All People Tasks 10, 11, 13 Flashcards
You have been selected as the project manager to build a new medical facility. You are reviewing a copy of the approved project charter in order to develop the project management plan. Which of the following would generally not be documented in the charter?
A. Project purpose or justification
B. High-level project description
C. Detailed schedule
D. Summary budget
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
Detailed schedules cannot be included in the Project Charter, because detailed planning has not commenced at this very early stage. The rest of the answer choices are found in the Project Charter.
You are working with your team to identify ways your team can work together in a collaborative and engaging way, especially since most of the team members are working remotely. Which of the following will not be an appropriate collaboration tool?
A. RACI Chart
B. Shared task boards and burndown/burnup charts
C. Shared messaging and chat boards
D. Video conferencing
Answer: A
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
The RACI Chart simply shows who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for the activities of the project. It is not a tool to get people working together in the same way as all the other options are. PMI Authorized PMP Exam Prep Student Guide/ Page 33
The __ __ simply shows who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for the activities of the project. It is not a tool to get people working together in the same way as all the other options are
The RACI Chart simply shows who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for the activities of the project. It is not a tool to get people working together in the same way as all the other options are
You are managing a project in which the team members are geographically dispersed, which makes communicating more difficult. Adding to this difficulty is the very complex nature of the project work and the problems being encountered. Which of the following modes of communication would be the most appropriate in this scenario?
A. Informal written
B. Formal written
C. Formal verbal
D. Informal verbal
Answer: B
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
Communication regarding complex problems across a dispersed team is best done with formal written methods. Informal writings such as emails run the risk that the key information could be misconstrued, or that the email would be missed, etc.
You recently received some metrics from your project. Your sponsor is eager to know the results and the potential catalyst of each. As the project manager, what is best way to display this information?
A. Why-Why diagram
B. Tornado Diagram
C. Monte Carlo
D. Expected Monetary Value
Answer: A
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The Ishikawa diagram (aka cause and effect, why-why, fishbone) is a great tool to represent the reason why something turned out the way it did. The key phrase in the question is “the potential catalyst of each.” You will also note the other three answers are not tools used in quality management. The data representation tools of manage quality are affinity diagrams, cause and effect diagrams, flowcharts, histograms, matrix diagrams, and scatter diagrams.
You are reaching out to potential team members for your upcoming project which will utilize elements of predictive and adaptive lifecycles. You are interviewing a potential team member who tells you that she has many years of experience in testing the software that you are trying to implement. She has created test plans and led testing teams to successful implementation. In addition, she spent part of her early career managing a team that wrote and debugged software code. What type of skills does she express?
A. Quality Assurance Skills
B. I-Shaped Skills
C. T-Shaped Skills
D. X-shaped Skills
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The skills described here are T-shaped since she has a depth of knowledge of testing, but a broader knowledge of software coding (she is not an expert in coding like she is in testing). I-shaped would be if she was a subject matter expert in one area only and no skills anywhere else. X refers to cross functional skills which would imply she has the same level of skillsets in many areas. PMI Authorized PMP Exam Prep Student Guide / Page 42
As a project manager of a large project that employs team members from across the globe, you find that many team members don’t really know their colleagues or their respective roles in the project. You feel that project progress is being hindered as a result. Team-building exercises are not an option due to the geographic disbursement of the team. What other option should you use to address this situation?
A. Project Performance Appraisals
B. Collaboration Tools
C. Performance Reports
D. Human Resources Plan
Answer: B
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
A project team directory identifies all project team members, their project roles, and relevant communication information. Of the choices listed, this would go the furthest in solving the problem outlined.
You are the project manager on a large Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software implementation project. A trustworthy, senior team member informs you two stakeholders are apprehensive about the project you are leading. The first stakeholder is very panicky once the software is implemented in his department; a lot of people will lose their jobs. The second stakeholder is skeptical about the capability of the team to implement such large, multifaceted project. As the project manager, what should you do in these kinds of situations?
