Manage Communications

Question 1

You have just taken over a system integration project with a history of quality issues. You were asked to write an email to senior management explaining how you Will address the project’s quality issues. Which of the following would be LEAST helpful?

A. Ensuring that the message is clear and properly transmitted
B. Considering the impact of paralingual communication
C. Asking for a confirmation that the message was understood
D. Requesting feedback

Answer 1

B. Considering the impact of paralingual communication

Communication based on the voice pitch, tone, volume and inflections is absent
in written communication (answer B). The remaining options may influence
written communication.

Question 2

You need to communicate a complex technical issue to a team member physically located in another country. Which of the following communication approach should you adopt?

A. Formal and written
B. Pull
C. Informal written
D. Formal and oral

Answer 2

A. Formal and written

Formal communication ensures that the message is transmitted in a controlled
manner. Written communication ensures that there is a permanent record for
the future and avoids the risk of misinterpretation or distortion.

Question 3

You are managing a global project with resources from nine different countries. You heard that in these situations you should prepare a solid communications management plan. Which of the following options are part of the communications management plan? (Choose three.)

A. Project management information system
B. Who needs what information, when and in what format
C. Adopted communication management technology
D. How the project Will adapt to existing communications management policies
E. Stakeholder engagement strategies

Answer 3

B. Who needs what information, when and in what format
C. Adopted communication management technology
D. How the project Will adapt to existing communications management policies

Communication-related risks are recorded in the risk register (answer A).
Stakeholder engagement strategies are recorded in the stakeholder
engagement plan (answer E). The remaining options can be recorded in the
communications management plan.

Question 4

The project manager has determined communication requirements, established reporting templates, determined the communication technology and documented the project glossary. He is about to move on to next project management process. What has the project manager forgotten to do?

A. Identify communication risks
B. Involve team members
C. Identify stakeholders
D. Establish the stakeholder engagement approaches

Answer 4

B. Involve team members

The project manager should always involve the team in the planning effort,
including communication planning. The remaining options are not part of the
communications management plan.

Question 5

You need to compare what was completed with what should have been completed. Which of the following reporting formats should you use?

A. Status report
B. Variance report
C. Trend report
D. Progress report

Answer 5

B. Variance report

A variance report compares actual values with planned values.

Question 6

You are managing a project with eight team members. Each team member is allocated 50% of the time to the project. How many communication channels are there?

A. 8
B. 10
C. 28
D. 36

Answer 6

D. 36

The number of communication channels is calculated by n(n 1)/2. A project
with 8 team members and the project manager has 36 communication
channels. The fact that the resources are not fully allocated does not impact the
number of communication channels.

Question 7

You were asked to explain the adopted project approach to a group of business managers. During the meeting who will be responsible for ensuring that the message is clearly understood?

A. You
B. The audience
C. Both you and the audience
D. None

Answer 7

C. Both you and the audience

The sender must ensure that the message is properly transmitted and
understood. The receiver, on the other end, must decode the message,
acknowledge that it was understood and provide feedback.

Question 8

You are managing an aeronautical project with several teams scattered across nine different countries. Why should you review the number of one-to-one communication relationships before submitting the communications management plan for approval?

A. To select the adopted communication technology
B. To assign clear reporting responsibilities
C. To identify project stakeholders
D. Contain communications complexity

Answer 8

D. Contain communications complexity

A communication channel is a one-to-one communication relationship within
the project. More communication channels carry complexity and costs and, at
some point, lead to chaos; therefore, communication channels must be
managed.

Question 9

You were hired by a semi-conductor company that is new to agile. You were asked to support an agile team that has been working together for several sprints. Agile teams convey information more effectively and rapidly by ___________ communication.

A. Face-to-face
B. Informal
C. Osmotic
D. Active

Answer 9

A. Face-to-face

Agile teams assume that communication is conveyed more effectively and
rapidly by discussions and interactions (answer A).

Question 10

During the project kick-off meeting you stressed the importance of maintaining effective communication. You reminded them that the communication model explains how a message should be properly encoded, decoded, understood and acknowledged. All of the following options are part of the communication model, EXCEPT:

A. Sender and receiver
B. Message and mean
C. Noise
D. Idea

Answer 10

D. Idea

The idea is not part of the communication model. The model includes sender,
encoding, message, medium, receiver, decoding, feedback and noise.

