PMP Exam Dumps - Project Management Professional (2025 Version)

According to the PMBOK Guide, one of the tools and techniques for managing team resources is ground rules. Ground rules are the standards of behavior that the team members agree to follow while working on the project. They can include topics such as communication, decision making, conflict resolution, meeting etiquette, and so on. Ground rules help to establish a common understanding and expectations among the team members, especially when they are geographically distributed and have different cultural backgrounds. Developing protocols for resolving conflicts between team members is an example of setting ground rules that can help to address the development issues and improve productivity. Forcing the team members to work from one location, obtaining special expertise, or setting up face-to-face meetings are not the best options, as they may not address the root cause of the problem, may be impractical or costly, or may create more conflicts. References: PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 336.

According to the Project Management Professional (PMP) Reference Materials, two actions that a project manager should consider while launching a new virtual team are:

Evaluate the project manager’s own strengths and weaknesses as a virtual team leader to identify avoidable pitfalls. This can help the project manager to develop the necessary skills and competencies to effectively lead, guide, and nurture a virtual team, such as communication, collaboration, motivation, trust, and cultural awareness12. The project manager can also seek feedback, coaching, or mentoring from other experienced virtual team leaders to improve their performance and avoid common mistakes3.

Establish in the beginning, how progress will be monitored and the best means for communicating progress. This can help the project manager to set clear expectations, goals, and standards for the virtual team, and to ensure that the team members are aligned, accountable, and informed throughout the project4 . The project manager can also use various communication and collaboration tools, such as video conferencing, chat, email, project management software, and online dashboards, to facilitate regular and effective communication and reporting among the virtual team members and stakeholders .

The other options, A, C, and E, are not actions that a project manager should consider while launching a new virtual team, but rather actions that a project manager should consider while planning or executing a project with a virtual team. Recruiting the best resources within the organization to be part of the virtual team is a human resource planning activity that involves identifying and acquiring the project team members. Identifying the types and quantities of resources required for each work package or activity is a resource management activity that involves estimating and allocating the resources needed to complete the project work. Verifying if team members are on more than one team and cannot devote enough time to this team is a performance management activity that involves monitoring and controlling the team members’ availability, workload, and productivity. References: 1: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Chapter 9.4.2.2, "Team Development Stages". 2: Agile Practice Guide, Chapter 2.2, "Agile Principles". 3: Best practices for managing and developing virtual project teams, Section "Preparing for success — the project manager’s role". 4: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Chapter 9.4.3.1, "Team Performance Assessment". : A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Chapter 10.2.2.1, "Communication Requirements Analysis". : 10 Tips to Manage Virtual Project Teams - Ganttic, Section "Communication tools". : Project and resource planning tools - Ganttic, Section "Project and resource planning tools". : A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Chapter 9.1.3.1, "Project Team". : A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Chapter 9.2.3.1, "Resource Requirements". : A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Chapter 9.6.3.1, "Work Performance Data".

One of the key characteristics of agile development is iterative delivery of product increments, which allows for customer feedback and adaptation to changing requirements. To achieve this, the project scope needs to be broken down into smaller parts, each delivering a valuable and testable functionality. The first part should represent a minimum viable product (MVP), which is the smallest version of the product that can be released to the market and validated by the customers. This way, the project can deliver early and measurable value, and reduce the risk of building something that is not needed or wanted. References: Agile Methodology in Project Management as a Licensed PMP, Agile Guide to the Planning Processes - Agile Approach

 A virtual workspace is a tool that allows team members to collaborate and communicate online, regardless of their physical location. A virtual workspace can help the project manager and the team to share information, documents, updates, feedback, and ideas in real time. A virtual workspace can also enhance the team’s trust, cohesion, and productivity. By encouraging all team members to use a virtual workspace, the project manager can ensure that everyone is on the same page and has access to the latest project information. The project manager can also monitor the team member’s progress and provide support if needed12.

Talking to the team member about their engagement and taking appropriate action is another option that can help the project manager in this situation. The project manager should try to understand the reasons behind the team member’s lack of communication and details, such as lack of motivation, skills, resources, or clarity. The project manager should also provide constructive feedback and guidance to the team member, and set clear expectations and goals for their performance. The project manager should also follow up with the team member regularly and recognize their achievements. If the team member does not improve their communication and details, the project manager may need to escalate the issue to the functional manager or consider reassigning the work to another resource34. References: = 12 Project Management Strategies To Improve Efficiency, Strategy 6: Use a virtual workspace; 8 Steps for Better Issue Management, Step 5: Communicate with the team; PMBOK® Guide, Sixth Edition, pages 368-369, 376-377; Agile Practice Guide, pages 28-29, 50-51.

 The project manager should conduct a meeting with the project team to discuss and address the sources of disagreement, as this is a strategy for improving team morale and performance. According to the PMI website, one of the interpersonal and team skills that a project manager should have is conflict management. Conflict management is the process of resolving or reducing disagreements among project stakeholders, such as team members, sponsors, customers, or suppliers. Conflict can arise due to various factors, such as personality differences, communication barriers, resource constraints, or competing interests. If not managed properly, conflict can negatively affect the team morale, productivity, quality, and satisfaction. The project manager should use appropriate conflict resolution techniques, such as problem-solving, compromising, collaborating, smoothing, or forcing, depending on the situation and the desired outcome. The project manager should also facilitate open and constructive communication, encourage feedback and participation, and promote trust and respect among the team members1. By conducting a meeting with the project team, the project manager can identify the root causes and the impact of the disagreement, and work with the team to find a mutually acceptable solution. The project manager can also clarify the project objectives, scope, and requirements, and ensure that the team members understand their roles and responsibilities. By addressing the sources of disagreement, the project manager can improve the team morale and performance, and get the project back on track.