A. Set up a meeting with these two stakeholders and discuss their concerns.
B. Report the two stakeholder concerns to the sponsor.
C. Conduct a question-and-answer session about the project and invite all stakeholders.
D. Send an official email to all stakeholders asking them to direct any inquiries in writing to you as the project manager.
Answer: A
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The best choice here is A, have an informal verbal meeting with these two stakeholders and discuss their concerns. Reporting to the sponsor without much detail would not solve any problems (choice B). Since not all stakeholders have concerns, setting up a meeting with all stakeholders would be unnecessary (choice C). Sending an official email to the stakeholders asking them to direct any concerns in writing would probably be viewed as authoritarian and confrontational (choice D).
You are a Project Manager in a Multi-Divisional organization. You were just informed by a functional manager that one of your key resources will be unavailable to perform an activity on your Critical Path. What should you do?
A. Contact the sponsor immediately
B. Discuss the importance of the situation with the manager
C. Inform the manager that if they cause project failure, they will regret it
D. Update your schedule to account for the resource shortage
Answer: B
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
Discussing the importance of the situation is the best answer in this situation. The authority of a PM is limited in a Multi-Divisional organization, however every effort should be made to develop a solution before contacting the Sponsor or revising the Schedule Baseline. Of the two remaining answers, stressing the importance rather than possible regret is a better course of action in line with Interpersonal and Team Skills.
Your project team is located in four geographic regions. What best describes this situation?
A. This is a contingency and will require ad-hoc conversations
B. This is a conflict and you can force or direct formal reports to resolve the conflict
C. This is a stakeholder issue, dealt with in Stakeholder Management
D. This is an example of a project communication constraint
Answer: D
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
A) This is not a contingency, therefor A is incorrect. B) There is no indication from the question that there is conflict, therefore B is incorrect. C) An issue is a point or matter in question or dispute and there is no indication that this is an issue, therefore C is incorrect. D) Team members not being located together can be a communications constraint since it is tougher to communicate under such circumstances. Remember a constraint is anything that limits the project team’s options on a project.
You are a project manager with a virtual project team of 8 members. You have had some challenges communicating information to the team, due to them being spread across several time zones. You decide to upload documents to SharePoint to allow the team to access them as needed. Which communication method is being utilized to communicate with your team?
A. Internet communication
B. Push communication
C. Interactive communication
D. Pull communication
Answer: D
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
A is incorrect because the internet is a means of delivery of communications. B is incorrect because a push communication is a one-way communication sent to specific recipients, such as voicemails and emails. C is incorrect because interactive communication is two-way communication, such as telephone calls and meetings. D is correct because pull communication is a self-service repository, such as SharePoint or intranet sites.
You have had some problems keeping all of your team members on the same page, and there are widely varying views amongst the project management team especially regarding how best to meet the project requirements. Which of the following will be important for you to utilize in this context?
A. Communication methods
B. Risk Register
C. Issue Log
D. Recognition and Rewards
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
Issue logs, an input of Manage Team, documents issues over which there is disagreement, and monitor who is responsible for resolving specific issues by a target date.
Which of the following is not part of a Project Charter?
A. Overall project risk
B. Project manager responsibility and authority levels
C. Key milestones
D. Scope Statement
Answer: D
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The Scope Statement is a highly detailed document, which includes all requirements that are in and out of scope, and how the scope will be delivered. It is part of the scope baseline, not the Project Charter.
A colleague has approached you for some advice. He is managing a hybrid project and is expressing frustration that team members are not getting along or working very well together. There are conflicts within the team that are not being addressed, and team members are not adequately communicating with one another, especially as some team members are in foreign countries. Some are not considerate of time zones when scheduling meetings, nor are they mindful of cultural differences when sending out emails. What advice would you give him?