Question 11

You want to ensure that the project key stakeholders understand the project performance. You are preparing a report that estimates the performance at project completion. Which of the following reports are you preparing?

A. Progress
B. Variance
C. Forecast
D. Status

Answer 11

C. Forecast

A forecast report predicts future performance.

Question 12

John has just been assigned to a large CRM implementation project adopting an agile approach. He is worried because he has never managed agile projects this size. What advice would you give him regarding how the team should report the project status to project stakeholders?

A. The scrum master should collect work performance data during the daily scrum and report to relevant stakeholders
B. Team members should rely on information radiators to ensure that stakeholders understand the team’s progress
C. Team members should hold a short daily meeting to synchronize their on-going work and report to relevant stakeholders
D. Invite stakeholders to sprint retrospective meetings and ask the product owner to report project performance

Answer 12

B. Team members should rely on information radiators to ensure that stakeholders understand the team’s progress

Project performance information should remain visible and constantly updated
to ensure that stakeholders understand the team’s progress (answer B).

Question 13

You are leading an international project that Will develop a Social media application. The project includes several teams who will be working on a common product. Teams will work from different countries and will speak different languages. Which of the following communication types should be adopted?

A. Formal written
B. Formal oral
C. Informal written
D. Informal oral

Answer 13

A. Formal written

The fact that team members speak many languages suggest written
communication to avoid that the message is partially lost. Formality would
improve the message structure, facilitating its comprehensiveness and
traceability.

Question 14

Senior management has requested a communications management plan. Which of the following options represents elements included in a communications management plan?

A. Stakeholders’ names, roles, contact information and expectations
B. Records of project correspondence and meeting minutes
C. Organizational guidelines for distributing information
D. Project glossary

Answer 14

D. Project glossary

The project glossary may be established in the communications management
plan (answer D). Stakeholders’ names, roles, contact information and
expectations (answer A) are documented in the stakeholder register. Records of
project correspondence and meeting minutes (answer B) are not recorded in
the communications management plan. Organizational guidelines for
distributing information (answer C) are organizational process assets that may
be used as inputs to the communications management plan.

Question 15

During a scope definition meeting, two stakeholders are having a heated argument about a project deliverable. How should you model the communication required to address the conflict?

A. Formal written
B. Formal oral
C. Informal written
D. Informal oral

Answer 15

D. Informal oral

Oral and informal communication supports the interactivity needed to reach a conflict resolution.

Question 16

A project manager has identified 8 stakeholders with whom he has to communicate with. Three months later, 3 team members had left the project and 1 new stakeholder had been identified. All of them were relevant for communication purposes. How many communication channels are there now?

A. 15
B. 21
C. 28
D. 36

Answer 16

B. 21

The number of communication channels is calculated by n(n 1)/2. The project
has now 7 relevant communication agents, as 2 stakeholders were removed. Do
not forget to include the project manager as a communication agent.

Question 17

You are the a project manager on a large merger and acquisition project with several key stakeholders. During the first project meeting, the sponsor emphasized the importance of communicating effectively. Which of the following is not part of an effective communication?

A. Paying attention to non-verbal communication
B. Paraphrasing
C. Providing feedback
D. Interrupting when appropriate

Answer 17

D. Interrupting when appropriate

Interrupting is not a good communication practice.

Question 18

Your machine learning project started ten months ago. The team is maintaining a graphically display that combines a burndown chart, a velocity charts and a summary of key impediments. Which of the following is the team maintaining?

A. Fishbowl window
B. Information radiator
C. Organizational process asset
D. Performance report

Answer 18

B. Information radiator

An information radiator is a graphical and easily understandable representation
of project performance to promote transparency.

Question 19

You want to explain the team the project communications management approach. How should you proceed?

A. Send the communications management plan by email and ask for feedback
B. Present the approach in the next team meeting
C. Hold a face-to-face meeting with each individual to explain the approach
D. Hold a project kick-off meeting

Answer 19

D. Hold a project kick-off meeting

Project kick-off meetings should be used to communicate the approach.

Question 20

The team needs to communicate a highly complex solution to the customer. The team should rely more on __________________ communication.

