
pede the process of team building. These people announce their presence by
their typical negative responses when something new is suggested.
14. Answer: d
The most effective way to communicate is to use several methods of communi-
cating. Each method will make some of the message understood, and if all listed
were used the level of understanding would be the highest.
15. Answer: d
The project expediter has no directing responsibility for the work that is done
on the project. This is left to the functional managers in this environment.
Project managers have many responsibilities, one of which is communications.
In comparing the roles of the project manager and the project expediter, the
expediter’s primary role is communications.
16. Answer: d
Past project reviews are not one of the tools and techniques that could be
used for performance reporting. Variance analysis, earned value reports, and
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369Communications Management
performance reviews are listed in the Guide to the PMBOK as tools and tech-
niques for performance reporting.
17. Answer: a
The expected project staffing is important to the communications technology
since it will be necessary for the project staff to be able to use the communica-
tions tools effectively.
18. Answer: a
The administrative closure of the project consists of documenting the results of
the project to formalize the acceptance of the products of the project. Adminis-
trative closure should not be delayed until the project is complete. Each major
phase of the project should be closed to ensure that important information will
not be lost. Outputs from administrative closure are the project archives, the
project closure, and the lessons learned document.
19. Answer: b
The sender of a communication must make sure that the communication is
understood and that it is clear and unambiguous and complete so that the
receiver can receive it correctly.
20. Answer: c
You can improve your listening ability by doing these things:
• Show the speaker that you are interested.
• Demonstrate active, supportive attention.
• Don’t constantly interrupt the speaker.
• Listen for the concepts and the ideas being presented by the speaker.
• Don’t concentrate exclusively on the facts the speaker is using to support his
or her arguments.
• Make sure that there is sufficient feedback on both sides to assure that the
points being made are clearly understood.
21. Answer: a
From: John R. Adams and Nicki S. Kirchof, Conflict Management for Project
Managers, in Principles of ProjectManagement (Upper Darby, PA: Project Man-
agement Institute, 1997).
‘‘The antecedent conditions of conflict were previously defined in general
terms. They are particularly apparent in the project and matrix organizations.
Ambiguous jurisdictions, for example, are especially prevalent in the matrix
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370 Preparing for the ProjectManagement Professional Certification Exam
organization. In this structure, the limits of each party’s jurisdictions are pur-
posely ambiguous, since each person is responsible to different people for differ-
ent things.
‘‘Communication barriers are the most often discussed condition leading
to conflict in matrix and project structures. These barriers exist to a great degree
if the parties are separated from each other, either physically or by the timing
of their contributions to the project. In a project environment, functional and
project managers frequently physically perform their work many miles apart,
with the project manager typically located at the project site and the functional
manager at the corporate offices. Further, people with different skills are re-
quired to contribute to the project at different times.
‘‘When two parties must make a joint decision, the possibility of conflict
is increased. In a project environment, joint decisions concerning the allocation
and sharing of project personnel must be made jointly by the project and func-
tional managers. Similar joint decisions must be made among top management,
the project manager, and functional managers relative to all resources. This
situation increases the need for close, face-to-face contact among the managers
and can thus lead to increased conflict.’’
The project expediter does not contribute to the problem. His or her
purpose in being there is to act as an aid to communications. The other three
answers do contribute to communications problems.
22. Answer: c
Project managers must be good communicators. While this does not mean that
they must be orators or spellbinders, it does mean three things:
• They must recognize the importance of the interpersonal communication
network with the project team, and encourage, not inhibit, informal commu-
nication between team members.
• They must recognize the importance of human relations to the success of
communication flow and team building. Effective communication will not
be achieved if there is not harmony and trust.
• They must recognize that communication is a two-way street. The project
manager does not just give orders; the project team must understand, partici-
pate, and agree before teamwork is achieved. Feedback in both directions is
necessary for team building and is vital for a continuing team effort.
23. Answer: b
There are seven people in the group, including the project manager. The net-
working formula for the number of lines of communications or connections
between seven people is nן (nמ1)/2. In this case, [7ן (7מ1)] / 2 ס 21.
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371Communications Management
24. Answer: c
One of the best techniques for helping to keep a meeting moving in the right
direction is to frequently summarize what has already happened in the meeting.
The project manager should not make all the decisions; the team should partici-
pate in decision making. Although the project manager can introduce new ideas
he or she should not dominate the meeting with his or her own ideas.
25. Answer: b
Semantics is the study of words and their meanings. Words like charge can have
many meanings. For example, charge my credit card, get an electric charge, the
Charge of the Light Brigade, charge San Juan hill, he was charged with murder.
26. Answer: d
Most project managers spend approximately 90 percent of their working hours
engaged in some form of communication. Examples include but are certainly
not limited to conferences, meetings, writing memos, reading reports, and talk-
ing with team members’ top management, customers, clients, subcontractors,
suppliers, and so on.
27. Answer: b
From the Guide to the PMBOK: ‘‘Performance reporting involves collecting and
disseminating information in order to provide stakeholders with information
about how resources are being used to achieve project objectives. This process
includes status reporting and progress reporting and forecasting.’’
28. Answer: b
Communications planning—determining the information and communica-
tions needs of the stakeholders; who needs what information, when will they
need it, and how will it be given to them.
Information distribution—making needed information available to proj-
ect stakeholders in a timely manner.
Performance reporting—collecting and disseminating performance infor-
mation. This includes status reporting, progress measurement, and forecasting.
Administrative closure—generating, gathering, and disseminating infor-
mation to formalize phase or project completion.
29. Answer: c
The technologies or methods used to transfer information back and forth
among project elements can vary significantly: from brief conversations to ex-
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372 Preparing for the ProjectManagement Professional Certification Exam
tended meetings, from simple written documents to immediately accessible on-
line schedules and databases.
Information can be shared by team members through a variety of meth-
ods, including manual filing systems, electronic text databases, project manage-
ment software, and systems which allow access to technical documentation such
as engineering drawings.
Project information may be distributed using a variety of methods in-
cluding project meetings, hard copy document distribution, shared access to
networked electronic databases, fax, electronic mail, voice mail, and video con-
ferencing.
30. Answer: b
This is an example of informal communications. Informal communications are
unplanned written or verbal communications. Frequently these communica-
tions can bring valuable information to the project manager, but they can also
be a source of erroneous information, and care should be used when using
them.
31. Answer: b
Project data is put into a variety of retrieval systems. These are not necessarily
distribution systems but are storage and retrieval systems.
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TEAMFLY
Team-Fly
®
. Adams and Nicki S. Kirchof, Conflict Management for Project
Managers, in Principles of Project Management (Upper Darby, PA: Project Man-
agement Institute,. contributions to the project. In a project environment, functional and
project managers frequently physically perform their work many miles apart,
with the project