A. Set up clear ground rules and expectations for team members to follow.
B. Create a Team Charter and clearly document the team norms for communication and behavior.
C. Set up a meeting with the team and discuss amongst each other the best way to work together and establish ground rules which should be documented in the Team Charter.
D. Explain to your colleague that his team should be self-organizing and so it is up to them to come up with a solution.
Answer: C
People - Task 12 - Ground Rules
Generally, option choices that involve collaboration and engagement of the team or stakeholders are usually the best approaches. In this case, working with the team to resolve conflicts will be the best approach (and then documenting in the Team Charter). Options A and B are being mandated to the team, which is usually not the best approach for the exam if collaboration is an option.
You are managing a project which involves the use of various procurements. One contract is being performed on a cost plus incentive fee basis. The seller tells you that your activities have resulted in an increase to their costs, and seeks an adjustment of the contract. What should be the first step you take in response to this claim?
A. Recommend a change to the project costs.
B. Have a meeting with management to find out what to do.
C. Ask the seller for supporting information.
D. Deny any wrongdoing.
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The best thing to do would be to get supporting information to find out if the claim is legitimate, and determine possible solutions to present to management, if needed. You would not take the problem to management without conducting this analysis.
You are managing a large project team developing a new hybrid car. It is a virtual team with facilities in the United States, India, China, and Spain. The project team is divided into sub-groups, such as design, manufacturing, etc. As the project manager, your greatest challenge will likely be with which of the following:
A. Coordinating the activities of the project team members and integrating the results of the various sub-units
B. Controlling quality since you have multiple production facilities
C. Controlling cost since the project team members are global
D. Managing stakeholder engagement and effectively communicating with stakeholders from different cultures
Answer: A
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
In this scenario, you have multiple, cross-functional resources you manage and must coordinate and integrate their work and work results. There will be complexities with schedule dependencies, configuration management, and communication among the various groups, among others. Answer A best reflects these challenges.
You have been assigned the team facilitator for a new Agile project where you will need to work with the Product Owner and the team to plan the various iterations for the release. You are reviewing a summary of the document used to authorize the project formally. Which of the following are you reviewing?
A. Project Overview Statement
B. Project Charter
C. Statement of Work
D. Project Scope Statement
Answer: A
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
Although the Project Charter is the document used to authorize the project, the question states that you are reviewing a summary of that document, which is the Project Overview Statement. In a question like this, it is very easy to miss the keyword summary. The scope statement will not have been developed yet and so it is not the correct answer.
You are the project manager for an agile project that is developing a new social media site that tracks finding home for sheltered pets awaiting adoption. Your team is very diverse and experienced, with everyone being a T-shaped resource with multiple and broad technical proficiencies. Of everyone on the team, you have the most experience in developing social media sites. There is already much debate on how to design the technology stack for the site. What would be the best conflict resolution approach to take?
A. Smooth/Accommodate
B. Compromise/Problem Solve
C. Force/Direct
D. Collaboration
Answer: D
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The preferred method is to allow the agile team–which by definition is already self-managing–to collaborate so that everyone is satisfied with the outcome. This tends to take more time, but is more democratic, so helps with buy-in. Compromise/Reconcile would be the next best approach (not Compromise/Problem Solve, which is an erroneous mix of terms). Smooth/Accommodate might be useful but only temporarily if the team can’t come to terms collaboratively–eventually they will have to come to a full agreement on a solution. You would never impose a Force-Direct approach on an agile team.
Acting as the project manager of a software development company your project team is virtual with half the team on the east coast and the other half spread out along the west coast of the United States. You are attempting to foster 100% dedication from the project team despite being separated from one another for the duration of the project. What is a technique you could consider using for managing communication in dispersed teams?
