m7 communicationmanagement v.1.0

8/13/2019 M7 CommunicationManagement v.1.0

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Maria Maddalena Ruggini, PMP

CC ERP Roma

Communication Management (M7)

Project Management and SAP


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Communication Management

1. Introduction

2. Communication planning

3. Communication on project4. Project Meetings

5. Issue Management

6. Conclutions


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Introduction

3 M7_Communiications Management www.eng.it

Project Communicat ions

Management

includes the processes required to ensure t imelyand

appropr iategeneration, collection, distribution, storage,

retrieval and ultimate disposition of project information.

PMBOK 5 Edition


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Introduction


Anyone involved in the pro ject

shou ld understand how

commun ications af fect the project

as a who le

The PM will spend much of their time "communicating" with both team

members and with other stakeholders (internal or external).

Effective communication creates a bridge between the various

stakeholders who may have different backgrounds from both the

cultural point of view and from that organization, different levels of

experience, different perspectives and interests.

Effective communication means that information is provided in theright form at the right time, to the recipients with just the right

impact.

Effective communication means providing exclusively the

necessary information.


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Communication planning


Communication, like any other project management process

must be:

planned, managed and controlled.

Communication planning must give an answer to the following

questions:

What to say

How to say it

Where you say it To develop the right

Who is told strategy

Who says


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A project Communications Management Plan(as a section of the

Project Management Plan or as a subsidiary plan) is

essential with the diversity of audiences that will belooking for information about your project and the

array of data youll be collecting.

This plan helps you to avoid duplication

of effort and to ensure that nothing falls through the

cracks.

A project Communications Management Plan is a document that specifies

all project communications generated throughout the project, their target

audiences, their information content, and their frequency. Prepare an initial

version of your project Communications Management Plan in the starting

the project stage of your project, be sure to obtain the stakeholders buy-in,and update it as needed in the carrying out the work stage.


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The following communication information should

be contained within the project communication

plan:

Project communication strategy

The kick-off meeting

Roles and responsibilities of the team

Project status meetings and frequency

Change control communications

Issue management and escalation process

Project review meetings Transition from deployment to operations

Closure meeting


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Communication on projects

Overview and key points


The PM must define the communication

strategy; Communication management is not only

"notification;

The project meetings must be structured and regulated by

the PM;

E-mails can be used in a uniform manner within the project;

The way in which the PM present their project is an

indicator of their efficiency and credibility;

Listening is a fundamental activity of a PM.


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Work Plan


The PM must deal with communication

events like any other deliverables ofthe project;

You must add the activity to the work plan

and assign resources and deadlines so that the team

understands when communication is waiting;

Even the preparation, the formalization and the update ofthe project communication management requires effort.


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Type of Communications


We can categorize communications into three

general areas:

Mandatory- Includes the Status and Progress

Reports, legal requirements, financial reports, etc..

This information that must be promptly

transmitted to the parties concerned (pull);

Informative- treat information that people want to know, or whomay serve for their work. Such information, usually, are made

available for reading, but it is the reader who must take the

initiative to seek it within the info management system (pull);

Marketing- Information to enhance motivation and promote the

work of the project and its deliverables. Such information shallbe transmitted to the "right" people (pull).


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Manage stakeholder expectations


By properly managing the stakeholders expectations

from the outset, the chances for a smoother journey

are much greater.

1. Identify who the stakeholders are (even the other non-obvious

stakeholders of the project);

2. Identify the stakeholders preferred method of communication;

3. Keep stakeholders engaged throughout the process with timely

updates. The PM must be sure to call the customer before thecustomer calls him

4. Identify which stakeholders will be advocates and which will be road

blockers. Map your strategy accordingly.

5. Engage the stakeholders in decision making. Stroke their egos.

6. The manner in which the project is accomplished is vitallyimportant, not just delivering on the required specs.

Stakeholders will remember the overall mood of the entire

process. Their measure of success is not just the finished

product, but the way you attained the end goal


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E-mail (1/2)


To yield expected results, a (distributed) project team must first speak the

same language when it comes to communications. Use of the emails must

be included in the ground rules shared with team from the beginning oftheir participation to the project. Here some basic rules:

1. Don't be cute in the subject line.Attract the attention of the recipient

using powerful, descriptive language in subject lines. Include a call for

action when needed, including statements like: URGENT, FOR YOUR

IMMEDIATE ATTENTION or ESCALATION REQUIRED.2. An email should cover a single topic;

3. If the e-mail goes to several people and each has the actionsto be

done, this should be connected to the same in the text of the email;

4. Manage response expectations. Let the recipients know the reason

for a delay, in the event you are not able to take immediate action on arequest or conversation.

