Sample PMP Exam Question

You are managing a telecom project. You have got two teams reporting to you. One team is responsible for
equipment installation and the other team is responsible to commission and test that equipment. Both teams
are working in parallel such that as soon as the installation teams finishes equipment installation at one site
they move on to another site for installations and the commissioning and testing team start their activities
on the newly installed site. The reporting structure is such that each of the teams have 5 engineers headed
by a team lead. Each team member interacts with each other, however only the team leads interact with
you. Both the team leads also interact with each other to synchronize their operations.

How many communication channels do you have in your project?

A. 33
B. 23
C. 42
D. 78

Hint: Calculate communication channels for each team and add them together.

Solution

The correct answer is: A

Reference: PMBOK4 - pg:253

Explanation: This was a hard question, wasn't it? Lets analyze the scenario to calculate the answer. Here
we have two independent teams. Each team has 6 members, i.e., 5 engineers and one team lead. Each team
member is interacting with each other, so communication channels for each team are (6)(6-1)/2=15. Both
the team leads are communicating with you so there are two communication channels for this interaction.
Further since both the team leads are interacting with each other there is an another communication channel
between them. Hence the total communication channels in your project is 15+15+2+1=33. Choice A is the
only correct answer to this question.