A. Resource smoothing
B. Communications network diagraming
C. Resource leveling
D. Remote Pairing
Answer: D
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
D is the most correct. Answers A, B, and C are all schedule development and control techniques. Resource smoothing and leveling is used when team members are over allocated. Smoothing attempts to shift resources to assist the over allocated resource but leaves the duration of that work unchanged. As a result, smoothing may not solve the problem. Resource leveling, however, stretches out the work over a longer period, possibly changing the project’s critical path. Communications network diagramming is a made up term. Read more about Agile Team Workspace in the Agile Practice Guide, pg. 46.
An interpersonal skill in communications that involves acknowledging, clarifying and confirming, understanding and removing barriers that adversely affect comprehension is known as what?
A. Effective listening
B. Interactive communication
C. Active listening
D. Push communication
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The definition exactly fits the description of active listening. Effective listening is mentioned in the PMBOK Guide but never defined. Interactive and push communications are both methods of sharing information among stakeholders not methods of listening per se.
Which of the following is typically not part of a Team Charter?
A. How work completed by team members will be recognized
B. How the team makes decisions
C. How the team resolves conflicts
D. What the team’s shared values are
Answer: A
People - Task 12 - Ground Rules
How team members will be recognized for work completed is part of the Recognition Plan within the Resource Management Plan.
Which of the following is not a benefit of a virtual project team calendar?
A. Plan timeboxed meetings
B. Improve visibility of goals and activity status
C. Identify when team members are available for work
D. Project visibility among the team and stakeholders
Answer: C
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
Answer C refers to a resource calendar, which is maintained for each individual resource.
You are the project manager of a huge multinational project, which will span four continents around the world. You will need to consider all of the following characteristics of the international and political environment except for which one?
A. International, national, regional and local laws
B. Customs
C. Customers
D. Holidays
Answer: C
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
Customers are not part of the international and political environment. The other choices given are part of this environment and must be accounted for during the planning and other processes.
During your daily standup meeting one of your team members, Miguel, has an excellent idea and talks over Jan, another team member who was discussing what she completed since the last standup meeting. You agree with Miguel’s idea as being a solution to a problem but you can also see that Jan who was cut off feels like her work isn’t important to the team. What output covers the ground rules agreed on by the team?
A. The Human Resource Guide
B. The Human Resource Management Plan
C. Team Charter
D. Issue Log
Answer: C
People - Task 12 - Ground Rules
C the Team Charter is an output of 9.1 and usually covers the ground rules written by the team. Although the PMBOK Guide doesn’t specifically mention ground rules in 9.1.3.2 it is mentioned in the Agile Practice Guide p. 50 third bullet from the top. If you answered B you fell for it look again at page 89 is “Human Resource Management Plan” listed… no it was changed to Resource Management Plan in the 6th edition.
Your firm has been hired as a general contractor to implement a Project Management Information System (PMIS) for a major wireless telecommunications client. Several members of the client will be part of the project team, representing various departments. You just learned during the first planning session with the client that there is an unwritten rule with the client whereby their C-level (executives) do not interact directly with contractors–this is taboo–and that any contractor who attempts to do so risks having the entire contracting firm dismissed from the project. What is the best way to reinforce this policy proactively with the other contractors on the project?
A. Document this policy in the Communications management Plan.
B. Ensure that this policy is included in the Team Charter.
C. Add this policy as a new threat risk in the Risk Register.
D. Document any infractions of this policy in the Issues Log.
Answer: B
People - Task 12 - Ground Rules
This unwritten policy of no direct communication being allowed between contractors and the client’s executives is best captured and enforced via the Team Charter as one of the ground rules for how the team will operate. You might also add it to the Communication Plan and Risk Register as well–answers A and C are second-best answers. Answer D is reactive, so not a good proactive choice here.
One of your junior project managers has approached you upset and bewildered. He mentioned that he has asked a subcontractor several times to do a piece of work, but the subcontractor has ignored him every time, and now his part of the project is falling behind schedule. The subcontractor was hired by a general contractor that was hired by your organization. What would be your best response?