5. Keep e-mails short, if the mail is longer than one screen attach the

document detailed in attachment


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E-mail 2/2


6. Never use the CAPS (all text in capital letters) in emails, because that

makes communication much "cold"

7. Limit the distribution list. Include only the interested parties in the

messages. Beware the "Reply All" button. Checkcarefully who should

be added in to and in cc

8. Start fresh. Remove unnecessary email trails -- for example, when

the messages start to deviate from the original topic. Better yet, when

possible, create a new message to continue the discussion.9. Do not engage in email battles.Avoid confrontation online. It is just

not productive and creates clutter in your inbox. If you spend more

than 10 minutes crafting an email, you are better off scheduling a

meeting or call with your counterpart to address the problem in an

actual conversation.

C i i j


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Presentations (1/2)


1. Dont give your presentation software center stage. No amount of

razzle dazzle or slide effects can overcome a weak presentation. If

you dont do your job, slides wont save you. It only makes a badpresentation worse.

2. Create a logical flow to your presentation.Better yet, tell a story

3. Make your presentation readable.Memorize this sentence: If

people cant read my slides from the back of the room, my type is too

small.4. Remember, less is more.Keep things simple.

5. Distribute a handout.I do not think that you should distribute a

handout beforeyou begin speaking unless you are in a Status

Meeting.

6. Observe the decision maker: if while you are discussing the slide 3he/she is reading the slide 10 perhaps is worth accelerating the

presentation.

C i ti j t


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Presentations (2/2)


Choose the right look: it is important to dress in line with your

audience.

Arrive on time: arrive 15 minutes before allows the setup of the

equipment on time. In the case of "first time" increase the time.

Have a backup: for important presentations is always better to have a

hard copy in case the projector is not working.

Be clear: to say clearly what you want to achieve, insert a slide in

which it is said, it is necessary that X decides XYZ by otherwise happens ____

P j t ti


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Project meetings

What to do before the meeting


Clearly define the purposeof the meeting

Define an agenda: Topics in order of priority

Expected duration of each topic

Decisions to be made for each topic

Indicate clearly if there is preparatory work to dobefore the meeting

Do not accept to participate in a meeting that does nothave an agenda

P j t ti


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Project meetings

What to do before the meeting


Make sure you have time contingency

for each of the topics on the agenda

Define breaks of 15 minutesafter every

hour and a half meeting

Do not invite more than 7 peopleif you want to have a real

interactive session

Invite the needed people also if they are unpopular or

opposed to the project

Project meetings


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Project meetings

How to behave during the meeting


Define the following roles:

Moderator: responsible for managingthe meeting as a whole (PM)

Secretary: with the aim to take notes to formalize the

meeting minute, must have the confidence to ask for a

clarification if an argument is not clear

Time check: in charge of verifying compliance with the

agenda (ask a volunteer)

Project meetings


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Project meetings

How to behave during the meeting


Follow the agendaand respect the schedule.

Never drag a planned meeting too much, since it

could be a bad example.

Do not accept that someone else rules" the

meeting

Do not accept people that are not required/not necessary;

During the meeting use the technique of pressure on time,most often 80% of the decisions are taken in the last 20% of time

available

Freeze the decisions: When you define something the PM must

highlight it, repeating all the decisions and asking if the

participants all agree Before everyone leaves, summarize the meeting and call out

the action items and next steps.

Project meetings


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Project meetings

After


Prepare minutes of the meeting containing the following:

1. Decisions taken: documentation of any agreement

that has been taken, record: Who made the decisionand the decision.

2. Actions: description of each action assigned to an

individual during the meeting, record: the action, the person responsible,

the expected date of completion.

3. Supporting Notes: report any information required to support the

contextualization of the decisions and actions (to be used only when

needed).

Minutes that could be challenged: in these cases, re-read the

minutes sharing and seeking the approval of those present at the

meeting;

Send the minutes: as soon as possible, in any case within 24 hours.The moderator should start together with the Secretary to verify the

points immediately after the meeting

UPDATE THE ISSUE LOG

Project meetings


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Project meetings

Kick off meeting


The Kick-off meeting is an opportunity to bring together

members of the working group, the managers

of the customer, other stakeholders and formally

announce the start of the project or phase.

It aims to create a common vision and to avoid, in the middle

of the project, team members and stakeholders have a

different perception of what is happening and why.

