Deck 10: Project Communications Management

Question 1

Getting project information to the right people at the right time and in a useful format is not as important as developing the information in the first place.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

People have a tendency to want to report bad information.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The gap between users and developers decreases as technology advances.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The information technology field is relatively stable and unchanging.

Question 5

Adding more people to a project that is falling behind schedule often causes more setbacks because of the increased complexity of communications.

Question 6

Communicating badly exponentially increases the possibility of making fatal mistakes.

Question 7

The communications management plan will vary with the needs of the project.

Question 8

It is not important to document any changes in technical specifications that might affect product performance.

Question 9

Many WBSs include a section for project communications to ensure that reporting key information is a project deliverable.

Question 10

Rarely does the receiver interpret a message exactly as the sender intended.

Question 11

You can separate technical skills and soft skills when working on information technology projects.

Question 12

By analyzing stakeholder communications needs,you can avoid wasting time or money on creating or disseminating unnecessary information.

Question 13

The communications management plan should not address frequency of communication.

Question 14

You can assume that a task originally scheduled to take two months of one person's time can be done in one month by two people.

Question 15

Most educational systems for information technology graduates promote strong technical skills over strong communication and social skills.

Question 16

Status reports can take various formats depending on the stakeholders' needs.

Question 17

Many projects have each team member prepare a monthly or sometimes weekly progress report.

Question 18

Consistent communication helps organizations improve project communications,especially for programs composed of multiple projects.

Question 19

Instead of knowing the people working on their projects and developing a trusting relationship with them,many colleagues and managers should want to focus on getting information by reading technical documents.

Question 20

Team members often create consolidated progress reports based on the information received from team leaders.

Question 21

Not understanding how to communicate effectively with other cultures and people of diverse backgrounds hurts projects and businesses.

Question 22

Having ____ review and approve all stakeholder communications analysis will ensure that the information is correct and useful.

A)stakeholders
B)project team members
C)top management
D)customers

Question 23

Often,many non-technical professionals-from colleagues to managers-prefer to ____ about project information to try to find pertinent information.

A)read detailed reports
B)read e-mails
C)read Web pages
D)have a two-way conversation

Question 24

Do not have a meeting if there is a better way of achieving the objective at hand.

Question 25

The output of the ____ process is a communications management plan.

A)reporting performance
B)distributing information
C)managing stakeholder expectations
D)planning communications

Question 26

It is not good practice to include time for informal meetings with customers to help develop relationships and provide staff to assist in relationship management.

Question 27

E-mail is always an appropriate medium for all types of communications.

Question 28

____ involves collecting and disseminating performance information,including status reports,progress measurement,and forecasting.

A)Reporting performance
B)Distributing information
C)Managing stakeholder expectations
D)Planning communications

Question 29

When using the confrontation mode,project managers directly face a conflict using a problem-solving approach that allows affected parties to work through their disagreements.

Question 30

____ involves determining the information and communications needs of the stakeholders.

A)Reporting performance
B)Distributing information
C)Managing stakeholder expectations
D)Planning communications

Question 31

The ____ serves as a good starting point for information distribution.

A)stakeholder communications analysis
B)WBS
C)communications management plan
D)status report

Question 32

____ involves making needed information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner.

A)Reporting performance
B)Distributing information
C)Managing stakeholder expectations
D)Planning communications

Question 33

Project managers must realize that all conflict is bad.

Question 34

Project team members rarely need to see all project documentation.

Question 35

There are ____ main processes in project communications management.

A)two
B)three
C)four
D)five

Question 36

Project managers should lead their teams in developing norms for dealing with various types of conflicts that might arise on their projects.

Question 37

Information regarding the content of essential project communications comes from the ____.

A)organizational chart
B)communications management plan
C)work breakdown structure (WBS)
D)expectations management matrix

Question 38

Emotional conflict,which stems from personality clashes and misunderstandings,often depresses team performance.

Question 39

The communications management plan can be part of the team ____.

A)WBS
B)contract
C)plan
D)guidelines

Question 40

It is common to find someone with a natural ability for both communication and technical skills.

Question 41

____ issues cause the most conflicts over the project life cycle.

A)Project priority
B)Staffing
C)Cost
D)Schedule

Question 42

According to the guidelines provided by Practical Communications,Inc.,a(n)____ is the only method that is "excellent" for encouraging creative thinking.

A)phone call
B)e-mail
C)meeting
D)Web Site

Question 43

Many practitioners define project success as ____.

A)meeting project scope goals
B)meeting time goals
C)satisfying the customer/sponsor
D)meeting cost goals

Question 44

According to the guidelines provided by Practical Communications,Inc.,a(n)____ is the only inappropriate method for expressing support/appreciation.

A)phone call
B)e-mail
C)meeting
D)Web site

Question 45

When using the ____,the project manager deemphasizes or avoids areas of differences and emphasizes areas of agreement.

A)confrontation mode
B)withdrawal mode
C)smoothing mode
D)forcing mode

Question 46

The ____ mode is also called the problem-solving mode.

