Project Communications Management

Study Hints

The Project Communications Management questions on the PMP® certification exam are relatively basic and are taken primarily from the PMBOK® Guide and other PMI®-published reference materials. Common sense and your own experience will play a large role in your ability to answer the questions on this topic. There will be questions that test your specific knowledge of PMBOK® Guide terms and concepts. However, there will also be many general questions that require you to choose the “best” answer. To answer these questions correctly, you must apply common sense.

The questions focus on formal and informal communication, verbal versus written communication, performance reporting, and management styles. PMI® considers management style to be an essential component of how a project manager communicates.

The PMI® handbooks (which are now included in Principles of Project Management, PMI®, 1997), Roles and Responsibilities of the Project Manager by John R. Adams and Brian W. Campbell, Conflict Management for Project Managers by John R. Adams and Nicki S. Kirchof, and Team Building for Project Managers by Linn C. Stuckenbruck and David Marshall, should be studied thoroughly for this section of the PMP® certification exam. Also review Appendix X3 in the PMBOK® Guide.

The PMI® publication Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager, which is volume 2 of The Human Aspects of Project Management by Vijay K. Verma, is another useful reference. PMI® considers the kickoff meeting one of the most effective mechanisms in Project Communications Management. The nature and purpose of this meeting are discussed in Team Building for Project Managers.

PMI® views Project Communications Management as a process consisting of three elements: plan communications management, manage communications, and control communications. See PMBOK® Guide Figure 10-1 for an overview of this structure. Know this chart thoroughly.

Following is a list of the major Project Communications Management topics. Use it to help focus your study efforts on the areas most likely to appear on the exam.

Major Topics

Importance of project communications management

Communication dimensions

Communication channels

Communication skills

Plan communications

• The communications model
• Encode
• Transmit message
• Decode
• Acknowledge
• Feedback/Response
• Communications requirements analysis
• Communications technology
• Communication methods
• Meetings
• Communications management plan

Manage communications

• Sender-feedback model
• Choice of media
• Writing style
• Meeting management techniques
• Presentation techniques
• Facilitation techniques
• Listening techniques
• Information management systems
• Performance reporting
• Simple
• Elaborate
• Project communications

Barriers to communication

Control communications

• Issue log
• Meetings
• Work performance information
• Change requests

Practice Questions

INSTRUCTIONS: Note the most suitable answer for each multiple-choice question in the appropriate space on the answer sheet.

