PMP Practice Questions #36
As a project manager, you have identified a primary stakeholder who is critical to the project’s success but has been disengaged from the project activities. What technique should the project manager utilize to increase the stakeholder’s engagement?
A) Use the salience model to understand the stakeholder’s power, urgency, and legitimacy.
B) Raise a risk in the upcoming governance review about the stakeholder’s disengagement.
C) Generate a survey to take feedback from the stakeholder about his interest in the project.
D) Schedule a one-on-one conversation to understand the needs and expectations of the stakeholder.
Analysis
The question pertains to stakeholder engagement, specifically how a project manager can re-engage a primary stakeholder who has become disengaged. Proper engagement is vital for the success of a project. The engagement level of stakeholders can fluctuate, and it’s important to ensure that key stakeholders remain engaged. The ideal solution would involve understanding the stakeholder’s needs and expectations to develop an effective engagement strategy. Let’s see what technique can help here.
Analysis of Options:
Option A: Use the salience model to understand the stakeholder’s power, urgency, and legitimacy. This option focuses more on analyzing the stakeholder’s role in the project (e.g., their power, urgency, and legitimacy) than on understanding their needs or devising a strategy to increase engagement. The salience model is more about assessment than engagement. While understanding these attributes might be useful, this doesn’t directly address the issue at hand.
Option B: Raise a risk in the upcoming governance review about the stakeholder’s disengagement. This option is more about escalating the issue than directly addressing the disengagement. It could be perceived as sidestepping responsibility or trying to involve higher governance without first trying to understand and solve the problem.
Option C: Generate a survey to take feedback from the stakeholder about his interest in the project. This option is proactive in trying to understand the stakeholder’s perspective and needs. However, it is less interactive and personal. Surveys can be prone to biases and might not capture the depth or nuance of the stakeholder’s feelings or concerns.
Option D: Schedule a one-on-one conversation to understand the needs and expectations of the stakeholder. This option is the most direct and interactive. It involves rich communication, which is ideal for understanding complex issues or feelings. A one-on-one conversation allows for immediate feedback and follow-up questions, ensuring clarity. Given the critical nature of the stakeholder, direct interaction is more suitable than impersonal methods.
Conclusion: Option “D Schedule a one-on-one conversation to understand the needs and expectations of the stakeholder”. is the most appropriate choice. It aligns well with the PMP exam that emphasizes rich, interactive communication, especially in critical situations. The option addresses the heart of the issue, which is understanding the stakeholder’s needs and expectations, and then crafting an engagement strategy based on this understanding.
PMP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
|---|---|
| People | Task 9: Collaborate with stakeholders |
| People | Task2: Lead a team |
| Process | Task 4: Engage stakeholders |
| Process | Task 2: Manage communications |
Topics Covered
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix
- Stakeholder Engagement Plan
- Interactive communication and collaboration
