Does the N include myself (the project manager) or only the team?

Question

My textbook uses an example of a PM and a team of 4 (so N=4); to yield the number of communications channels as 6.
In the test questions of the same chapter I promptly got the answer wrong for a team of 4, because they counted the PM (N was 5)!
Which is correct?

Answer 1

I disagree with sdcapmp on this one, I believe that the N refers to the project manager and his team members, because this where the communication happens during project work. I think this topic is very subjective, some texts consider the N to be just the number of team members, other texts say it's the PM and the team members, and other texts say it's the number of all project participants (see: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/3388/who-are-the-project-participants ).

PS: You can check how to calculate the communication channels here: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/1693/how-calculate-the-number-communication-channels-in-project

Answer 2

Neither.  N includes all the stakeholders.  The text is trying to provide a simple example and likely had an overlooked typo.

Obviously the PM must communicate with the team and should be included in the conversation.  Some business analysis books look at this as the team communicating among themselves, but from a PM perspective the PM is included.  You should be able to draw a small diagram showing yourself and two team members and see the number of channels, then go to four and five.

Seems logical, I hope!