PMP · Question #1430
A project manager has noticed that the performance of a new team member has increased dramatically over the past few months. The project manager has been measuring this team member's performance throu
The correct answer is A. Send a communication to management recognizing the team member's contributions.. To formally document a team member's dramatically increased performance, measured by CPI and SPI, the project manager should send a communication to management recognizing their contributions.
Question
A project manager has noticed that the performance of a new team member has increased dramatically over the past few months. The project manager has been measuring this team member's performance through the cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI) of work packages. The project manager has also assigned new, unrelated work packages to this team member. The project manager wants to formally record the team member's success in the project documentation. What should the project manager do?
Options
- ASend a communication to management recognizing the team member's contributions.
- BHold a project team meeting about the team member's contribution and take minutes.
- CRecord the team member's contribution in the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
- DAttach a note to the project management plan about the team member.
How the community answered
(41 responses)- A71% (29)
- B5% (2)
- C7% (3)
- D17% (7)
Why each option
To formally document a team member's dramatically increased performance, measured by CPI and SPI, the project manager should send a communication to management recognizing their contributions.
Sending a formal communication to management is the most appropriate and professional way to recognize a team member's outstanding performance, ensuring their contributions are officially recorded and gain visibility beyond the immediate project team. This serves as a formal project record and boosts morale.
Holding a team meeting to discuss individual contributions and taking minutes is less formal and effective for management recognition, and could potentially be uncomfortable for the team member.
The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) defines roles and responsibilities at the project's outset, not for recording ongoing individual performance achievements or success stories.
Attaching a note to the project management plan is an informal method and not the standard procedure for formally documenting individual performance recognition for official records or broader management awareness.
Concept tested: Team performance recognition and project communications
Topics
Community Discussion
6
Grace U.May 21, 2026A is the right call here. Recognizing strong performance formally means getting it in writing outside the day to day team chatter, and sending that communication to management does exactly that. C is the trap a lot of us jump to because RAM sounds official, but a responsibility assignment matrix maps who does what, not how well they did it. B and D just do not carry the weight of a formal record the way a documented message to management does.
Brenda K.May 7, 2026I first leaned toward C because the RAM ties people to work packages and the question hammers on that connection, but the RAM shows who does what, not how well they did it. A is the quick win here because formally recording success means communicating it upstream to management, which is the recognition piece the stem is really asking for. Clock check: if you see CPI and SPI and jump to a performance metric doc, you will burn two minutes second guessing yourself. Flag the RAM trap, pick A, move on in under forty seconds.
Grace U.May 8, 2026Agree on A being the recognition piece, though I would also watch out for D because some people see formal documentation and assume performance reports rather than rewards and recognition, which is really where the stem is pointing.
Viktor S.May 3, 2026A is the right call because recognizing contributions through formal communication to management creates a documented record outside the project files themselves. The RAM is for mapping who does what, not for capturing performance history, so C is a trap for anyone confusing assignment tracking with recognition. D sounds like a bad habit more than a legitimate PM practice, and B is informal team stuff that does not really formalize anything. I am curious whether anyone knows if PMI treats communications to management as the default channel for this kind of documentation, or if there is a specific recognition artifact they expect you to reference instead.
Grace U.May 5, 2026Agree on A, and to answer your question, PMI does treat formal communication to management as the expected channel here, though the Project Communications Management plan is the underlying artifact that gives that recognition its structure.
Olusegun A.May 12, 2026A is correct but why are we using CPI and SPI to measure individual performance?