A. Formal written
B. Formal oral
C. Informal written
D. Informal oral

Answer 20

A. Formal written

Formal communication enables more control over a complex message. Written
communication helps to effectively transmit and track a complex message.

Question 21

In a process automation system project, you are currently monitoring communications. Which of the following activities may you perform?

A. Adapting the content, format and frequency of project reports to more effectively engage stakeholders
B. Distributing lessons learned reports and ad hoc reports
C. Organizing the team space to improve communications
D. Facilitating communication events

Answer 21

A. Adapting the content, format and frequency of project reports to more effectively engage stakeholders

Adapting the content, format and frequency of project reports to more
effectively engage stakeholders is part of communications monitoring (answer
A). Distributing lessons learned reports and ad hoc reports (answer B),
organizing the team space to improve communications (answer C) and
facilitating communications events (answer D) are not part of monitoring
communications.

Question 22

You are the project manager of a system upgrade project that is halfway complete. You recently became aware that the operations manager is receiving too much technical information and is not receiving performance reports. The operations manager suggested arranging a meeting to define the content of the performance report. Which of the following options can help you to address the situation?

A. Identifying stakeholders
B. Planning communications management
C. Executing the communications management plan effectively
D. Monitoring communications effectively

Answer 22

D. Monitoring communications effectively

Communications monitoring oversees the actual flow of project
communications to ensure that they are effectively fulfilling the stakeholders’
information needs. The communications management plan may need to
change to respond to new stakeholder requirements.

Question 23

You want to ensure that the project key stakeholders understand the project performance. You are preparing a report that outlines what was completed during the reporting period. Which of the following reports are you preparing?

A. Progress
B. Variance
C. Forecast
D. Status

Answer 23

A. Progress

A progress report describes what was completed during the reporting period.

Question 24

Two stakeholders were added to a project with already four stakeholders. How many new communication channels are there now?

A. 6
B. 9
C. 15
D. 30

Answer 24

B. 9

The number of communication channels is given by n(n - 1)/2. With 4
stakeholders, there are 6 channels. With 6 stakeholders there are 1 5 channels.
Therefore, there are 9 new channels.

Question 25

You have been hired by an airline company to manage a service development project. The company adopts a matrix structure. How does a matrix organization influence the project communications?

A. Communication is more complex than in other organization types
B. Communication is simpler than in other organization types
C. All communication should be planned
D. Communication should be verbal

Answer 25

A. Communication is more complex than in other organization types

In a matrix organization communication, communication tends to be more
complex, as team members report both vertically and horizontally.

Question 26

You are the project manager for an equipment deployment project. You have prepared a report summarizing project performance. The performance report should be distributed:

A. To the sponsor, steering committee and team members
B. To key stakeholders
C. To every stakeholder
D. According to the communications management plan

Answer 26

D. According to the communications management plan

The communications management plan identifies and documents
communication requirements. These communication requirements can include
Who receives the project schedule.

Question 27

You are the project manager of a system upgrade project that is halfway complete. You recently became aware that the operations manager is receiving too much technical information and is not receiving performance reports. The operations manager suggested arranging a meeting to define the content of the performance report. Which of the following options could have avoided the situation?

A. Planning communications management
B. Executing the communications management plan effectively
C. Monitoring communications effectively
D. Managing changes to the communications management plan

Answer 27

A. Planning communications management

The communications management plan should have identified and
documented the stakeholder communications requirements (answer A). The
operations manager’s concern is not a consequence of not executing the
communications management plan (answer B); not monitoring project
communications (answer C); or not managing changes (answer D).

Question 28

You are preparing your weekly status meeting to report the project performance to management. How should you model communication?

A. Vertical
B. Formal
C. Interactive
D. All of the above

Answer 28

D. All of the above

A reporting meeting is an example of vertical, formal and interactive
communication.

Question 29

Project communications may adopt different levels of formality. Formal written communication is MOST required to:

A. Clarify product requirements
B. Report project performance
C. Change the contract’s scope and conditions
D. Validate a project deliverable

Answer 29

C. Change the contract’s scope and conditions

Contract management-related communications should be formal and written to
record all the necessary terms and conditions, as well as comply with the
organization’s standards.

Question 30

A team member is using technical language that the receiver cannot understand. This is an example of:

A. Passive communication
B. Communication channels
C. Communication noise
D. Communication message

Answer 30

C. Communication noise

The message transmission may be negatively impacted by communication
noise that interferes with the message.

