ITGSS Certified Technology Specialist

If project team members increase from six to ten, by how many times is the number of communication paths increased?

1. 4

2. 5

3. 6

4. 3

The correct answer is: 3

To understand the increase in communication paths when project team members increase from six to ten, it's essential to consider the formula for calculating the number of communication paths in a project team. The formula is given by: \[ \text{Paths} = \frac{n(n-1)}{2} \] where \( n \) is the number of team members. Initially, with six team members: \[ \text{Paths for 6 members} = \frac{6(6-1)}{2} = \frac{6 \times 5}{2} = 15 \] Now, with ten team members: \[ \text{Paths for 10 members} = \frac{10(10-1)}{2} = \frac{10 \times 9}{2} = 45 \] To find the increase in communication paths, we subtract the initial number of paths from the latter: \[ \text{Increase} = 45 - 15 = 30 \] Now, to determine how many times the communication paths were increased, we consider the ratio of the new number of paths to the old number: \[ \text{Ratio} = \frac{45}{15} = 3 \]