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
You should direct your attention to the general contractor with whom you are in the privity of contract (which means you have a contract in force with it). Because you are not in privity with the subcontractor, you should not make demands of it directly. Remember you should take such actions either through your procurements specialists or with their assistance and direction.
You are managing a project using an internationally dispersed team. As such you want to be sure the teams can both communicate and collaborate. You decided to set up long-lived video conferencing links between the various locations. This technique is known as:
A. Remote pairing
B. Fishbowl window
C. Sustainable video
D. Virtual conferencing
Answer: B
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
In a fishbowl window setup, the link is started at the beginning of a workday and closed at the end of the day. This enables people to engage spontaneously with each other, reducing the collaboration lag otherwise inherent in the geographical separation.
Which of the following collaboration technologies would best help enable interactive nonverbal communication for virtual teams?
A. Shared task boards
B. Video conferencing tools
C. Knowledge repositories
D. Messaging and chat boards
Answer: B
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
Video conferencing is interactive and provides visuals and audio of the participants. Messaging and chat boards are interactive, but don’t provide visuals. Task boards and knowledge repositories are examples of pull communications, and are not interactive.
Your Sponsor is new to the project and does not understand how the scope changed from its original description. As a Project Manager, what document could you show them?
A. Scope Baseline
B. Project Charter
C. Change Log
D. Change Management Plan with approved change requests
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
The change log is a document showing all approved and rejected changes to the scope. The change management plan does not contain information on the change request, but the change log does.
You are a project manager working on contract. The organization which contracted with your company is not happy with the progress of the project to date. They claim that an important deliverable was overlooked and that you should halt the project and reassess how to meet this deliverable. You know that the customer has approved all phases of the project to date. Which of the following statements is true?
A. You and your company may have to use problem-solving techniques such as arbitration and mediation to reach an agreement.
B. You and your company may have to use communication techniques such as arbitration and mediation to reach an agreement.
C. You and your company may have to use claims administration techniques to reach an agreement.
D. You and your company may have to use influencing techniques such as arbitration and mediation to reach an agreement.
Answer: C
People - Task 10 - Build Shared Understanding
Claims administration, a control tool and technique, may be necessary to reach a solution.
You are a team facilitator, and one of your team members, Jane, has approached you with a concerning issue. Another team member, Dave, is not following certain guidelines and is violating some ground rules agreed to in the Team Charter. What should you do first?
A. Reprimand the team member who is violating these ground rules.
B. Refer to the Team Charter to determine what to do in this situation.
C. Talk to the team member violating the ground rules and try to understand their perspective.
D. Set up a meeting with Jane and Dave to collaboratively try and resolve the problem.
Answer: B
People - Task 12 - Ground Rules
The keyword is the word first. Ground rules and what to do if one is not following ground rules are documented in the Team Charter. While options c and d are definitely good approaches since you are using empathy and collaboration, respectively, the exact steps on how to resolve such issues will be documented in the Team Charter, and that is what you should refer to first. Reprimanding a team member is usually not the best option for PMP questions. PMI Authorized PMP Exam Prep Student Guide/ Page 15
Your project team works from multiple countries, and your project work is done from several different locations. You use tools like web conferencing and e-mail to distribute information to the team. Which of the following is true?
A. This question describes the staffing management plan from the Acquire Resources process and communication skills from the Manage Communications process.
B. This question describes resource availability from the Develop Team process and information management systems methods from the Manage Communications process.
C. This question describes virtual teams from the Acquire Resources process and project management information systems from the Manage Communications process.
D. This question describes project team assignments from the Develop Team process and communication skills from the Manage Communications process.
Answer: C
People - Task 11 - Virtual Teams
Virtual teams are teams not working in the same location or do not have the same hours, but all share the goals of the project and have a role in the project. The web conferencing and e-mail references describe the project management information systems and electronic communications management (e-mail, fax, and voice mail; audio, video and web conferencing; and websites and web publishing) of the Manage Communications process.