Question 31

You are updating the dashboard with the actual project performance. The main purpose of project dashboards is to:

A. Understand the project risks
B. Report the progress ofthe reporting period
C. Report performance variances
D. Provide a simple, at-a-glance representation of project performance

Answer 31

D. Provide a simple, at-a-glance representation of project performance

A dashboard is a control panel that provides a simple, at-a-glance
representation of project performance (e.g., project traffic light report).

Question 32

An organization has just hired you as a project manager to support the transition from conventional project management to agile project management. Senior management wants agile teams to frequently share their progress status and key impediments across the organization. What will be your advice?

A. Use webcams to broadcast the agile team task boards
B. Invite key stakeholders to sprint reviews meetings
C. Create information radiators combining burndown charts, burnup charts, velocity charts and a summary of key impediments
D. Adopt fishbowl windows

Answer 32

C. Create information radiators combining burndown charts, burnup charts, velocity charts and a summary of key impediments

Information radiators ensure that the progress status and key impediments
remain visible and constantly updated across the organization (answer C). Task
boards (answer A) and fishbowl windows (answer D) would provide a limited
understanding of the progress status and key impediments (answer A). Inviting
key stakeholders to sprint reviews meetings would not enable the team to share
their progress status across the organization (answer B).

Question 33

You need to document the stakeholder communication requirements. Which of the following represents inputs to the communications management plan?

A. Lessons learned repositories and resources allocated for communication activities
B. Adopted reporting techniques and organizational culture
C. Existing communication infrastructure and adopted stakeholder engagement strategies
D. Historical information and communications management responsibilities

Answer 33

C. Existing communication infrastructure and adopted stakeholder engagement strategies

Enterprise environmental factors (e.g., existing communication infrastructure)
and the stakeholder engagement plan can influence the communications
management plan (answer C). The resources allocated for communication
activities (answer A), adopted reporting techniques (answer B) and
communications management responsibilities (answer D) are established in the
communications management plan.

Question 34

You are mentoring a junior project manager Who made an incorrect statement regarding communication. Which one was it?

A. Most of a project manager’s time is spent communicating
B. The project manager should establish and maintain communication channels within the project
C. Communication requirements should be fully defined up front
D. The project manager should adapt the communication style to more effectively engage stakeholders

Answer 34

C. Communication requirements should be fully defined up front

Communication requirements cannot be fully defined up front. There will
always be emerging information needs that could not have been foreseen. The
remaining statements are correct.

Question 35

You need to post a performance report in a repository that can be accessed by multiple project stakeholders. Which type of communication are you adapting?

A. Interactive
B. Passive
C. Active
D. Informal

Answer 35

B. Passive

Passive communication is adopted when information is placed in a repository that can be accessed by receivers.

Question 36

You are mentoring a junior project manager Who was assigned to his first agile project. He is unsure of how he should manage team meeting. You recommended that as a communicator facilitator, the project manager should:

A. Control the meeting
B. Record the meeting notes
C. Provide guidance and assistance when required
D. Make key decisions

Answer 36

C. Provide guidance and assistance when required

The project manager’s responsibilities within communications management
include facilitating and expediting project communications.

Question 37

You want to prepare a summary report of the project situation to send to stakeholders. The report should outline the scope, schedule and cost performance. Which of the following types of reports should you prepare?

A. Status
B. Progress
C. Variance
D. Kanban

Answer 37

A. Status

A status report summarizes the project situation.

Question 38

Your company is implementing an ecommerce solution. The project involves stakeholders from multiple countries, languages and cultures. Which of the following statements regarding communication is inaccurate?

A. The project manager should organize short duration meetings to avoid spending time preparing meeting agendas
B. The project manager can communicate formally and verbally with the team through team meetings
C. The project manager can communicate formally through change requests
D. The project manager can communicate horizontally within the organization with subject matters experts

Answer 38

A. The project manager should organize short duration meetings to avoid spending time preparing meeting agendas

Meetings should have an agenda.

Question 39

The project is on budget but is expected to be complete one month late. You were asked to prepare a presentation to management? How should you model the communication?