1. As project manager, you plan to conduct a “kickoff” meeting at which you will discuss all the following EXCEPT—
   1. Establishing working relationships and standard formats for global communication
   2. Reviewing project plans
   3. Establishing individual and group responsibilities and accountabilities
   4. Discussing specific legal issues regarding the contract
2. One purpose of the communications management plan is to provide information about the—
   5. Methods that will be used to convey information
   6. Methods that will be used for releasing team members from the project when they are no longer needed
   7. Project organization and stakeholder responsibility relationships
   8. Experience and skill levels of each team member
3. Project managers for international projects should recognize key issues in cross-cultural settings and place special emphasis on—
   9. Establishing a performance reporting system
   10. Using good communication planning
   11. Establishing and following a production schedule for information distribution to avoid responding to requests for information between scheduled communications
   12. Using translation services for formal, written project reports
4. You are managing a project with team members located at customer sites on three different continents. As you plan communications with your stakeholders, you should review—
   13. Stakeholder management plan
   14. Stakeholder register
   15. Communications model
   16. Communications channels
5. Having worked previously on projects as a team member, you are pleased to now be the project manager to develop a new process to ensure that software projects in your IT Department are considered a success and are not late or over budget. However, many of your team members are new to the organization. As you work to establish a high-performing team, you realize the importance of—
   17. Mentoring
   18. Coaching
   19. Moving quickly through the forming and storming stages
   20. Safeguarding information
6. As a project manager, you try to use empathic listening skills to help understand another person’s frame of reference. In following this approach, you should—
   21. Mimic the content of the message
   22. Probe, then evaluate the content
   23. Evaluate the content, then advise
   24. Rephrase the content and reflect the feeling
7. Statements of organizational policies and philosophies, position descriptions, and constraints are examples of—
   25. Formal communication
   26. Lateral communication
   27. External communication
   28. Horizontal communication
8. You have decided to organize a study group of other project managers in your organization to help prepare for the PMP® exam. What type of communication activity are you employing in your efforts to organize this group?
   29. Horizontal
   30. Vertical
   31. Official
   32. External
9. Your company CEO just sent you an e-mail asking you to make a presentation on your project, which has been in progress for 18 months, to over 50 identified internal and external stakeholders. You have been conducting such presentations and holding meetings regularly on this important project. You should begin by—
   33. Defining the audience
   34. Determining the objective
   35. Deciding on the general form of the presentation
   36. Circulating issues to be discussed
10. You are responsible for a project in your organization that has multiple internal customers. Because many people in your organization are interested in this project, you realize the importance of—
    37. Conducting a stakeholder analysis to assess information needs
    38. Performing communications planning early
    39. Determining the communications requirements of the customers
    40. Having an expert on communications management an customer relationship management on your team
11. Project managers spend a great deal of time communicating with the team, the stakeholders, the client, and the sponsor. One can easily see the challenges involved, especially if one team member must communicate a technical concept to another team member in a different country. The first step in this process is to—
    41. Encode the message
    42. Decode the message
    43. Determine the feedback loops
    44. Determine the medium
12. On your project, scope changes, constraints, assumptions, integration and interface requirements, and overlapping roles and responsibilities pose communications challenges. The presence of communication barriers is most likely to lead to—
    45. Reduced productivity
    46. Increased hostility
    47. Low morale
    48. Increased conflict
13. The most common communication problem that occurs during negotiation is that—
    49. Each side may misinterpret what the other side has said
    50. Each side may give up on the other side
    51. One side may try to confuse the other side
    52. One side may be too busy thinking about what to say next to hear what is being said
14. You finally have been appointed project manager for a major company project. One of your first activities as project manager will be to create the communications management plan. As you match the stakeholder with the appropriate communication methods for that stakeholder, you could use any one of the following methods EXCEPT—
    53. Interactive communications
    54. Passive communications
    55. Pull communications
    56. Push communications
15. As an output of plan communications, it may be necessary to update the project documents, which include the—
    57. Stakeholder register
    58. Corporate policies, procedures, and processes
    59. Knowledge management system
    60. Stakeholder management plan
16. Sample attributes of a communications management plan include which one of the following?
    61. Roles
    62. Responsibilities
    63. Ethics
    64. Authority
17. The process of conferring with others to come to terms or reach an agreement is called—
    65. Win-win
    66. Negotiation
    67. Getting to “yes”
    68. Confrontation
18. The key benefit of the control communications process is to—
    69. Sharing best practices with other project teams in the organization with lessons learned
    70. Ensuring the information needs of stakeholders are met
    71. Ensuring an optimal information flow among communication participants
    72. Providing stakeholders with information about resolved issues, approved status, and project status
19. The issue log is useful in control communications because it—
    73. Provides what has happened and is a platform for subsequent communications
    74. Includes the project’s risk register
    75. Organizes and summarizes information gathered
    76. Serves as an information management system for communications management
20. As head of the PMO, you will receive performance reports for all major projects. You decided to set a guideline for project managers as performance reporting should—
    77. Collect work performance information on the status of deliverables
    78. Provide earned value data for project forecasting
    79. Provide information at an appropriate level for each audience
