PMP · Question #72
A company's CEO complains about the frequency of project communications. The CEO receives five project reports each week by email but does not have enough time to review them. In addition, the…
The correct answer is C. Review the communications management plan. The CEO is dissatisfied with the project communication's frequency and relevance, indicating a problem with how information is being planned and delivered.
Question
A company's CEO complains about the frequency of project communications. The CEO receives five project reports each week by email but does not have enough time to review them. In addition, the information that the CEO receives is not relevant in that it does not explain the project status. What should the project manager do first?
Options
- AMeet with the team and decide the type and frequency of the reports to send to the CEO
- BSend the CEO one executive summary per week instead of five reports per week
- CReview the communications management plan
- DReview the stakeholder engagement plan.
How the community answered
(33 responses)- A15% (5)
- B3% (1)
- C76% (25)
- D6% (2)
Why each option
The CEO is dissatisfied with the project communication's frequency and relevance, indicating a problem with how information is being planned and delivered.
Meeting with the team to decide without first reviewing the existing plan is premature, as the current plan might already contain details that need to be followed or updated.
This is a potential solution, but it's an action taken before understanding the root cause or validating against existing plans; the project manager should first investigate why current communication isn't working.
The communications management plan defines how, when, and by whom project information will be administered and distributed. Reviewing this plan is the first step to identify discrepancies between the planned communication approach and the actual needs of the CEO, allowing for targeted adjustments to frequency, format, and content.
While the stakeholder engagement plan addresses how to effectively engage stakeholders, the immediate problem is explicitly about the *communication* received, making the communications management plan the more direct document to review first.
Concept tested: Communications management plan review for issues
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok/communications
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Prof. SaraNov 10, 2025C is correct because the communications management plan is the document that defines who gets what information, in what format, and how often. Before you change anything, you review that plan to see what was originally agreed upon for the CEO, then update it accordingly.
Wesley A.Nov 5, 2025Saw this on attempt one, picked B and got burned, C is always first.
Prof. SaraNov 7, 2025C is your default because the blueprint weights the identify phase first, but watch for stems that say least effort or lowest cost, because those flip you straight to A.
Mateus R.Nov 19, 2025Leaned toward B because fewer reports sounds like the fix, but the CEO complaining means you go back to the plan first. C.
Wesley A.Nov 19, 2025C is right but Id add that the CEO complaint isnt just a trigger to revisit the plan, its specifically a business alignment signal, which is why you dont jump straight to trimming reports even though that feels like the obvious fix.