A. Formal written
B. Formal oral
C. Informal written
D. Informal oral

Answer 39

B. Formal oral

A presentation to management is a type of oral communication, but it requires
some level of formalism to control the message.

Question 40

You are leading an international project that Will develop a Social media application. You need to distribute information to a large numbers of recipients. Which of the following communication method should you use?

A. Interactive
B. Push
C. Formal
D. Pull

Answer 40

D. Pull

In passive communication, information is placed in a repository that can be
accessed by receivers.

Question 41

The agenda of a quality control meeting was published last week and all attendees have confirmed their presence. Just before the meeting, the project manager received one cancellation by a team member, arguing he cannot join because he is working on an important assignment. How should the project manager proceed?

A. Request his input by email and proceed with the meeting as scheduled
B. Insist on his presence at the appointed date
C. Proceed with the meeting without the team member and schedule another meeting when he is available
D. Reschedule the meeting to a day when all members can attend

Answer 41

B. Insist on his presence at the appointed date

Meetings are important communication events that should be planned and
controlled. If the meeting was planned, involving other attendees, it should not
be cancelled on account of being working on an important assignment.

Question 42

Two team members are having a personal conversation. Which of the following Will account for most of the message’s impact when communicating feelings face-to-face?

A. The words spoken
B. Facial expressions, gestures and body language
C. Noise
D. Voice volume, pitch and intonations

Answer 42

B. Facial expressions, gestures and body language

Nonverbal communication (e.g., facial expressions, gestures and body
language) accounts for most of the message’s impact when communicating
feelings face-to-face.

Question 43

Communication barriers may interfere with an effective interpretation of the message. Which of the following is the MOST likely outcome of these barriers?

A. Conflict
B. Project changes
C. Poor morale
D. Project performance issues

Answer 43

A. Conflict

Communication barriers (e.g., prejudice, stereotypes, biases and hostility) may
interfere with an effective interpretation of the message. It is not possible to
overcome differences and create a common understanding if the message is
not effectively interpreted. Therefore, conflict is the best choice.

Question 44

You are managing a global project with resources from nine different countries. You heard that in these situations you should prepare a solid communications management plan. Which of the following statements about the communications management plan is incorrect?

A. Records relevant communications artifacts
B. Ensures that the resources allocated for communication activities promote project success
C. Clarifies stakeholder communication requirements
D. Balances the benefits and costs of the adopted communications management approach

Answer 44

A. Records relevant communications artifacts

Communications artifacts, such as presentations and performance reports, will
be created and distributed throughout the project and are not recorded in the
communications management plan. The remaining statements are correct.

Question 45

Your company is implementing an ecommerce solution. The project involves stakeholders from multiple countries, languages and cultures. During the early planning meetings, key stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the project may not effectively respond to their information needs. How should the project manager address the situation? (Choose two.)

A. Adopt a multifaceted communication approach, combining different communication methods, languages,
technologies, media and styles
B. Ensure that the communications management plan is strictly implemented
C. Prepare a communications management plan but remain flexible to adapt it to emerging communication needs
D. Hold a team meeting to determine how to communicate with stakeholders
E. Meet with key stakeholders weekly to report performance

Answer 45

A. Adopt a multifaceted communication approach, combining different communication methods, languages,
technologies, media and styles
C. Prepare a communications management plan but remain flexible to adapt it to emerging communication needs

The project manager should adopt a multifaceted communication approach,
combining different communication methods, languages, technologies, media
and styles (answer A). Communication requirements cannot be fully planned up
front. The project manager should rely on the communications management
plan but remain flexible to adapt to emerging communication needs (answer B
and C). Communication requirements should be determined with key
stakeholders (answer D). The communications’ content, format and frequency
should be defined in the communications management plan (answer E).

Question 46

Emma is a project manager on a large Oil and gas project with several key stakeholders, including government agencies and business partners. Emma needs to collect the stakeholder communication requirements, establishing who needs what information, how it will be provided and when. How should Emma proceed?

A. Ensure that there is a common approach and format to communicate with key stakeholders
B. Meet with each key stakeholder to understand specific communication requirements
C. Rely on a survey to collect communication requirements
D. Contact key stakeholders ask them to send an email specifying their information needs

Answer 46

B. Meet with each key stakeholder to understand specific communication requirements

Project managers should meet with key stakeholders to understand their
communication requirements (answer B).