    80. Focus on cost and schedule variances rather than scope, resources, quality, and risks
21. A simple performance report provides information on—
    81. Percent complete
    82. Customer satisfaction
    83. Unacceptable variances
    84. Scope creep
22. Communication is important when setting and managing expectations with the stakeholders. Which one of the following statements is NOT true regarding the importance of communications within a project?
    85. Communications is one of the single biggest contributors to project success or failure.
    86. Project resources should be spent primarily on communicating information that leads to project success.
    87. Effective communications includes awareness of communication styles, cultural issues, relationships, personalities, and the context of the situation
    88. Listening is part of communicating and is a way to gain insight into problem areas, managing conflicts, and making decisions.
23. In person-to-person communication, messages are sent on verbal levels and nonverbal levels simultaneously. As a general rule, what percentage of the message actually is sent through nonverbal cues?
    89. 5 percent to 15 percent
    90. 20 percent to 30 percent
    91. 40 percent to 50 percent
    92. Greater than 50 percent
24. As an output from control communications, it may be necessary to update the—
    93. Project schedule
    94. Forecasts
    95. Corporate policies, procedures, and processes
    96. Knowledge management system
25. In project communications, the first step in a written communication is to—
    97. Analyze the facts and assumptions that have a bearing on the purpose of the message
    98. Gather thoughts or ideas
    99. Develop a logical sequence of the topics to be addressed
    100. Establish the basic purpose of the message
26. A communications management plan includes which one of the following sample contents?
    101. Issues
    102. Escalation processes, including time frames and the management chains
    103. Dimensions
    104. Project assumptions and constraints
27. Your organization has decided to use project management for all of its endeavors. It has established a Center of Excellence for Project Management to support the movement into management by projects and has appointed you as its director. Since you work in a matrix environment, which of the following types of communications is the most essential for success?
    105. Upward
    106. Horizontal
    107. Downward
    108. Diagonal
28. You have heard recently that the client calls your progress reports the “Code of Hammurabi” because they seem to be written in hieroglyphics and are completely indecipherable to all but an antiquities scholar. This situation could have been avoided by—
    109. Informing the client at the start of the project about the types of reports they will receive
    110. Using risk management techniques to identify client issues
    111. Hiring an expert report writer to prepare standard reports
    112. Engaging in communications planning
29. Assume on your project you have identified 250 stakeholders located in three continents and of these 250, you have determined that 200 of them will be actively involved and interested in your project. Therefore, as you determine an appropriate communication method, your best approach is—
    113. Elaborate status reports
    114. Simple status reports
    115. Knowledge repositories
    116. E-mails
30. You want to ensure that the information you collect showing project progress and status is meaningful to stakeholders. You want to combine the type and format of the stakeholder’s information needs with an analysis of the value of the information. You will document this information in the—
    117. Communications register
    118. Stakeholder register
    119. Stakeholder management plan
    120. Communications management plan
31. Work performance information is an output of which process?
    121. Manage risks
    122. Manage communications
    123. Control communications
    124. Report performance
32. Assume you want to optimize the work performance reports you will use to manage communications. You should do so by—
    125. Determining the most appropriate choice of communications media
    126. Setting different communications techniques for different stakeholder groups
    127. Ensuring the information is consistent with regulations and standards
    128. Ensuring comprehensiveness, accuracy, and availability
33. Information received from stakeholders concerning project operations can be distributed and used to modify or improve future performance of the project. This modification or improvement is done as an update to organizational process assets during which following process?
    129. Plan communications management
    130. Distribute information
    131. Manage communications
    132. Report performance
34. General management skills relevant to the manage communications process include—
    133. Operational planning
    134. Organizational behavior
    135. Setting and managing expectations
    136. Influencing the organization
35. Changes in the report formats and lessons learned documents process should trigger changes to the—
    137. Project management plan and performance reporting system
    138. Integrated change control system and the communications management plan
    139. Monitor and control project process and the project management plan
    140. Organizational process assets updates
36. One way to determine how to best update and communicate project performance and respond to stakeholder information requests is to—
    141. Review the effectiveness of the communications management plan
    142. Set up a portal
    143. Hold meetings
    144. Distribute performance reports
37. The purpose of work performance data in control communications is to present results of comparative analysis to the—
    145. Performance measurement baseline
    146. Communications management plan
    147. Stakeholder management plan
    148. Deliverable status
38. Because communications planning often is linked tightly with enterprise environmental factors, which one of the following statements is true?
    149. The project’s organizational structure has a major effect on the project’s communications requirements.
    150. Standardized guidelines, work instructions, and performance measurement criteria are key items to consider.
    151. Procedures for approving and issuing work authorizations should be taken into consideration.
    152. Criteria and guidelines to tailor standard processes to the specific needs of the project should be stated explicitly.
39. You are working on a project with 15 stakeholders. The number of communication channels on this project is—
    153. 15
    154. 105
    155. 210
    156. 225
40. Which of the following formulas calculates the number of communication channels in a project?
    157. $\frac{\text{n}(\text{n}–1)}{2}$
    158. $\frac{{\text{n}}^{\text{2}}–1}{\text{2}}$
    159. $\frac{{\text{n}}^2–1}{\text{n}}$
    160. $\frac{2^{\text{n}}–2}{1^{\text{n}}}$