A)confrontation
B)compromise
C)smoothing
D)forcing

Question 47

____ predict future project status and progress based on past information and trends.

A)Progress reports
B)Status reports
C)Forecasts
D)Updates

Question 48

____ describe what the project team has accomplished during a certain period.

A)Progress reports
B)Status reports
C)Forecasts
D)Updates

Question 49

Project sponsors can usually rank scope,time,and cost goals in order of importance in a(n)____.

A)expectations management matrix
B)responsibility assignment matrix
C)issue log
D)priority matrix

Question 50

Four people have ____ communications channel(s).

A)one
B)four
C)six
D)eight

Question 51

____ are often more effective,particularly for sensitive information.

A)Electronic communications
B)Short face-to-face meetings
C)Telephone conversations
D)Long face-to-face meetings

Question 52

Many people cite research that says in a face-to-face interaction,____ percent of communication is through body language.

A)10
B)25
C)58
D)85

Question 53

As the number of people involved in a project ____,the complexity of communications ____.

A)increases,decreases
B)decreases,increases
C)increases,stays constant
D)increases,increases

Question 54

____ describe where the project stands at a specific point in time.

A)Progress reports
B)Status reports
C)Forecasts
D)Updates

Question 55

____ are a good way to highlight information provided in important project documents,empower people to be accountable for their work,and have face-to-face discussions about important project issues.

A)Information retreats
B)Status planning meetings
C)Information review meetings
D)Status review meetings

Question 56

According to the guidelines provided by Practical Communications,Inc.,a(n)____ is the most appropriate method for giving complex instructions.

A)phone call
B)e-mail
C)meeting
D)Web Site

Question 57

Two people have ____ communications channel(s).

A)zero
B)one
C)two
D)three

Question 58

Many users prefer ____ to learn how to use a new system.

A)phone conversations
B)face-to-face meetings
C)e-mail conversations
D)reading user guides

Question 59

With the ____,project managers use a give-and-take approach to resolving conflicts.

A)confrontation mode
B)compromise mode
C)smoothing mode
D)forcing mode

Question 60

Since information technology projects often require a lot of coordination,it is a good idea to have ____ meetings.

A)long,frequent
B)short,infrequent
C)short,frequent
D)long,infrequent

Question 61

A(n)___________________________________ is a document that guides project communications.

Question 62

Research indicates that project managers favor using ____ for conflict resolution over the other four modes.

A)compromise
B)smoothing
C)confrontation
D)forcing

Question 63

According to the guideline governing ____,designate someone to take minutes and send the minutes out soon after the meeting.

A)running the meeting professionally
B)providing an agenda to participants before the meeting
C)determining who should attend the meeting
D)building relationships

Question 64

The ____ line for any e-mail messages you write should clearly state the intention of the e-mail.

A)to
B)from
C)subject
D)cc

Question 65

____ employees are also more likely to enroll voluntarily in classes on the latest technology than those on developing their soft skills.

A)Individual
B)Service
C)Groups of
D)Team

Question 66

____ are a complete set of organized project records that provide an accurate history of the project.

A)Project archives
B)Project backups
C)Project databases
D)Project notes

Question 67

____________________ can facilitate the process of distributing information,when used properly.

Question 68

Many information technology professionals work on ____________________ projects where they never meet their project sponsors,other team members,or other project stakeholders.

Question 69

Project managers should try to ____________________ the size of teams or sub teams to avoid making communications too complex.

Question 70

When using the ____,project managers retreat or withdraw from an actual or potential disagreement.

A)confrontation mode
B)withdrawal mode
C)smoothing mode
D)forcing mode

Question 71

Some items discussed in a(n)____ include reflections on whether project goals were met,whether the project was successful or not,the causes of variances on the project,the reasoning behind corrective actions chosen,the use of different project management tools and techniques,and personal words of wisdom based on team members' experiences.

A)final project report
B)design document
C)audit report
D)lessons-learned report

Question 72

When using the ____,project managers exert their viewpoint at the potential expense of another viewpoint.

A)confrontation mode
B)compromise mode
C)smoothing mode
D)forcing mode

Question 73

It is important to put information in context,especially if it is ____________________ news.

Question 74

The _________________________ analysis includes information such as the contact person for the information,when the information is due,and the preferred format for the information.

Question 75

Many experts believe that the difference between good project managers and excellent project managers is their ability to nurture relationships and use empathic ____________________ skills.

Question 76

It takes ____ to help improve communication.

A)timing
B)highly skilled employees
C)leadership
D)outside consultants

Question 77

Many experts agree that the greatest threat to the success of any project,especially information technology projects,is a failure to ____________________.

Question 78

The outputs of the ____________________ process are performance reports,organizational process assets updates,and change requests.

Question 79

According to the guideline governing ____,many meetings are most effective with the minimum number of participants possible.

A)determining if a meeting can be avoided
B)determining who should attend the meeting
C)defining the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting
D)running the meeting professionally

Question 80

________________________________________ involves managing communications to satisfy the needs and expectations of project stakeholders and to resolve issues.