Chapter 5 – Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Planning
TRUE/FALSE
1. A project management plan is a formal document that defines how the project will be initiated and
planned.
2. Plan Communications is the process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project
communications based on stakeholders’ information needs and requirements and available
organizational assets.
3. Stakeholders include both those who will use the result of a project as well as those who will be
affected by the result of a project.
4. Stakeholders include those affected by the result of the project, but not those affected by the process
of performing the project.
5. Stakeholders include people who have their routines disrupted by the project.
6. Authority and urgency are among the aspects that project managers should consider in prioritizing
stakeholders.
7. Project managers should purposefully plan and carry out relationship building activities that lead to
respect and trust.
8. Project relationship building activities include encouraging open communications and using shared
learning.
9. Establishing a positive relationship with all key stakeholders early in the project helps to create a
desire among those stakeholders to support the project, and builds the communications foundation for
the project.
10. The communications management plan is finalized during project planning, and should only be
changed through a formal change control process.
11. Common purposes for project communications include status reporting and efforts to obtain approval
of project outputs.
12. The primary output of the “Identify Stakeholders” process is the project communications plan.
13. Contemporary project communications typically include both push methods such as blogs, and pull
methods such as voice mail.
14. One common feature of agile projects is the “stand–up meeting”.
15. A stakeholder engagement matrix is a tool that classifies the engagement levels of project
stakeholders, including whether they are unaware, resistant, or supportive.
16. The plan-do-check-act model used to improve processes is also an effective model that project
managers can use to improve project meetings.
17. In order to be sure a project meeting runs according to plan, the project manager should develop an
agenda in advance and deliver it to participants as they arrive at the meeting.
18. An issue log is a document that identifies the specific issues that must be resolved before a particular
project management meeting adjourns.
19. A virtual team is a group of persons with a shared goal, who fulfill their roles largely through
face-to-face communications.
20. While expensive, it is often advisable for virtual team members who live across the globe to meet
face-to-face at least once, especially early in the project.
21. Project team member preferences related to the type and frequency of communication may vary
depending upon their country and cultural differences.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following statements accurately describes a project management plan?
a.
a formal document that describes how the project will be initiated and planned
b.
a formal document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored and
controlled
c.
a formal document that defines how the project will be terminated and closed
d.
a formal document that focuses on how the project’s financial results will be tracked
2. All of the following statements accurately describe a project management plan EXCEPT:
a.
It serves as an informal contract between the project team and the sponsor
b.
It may be a general, summary document or quite detailed.
c.
It may be composed of one or more subsidiary plans.
d.
It is developed iteratively, starting at a high level and becoming progressively more
detailed as information becomes available.
3. A project communications management plan generally includes all of the following information
EXCEPT:
a.
communication methods
b.
communication timing
c.
communication cost
d.
communication purpose
4. Project management plans generally include all of the following elements EXCEPT:
a.
schedules and budgets
b.
business case and recommendations
c.
risks and quality considerations
d.
communications and stakeholders
5. Stakeholders include all of the following people EXCEPT:
a.
those who work on the project
b.
those who provide people or resources for the project
c.
those whose routines may be disrupted by the project
d.
those who will not be impacted by the project
6. The process of “systematically gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to
determine whose interests should be taken into account throughout the project” is called:
a.
develop project management plan
b.
stakeholder analysis
c.
communications management
d.
i.d. stakeholders
7. Project stakeholders can be prioritized based on a number of factors, including one of the following:
a.
fame
b.
impact
c.
tenure
d.
personality
8. By identifying stakeholders and their needs, project managers can be more effective in all the
following ways EXCEPT:
a.
prioritize among competing objectives.
b.
derive the final budget
c.
serve as good stewards of the organization’s resources.
d.
develop a shared sense of risk.
9. Which of the following activities can be used to build relationships within the core project team?
a.
emphasize individual learning opportunities
b.
establish independent agendas
c.
regularly celebrate small successes
d.
use conflict resolution techniques
10. The final item to be recorded on the project meeting minutes is an evaluation of both good and poor
points from the meeting. On agile projects, this evaluation is called the ____:
a.
stakeholder analysis
b.
lessons learned
c.
plus-delta process
d.
retrospective
11. Which of these is not one of the primary types of information captured in a project meeting?
a.
action items agreed to.
b.
evaluation of the meeting.
c.
new issues raised and old issues closed.
d.
assumptions and constraints.
12. Project managers can encourage open communication by employing all of the following tactics
EXCEPT:
a.
demonstrating that the inputs from others are valued
b.
using group decision making techniques in every case
c.
keeping people informed
d.
respecting confidentiality
13. Several factors can contribute to building relationships among project team members. Which of the
following is NOT a contributor to relationship building within the core team?
a.
Ensure team members understand what is expected of them.
b.
Foster a closed environment of secrecy.
c.
Ensure team member’s opinions are considered.
d.
Provide opportunities to grow and develop.
14. A principal idea in agile is that relationships with stakeholders need to be based on collaboration,
communications and ____.
a.
trust
b.
power
c.
confidentiality
d.
urgency
15. The sponsor, project manager and team can establish powerful relationships with key stakeholders.
This starts with an understanding of what motivates each stakeholder, which can be summarized by the
old saying ______:
a.
the early bird catches the worm.
b.
what gets planned gets done.
c.
you get what you pay for.
d.
what’s in it for me?
16. Communications to stakeholders are necessary for which of the following reasons?
a.
to help them take ownership of the project and make timely decisions
b.
to keep them at arms length so progress can continue
c.
to shift the burden of risk from the project team to the stakeholders
d.
to provide input to team performance reviews
17. A project communications matrix includes all of the following information EXCEPT:
a.
Who
b.
Why
c.
What
d.
When
18. In the project communications matrix, all of the following “who” items are typically included
EXCEPT:
a.
Who does the project team need to learn from?
b.
Who does the project team need to share with?
c.
Who take the minutes at the next status meeting?
d.
Who on the project team is responsible for a communication?
19. In order to plan for a project meeting, project managers should develop an agenda. All of the
following statements accurately describe the development and use of a project meeting agenda
EXCEPT:
a.
the agenda should only be shared with senior management
b.
the agenda should provide time to summarize decisions made
c.
the agenda should provide time to evaluate the meeting
d.
the agenda should state the purpose of the meeting
20. A point or matter in question or in dispute, not settled or over which there are opposing views or
disagreements is called a(n) _____:
a.
constraint
b.
issue
c.
risk
d.
assumption
21. Virtual project teams often encounter increased challenges. All of the following items are among
these increased challenges EXCEPT:
a.
it is more difficult to understand the stakeholders
b.
it takes more time to build relationships
c.
differences in time zones are an advantage
d.
change control must rely more upon facilitating than directing
ESSAY
1. Describe how you would use the plan-do-check-act model to plan, conduct and improve project
meetings.
2. Describe the importance of project communications, and the essential factors to be considered when
creating a project communications plan.
3. Describe the approach you would use to build relationships among the core members of the project
team.
4. Describe the approach you would use to build relationships with key external stakeholders.