Answer Sheet

1.	a	b	c	d
2.	a	b	c	d
3.	a	b	c	d
4.	a	b	c	d
5.	a	b	c	d
6.	a	b	c	d
7.	a	b	c	d
8.	a	b	c	d
9.	a	b	c	d
10.	a	b	c	d
11.	a	b	c	d
12.	a	b	c	d
13.	a	b	c	d
14.	a	b	c	d
15.	a	b	c	d
16.	a	b	c	d
17.	a	b	c	d
18.	a	b	c	d
19.	a	b	c	d
20.	a	b	c	d

21.	a	b	c	d
22.	a	b	c	d
23.	a	b	c	d
24.	a	b	c	d
25.	a	b	c	d
26.	a	b	c	d
27.	a	b	c	d
28.	a	b	c	d
29.	a	b	c	d
30.	a	b	c	d
31.	a	b	c	d
32.	a	b	c	d
33.	a	b	c	d
34.	a	b	c	d
35.	a	b	c	d
36.	a	b	c	d
37.	a	b	c	d
38.	a	b	c	d
39.	a	b	c	d
40.	a	b	c	d

Answer Key

1. d. Discussing specific legal issues regarding the contract

   Conducted after contract award or approval of the project, the kickoff meeting provides an opportunity for project participants to get to know each other and review information about the project. It is not a forum to discuss detailed project issues. [Planning]

Meredith and Mantel, 2012, 224–225

Kerzner, 200, 421–423

1. a. Methods that will be used to convey information

   These methods or technologies can include memos, e-mails, and/or press conferences. They are one of several items to include in this plan. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 296

1. b. Using good communications planning

   An effective way to manage cultural diversity on projects is for the project manager to get to know the team members and to use good communication planning. It is necessary to consider time zones and language barriers as well as cultural differences and to include a glossary of common terminology in the communications management plan. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 290, 296, and 516

1. b. Stakeholder register

   The stakeholder register is an input to the plan communications management process. It contains the identified stakeholders including their name, position, location, and role; their main requirements, expectations, and potential influence; and whether or not they are supporters, neutral, or resistors of the project. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 291, 398

1. b. Coaching

   Many communications skills are common to both general management and project management. Coaching is one example. It is especially useful to develop the team to higher levels of competency and performance and helping people recognize their potential through empowerment and development. It is used to aid team members to develop or enhance their skills required to achieve project success. [Planning and Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 288, 519

1. d. Rephrase the content and reflect the feeling

   Empathic listening requires seeing the world the way the other person sees it, with the goal of understanding that person’s views and feelings. Unlike sympathetic listening, empathic listening contains no element of value judgment. It is essential to listen actively and effectively and to question and probe ideas to help ensure better understanding. [Executing]