The other options, informing the stakeholders, crashing the project timeline, or issuing a change request, are not the best ways to deal with low team morale and disagreement. Informing the stakeholders may be a necessary communication activity, but it does not solve the problem or improve the situation. Crashing the project timeline may be a schedule compression technique, but it may not be feasible or effective, as it may increase costs, risks, or rework, and may also worsen the team morale and satisfaction. Issuing a change request may be a change management activity, but it may not be necessary or desirable, as it may imply that the project manager is unable to manage the project within the agreed baselines.

 The communications management plan is a document that describes how the project information will be planned, managed, monitored, and controlled. It should include the communication requirements, methods, frequency, roles, and responsibilities of the project stakeholders. When the project team is distributed across different countries, regions, time zones, and languages, the communications management plan should be modified to address the challenges and opportunities of working in a global environment. Some of the factors that the project manager should consider are:

The cultural differences and preferences of the team members and other stakeholders, such as communication styles, norms, values, beliefs, and etiquette. The project manager should respect and appreciate the diversity of the team and avoid stereotypes, biases, and assumptions. The project manager should also use appropriate language, tone, and gestures, and avoid jargon, slang, and idioms that may cause confusion or offense. The project manager should also be aware of the potential for misunderstandings and misinterpretations due to translation errors, accents, or non-verbal cues.

The technological tools and platforms that will be used to facilitate the communication and collaboration among the team members and other stakeholders, such as email, phone, video conferencing, instant messaging, file sharing, project management software, etc. The project manager should ensure that the selected tools and platforms are accessible, reliable, secure, and compatible for all the participants. The project manager should also establish the rules and guidelines for using the tools and platforms, such as response time, frequency, format, and etiquette. The project manager should also provide training and support for the team members and other stakeholders on how to use the tools and platforms effectively and efficiently.

The time differences and schedules of the team members and other stakeholders, such as working hours, holidays, weekends, and daylight saving time. The project manager should coordinate and synchronize the communication and collaboration activities among the team members and other stakeholders, taking into account their availability and convenience. The project manager should also balance the need for synchronous and asynchronous communication, and avoid overloading or under-communicating with the team members and other stakeholders. The project manager should also respect the work-life balance and personal boundaries of the team members and other stakeholders, and avoid imposing unrealistic or unreasonable expectations or deadlines.

By modifying the communications management plan to account for regional differences, the project manager can reduce the negative impacts to the project, such as delays, errors, conflicts, misunderstandings, miscommunication, low morale, and low performance. The project manager can also enhance the positive impacts to the project, such as trust, rapport, engagement, alignment, innovation, and quality. References:

The PMI Guide to Business Analysis Includes The Standard for Business Analysis, Chapter 4: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring, Section 4.3.3: Plan Communication

Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Chapter 4: Planning the Business Analysis Approach, Section 4.5: Communication Plan

Business Analysis Techniques: 72 Essential Tools For Success, Chapter 6: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring, Section 6.5: Communication Plan

Seven Steps to Mastering Business Analysis, Chapter 8: Enterprise Analysis, Section 8.5: Communication Plan

Research: How Cultural Differences Can Impact Global Teams, Harvard Business Review, June 9, 2021

The communications management plan is a subsidiary plan of the project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, executed, and monitored. It should include the stakeholder communication requirements, the information to be communicated, the communication methods and technologies, the frequency and timing of communication, the roles and responsibilities of communicators, and the escalation process for resolving communication issues. If a stakeholder is not receiving the project status report, it means that the communications management plan is not aligned with the stakeholder communication requirements, and it needs to be updated. The project manager should also send the current project status documentation to the missed stakeholder to ensure that they are informed and engaged in the project. This is the best option among the four choices, as it follows the best practices of project communication management and stakeholder management. References: (Professional in Business Analysis Reference Materials source and documents)

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition, Chapter 8: Project Communications Management, Section 8.1.3.1: Communications Management Plan

Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Chapter 4: Planning Business Analysis Work, Section 4.3.2: Communication Plan

Practice Standard for Project Stakeholder Management, Chapter 3: Plan Stakeholder Engagement, Section 3.3.2: Communication Requirements Analysis

 The project manager should establish daily standups to review project progress and track the completion of deliverables, as this is a way to monitor and control the project performance and ensure that the team members are aligned and accountable for their work. The project manager should also work with the team to identify options to accelerate project delivery, such as fast-tracking, crashing, or re-sequencing activities, as this is a way to recover the schedule and meet the project deadlines. The project manager should not allow the team members to catch up at their own pace (choice B), as this would imply that the project manager is not proactive and responsive to the schedule issues and does not provide adequate guidance and support to the team. The project manager should not alert the business stakeholders immediately of the schedule delay (choice C), as this would create unnecessary panic and confusion among the stakeholders and damage the project reputation. The project manager should first try to resolve the schedule issues internally with the team and the functional managers, and then communicate the status and the corrective actions to the stakeholders in a timely and transparent manner. The project manager should discuss the risk of project delay and work priorities with the respective functional managers (choice D), but this is not enough to bring the team back on track, as the project manager also needs to take actions to improve the project execution and delivery. References:

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 368: “The communications management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, structured, implemented, and monitored for effectiveness.”

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 376: “A daily standup is a short meeting where the project team members report on the progress of their work, any issues or impediments they are facing, and their plans for the next period.”

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 215: “Schedule compression techniques are used to shorten the duration of a project without changing its scope.”

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 216: “Fast tracking is a schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.”

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 217: “Crashing is a schedule compression technique in which resources are added to the critical path activities.”

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, page 218: “Re-sequencing is a schedule compression technique in which the logical relationships among project activities are modified.”