Covey 2004, 239–243

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 288, 515

1. a. Formal communication

   Formal communication provides direction and control for project team members and other employees. They also contain reports, minutes, and briefings and are examples of organizational process assets used in manage communications and in control communications. [Executing and Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 287, 300, 306

1. a. Horizontal

   Communication activities have many potential dimensions to consider in exchanging information between the sender and the receiver. Horizontal communication occurs between or among peers, that is, across, rather than up and down, the organization. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 287

1. d. Circulating issues to be discussed

   Meetings are held regularly on projects to update and communicate project information and to respond to requests from stakeholders for the information. Most meetings consist of stakeholders coming together to resolve problems or make decisions. Typical meetings begin with a defined list of issues to be discussed, which are distributed in advance with minutes and other key information relative to the meeting. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 295

1. b. Performing communications planning early

   On most projects, communications planning should be performed very early such as when the project management plan is prepared. This approach then allows appropriate resources, such as time and budget, to be allocated to communications activities. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 290

1. a. Encode the message

   As the first step in the basic communication model, it is essential to translate thoughts or ideas into a language that is understood by others. Then, the message is sent using various technologies, and the receiver decodes it or translates it back into meaningful thoughts or ideas. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 293–294

1. d. Increased conflict

   Barriers to communication lead to a poor flow of information. Accordingly, messages are misinterpreted by recipients, thereby creating different perceptions, understanding, and frames of reference. Left unchecked, poor communication increases conflict among project stakeholders, which causes the other problems listed to arise. Then, the project manager must work actively to resolve conflicts so disruptive impacts are prevented [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 288

Verma 1997, 24–25

1. a. Each side may misinterpret what the other side has said

   Effective communication is the key to successful negotiation. Misunderstanding is the most common communication problem. A project manager should listen actively, acknowledge what is being said, and speak for a purpose. It is essential to listen attentively ad communicate articulately. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 517

Fisher et al. 1991, 32–34

Verma 1996, 165

1. b. Passive communications

   You can use several different methods to share information. Interactive communications are multidirectional in nature, such as conferences and meetings. Pull communications are those methods where the recipient finds the information at their leisure and gets the information that they want at their discretion. Push communications is targeted information sent to a select group but does not certify that the recipient actually has received the information, such as e-mail. Passive communications is more of a style of delivering the content or receiving the content. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 295

1. a. Stakeholder register

   In the plan communications management process the two documents that may be updated are the project schedule and the stakeholder register. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 297

1. b. Responsibilities

   The communications management plan should identify the person responsible for communicating the information and the person responsible for authorizing release of any confidential information. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 296

1. b. Negotiation

   Negotiation if done well increases the probability of project success and involves conferring with others of shared or opposed interests with a view toward compromise. Negotiating is required to achieve mutually acceptable agreements between parties. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 288, 517

1. b. Ensuring optimal information flow among all communication participants

   While control communications as a process monitors and controls communications throughout the project to ensure the communication needs of project stakeholders are met, the key benefit is to ensure an optimal information flow among all communication participants at any moment in time. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 303

1. a. Provides what has happened and is a platform for subsequent communications

   The issue log is an input to control communications and is used to document and monitor issue resolution. It can facilitate communications and ensure a common understanding of issues. In this process its information provides a repository of what already has happened in the project and serves as a platform for subsequent communications to be delivered. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 305

1. c. Provide information at an appropriate level for each audience

   Performance reporting is a tool and technique in manage communications. Performance reports range from simple status reports to more elaborate reports. The emphasis is to ensure performance reporting provides the needed information for each audience level. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 301

1. a. Percent complete

   A simple status report may show performance information such as percent complete or status information for each area (scope, schedule, cost, and quality). [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 301

1. b. Project resources should be spent primarily on communicating information that leads to project success

   Communications is considered one of the single most powerful indicators of project success or failure. Effective communications includes an awareness of all types of filters that may be impeding or straining communications. Listening is vital to good communications. Resources also should be spent on determining where a lack of communications can lead to failure. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 289–291

1. d. Greater than 50 percent

   Nonverbal cues can be divided into four categories: physical, aesthetic, signs, and symbols. Many studies have demonstrated that most messages are conveyed through such nonverbal cues as facial expression, touch, and body motion, rather than through the words spoken. [Executing]

Verma 1996, 19

1. b. Forecasts

   Communications control often entails the need to update project documents, including forecasts, performance reports, and the issue log. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 308

1. b. Gather thoughts or ideas

   For any type of communication, the first step in the basic communication model is to encode, which means the sender translates thoughts or ideas into language [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 293

1. b. Escalation processes, including time frames and the management chains

   Numerous items, including escalation processes, are part of the communications management plan. Business issues may arise that cannot be resolved at a lower staff level. During such a time, an escalation process is required to show time frames and the names of people in the management chain who will work to resolve these issues. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 296

1. b. Horizontal

   Horizontal communication is between the project manager and his or her peers and will be where most of the communications will occur. Accordingly, it is essential for success in a highly competitive environment and requires diplomacy, experience, and mutual respect. [Executing]

Verma 1997, 136

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 287

1. d. Engaging in communications planning

   The communications management plan is prepared during plan communications management. The plan should include a description of the information to be distributed such as format, content, level of detail, as well as conventions and definitions to be used. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 296

1. c. Knowledge repositories

   Knowledge repositories along with Intranet sites, e-learning, and lessons learned data bases are examples of methods of pull communications. They are used for large volumes of information or for large audiences and require recipients to access communication content at their own discretion. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 295

1. d. Communications management plan

   The project team must conduct an analysis of stakeholder communications requirements to ensure that stakeholders are receiving the information required to participate in the project. For example, stakeholders typically require performance reports for information purposes. Such information requirements should be included in the communications management plan. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 291 and 296

1. c. Control communications

   Work performance information, an output of control communications, organizes and summaries performance data such as status and progress information on the project at the level required by stakeholders. This information next is communicated to the appropriate stakeholders. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 307

1. d. Ensuring comprehensiveness, accuracy, and availability

   Work performance reports are an input to manage communications. They are a collection of project performance and status information used to facilitate discussion and create communications. They should be comprehensive, accurate, and available in a timely way. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 299

1. c. Manage communications

   Feedback from stakeholders is an example of an organizational process asset to update as a result of the manage communications process. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 303

1. c. Setting and managing expectations

   Communications skills are part of general management skills, and setting and managing expectations are an example in manage communications. This helps create, collect, distribute, store, retrieve, and ultimately dispose of project information according to the communications management plan. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 287–288, 297

1. d. Organizational process assets updates

   Any changes in report formats or lessons learned documentation are organizational process asset updates as an output of control communications. The documentation may become part of the historical data base for both the project and the organization. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 308

1. c. Hold meetings

   Meetings are a tool and technique in control communications. They can be face to face or online and in different locations and may include not only the project team but also suppliers, vendors, and other stakeholders. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 307

1. a. Performance measurement baseline

   Wok performance data are an input in control communications. These data organize and summarize information gathered and present the results of comparative analysis to the performance measurement baseline. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 305

1. a. The project’s organizational structure has a major effect on the project’s communications requirements.

   Enterprise environmental factors undoubtedly will influence the project’s success and must be considered because communication must be adapted to the project environment. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 29, 291

1. b. 105

   The formula for determining the number of communication channels is n(n – 1)/2, where n = the number of stakeholders: 15(15 – 1)/2 = (15)(14)/2 = 105. It is important to note that project managers must plan the project’s communications requirements carefully, limiting who will communicate with whom given the potential for confusion when multiple communications channels can exist. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 292

1. a. $\frac{\text{n}(\text{n}–1)}{2}$

   Where n = the number of stakeholders. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 292