Project meetings


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Project meetings

Kick off meeting


Presentation of project team and project organization;

Presentation of the main information: Objectives of the project

Project Scope

Main deliverables

Risks Recruitment (only for the internal kickoff)

Commitment estimated budget (only for internal

kickoff)

Milestones Masterplan and Deadlines

Communicate that the project or phase is started!


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Project meetings


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Project meetings

Kick off meeting example of agenda


Introductions Project Manager Project manager welcomes everyone and briefly states the objective of

the meeting.

1-2 minutes

Meeting Goals Project Manager or Project Sponsor Introduce members of the project and greater project effort.

Communicate project goals and deliverables.

Outline communication protocols and expectations.

Define week 1 activities.

5 minutes

Project Background and Purpose Project Manager and Project Sponsor Brief project overview primary outcomes and success factors.

Project timing and management and team commitment.

Project Sponsor describes the project vision, demonstrates support and

advocates for success and sets the project as a priority for all parties involved.

5 minutes

Project Goals and Objectives Project Manager or Project Sponsor Discussion of project deliverables and major project milestones. 5 minutes

Ground Rules Project Manager Discuss operational, organizational, and project ground rules and procedures. 5 minutes

Roles and Responsibilities Project Manager Allow members to briefly introduce themselves and their roles on the project or

how they may be able to contribute to project efforts (i.e. if not an actual project

team member).

5-10 minutes

High-Level Plan Project Manager or Project Sponsor Review and summarize high-level project plan. 5-10 minutes

Next Steps Project Manager Plan, timeframe, and rough agenda for moving forward and starting phase

execution.

Review/assign open issues and follow-up actions.

5 minutes

Communications Plan

Expectations

Project Manager Communication plan, expectations, frequency, and methods for each

stakeholder group.

5 minutes

Issue Management and Resolution Project Manager How issues and risks will be dealt with, and by whom.

Summarize some of the upfront risks and issues of the project.

5 minutes

Questions Project Manager Open forum for any questions that may have arisen during the meeting. (as needed)

Close Project Sponsor and Project Manager Thank everyone for their time.

Close meeting.

1-2 minutes

Project meetings


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Project meetings

Project progress meetings


All projects are required to disclose the

progress (i.e. The team reports to the

Project Manager, The Project Manager reports

to the customer and stakeholders)

The definition of a disciplined process of

verifying and reporting the project status isessential.

Project meetings


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Project meetings



There are 5 key features of this process:

Consistency: the status process should bebasically the same for all projects and

consistent with their measure of success.

Escalation: The process should ensure that the problems

are addressed at the right level.

Simplicity: one page with the ability of drill down for

details when necessary.

Public: status is available to all (as appropriate) in order to

communicate issues, risks, and corrective action

measures. Inclusive:All projects are required to provide status on a

consistent set of metrics.

Project meetings


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Project meetings



There are 5 key features of this process:

Consistency: the status process should bebasically the same for all projects and

consistent with their measure of success.

Escalation: The process should ensure that the problems

are addressed at the right level.

Simplicity: one page with the ability of drill down for

details when necessary.

Public: status is available to all (as appropriate) in order to

communicate issues, risks, and corrective action

measures. Inclusive:All projects are required to provide status on a

consistent set of metrics.

Project meetings


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Project progress meetings obstacles


The customizations (of the reports) are frequent;

Status reviews are often held "on demand" and not on a

regular, consistent basis;

Inconsistent status reporting to management from project to

project, causing difficulties in interpreting status ;

The PM is too busy to do structured reporting;

Leaders are too busy to review or accept status;

Status is reported at the detailed level instead of summary; Projects are not structured for status meeting metrics to be easily

available;

To loose a lot of time in the reporting of projects that are on time and on

budget and not over the problematic ones ( );

Status meetings (internal, external, etc.) are not planned (effort + cost)

and stakeholders are not educated;

Status meetings are created with the view that it satisfies a requirement

mandated by management

Project meetings


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How Often You Should Run Status Meetings?

Project meetings


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Project progress meetings tips and tricks


Plan the schedule, duration and agenda of the status

meetings at the beginning of the project or phase;

If the status meetings is taking too long is usually

a sign that you are devoting too much time to

troubleshooting

Use the space of the meeting to discuss the state of the project,

the major issues, the scope and the risk

Hold short meetings on the progress of the project, with a fixed

agenda;

Keep out of the meeting any long discussion or plan a separate

meeting to focus the issue that is taking long time (only with the

people really interested); Remember that the status meeting is your business card.

Project meetings


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Project progress meetings with customer or sponsor


The Status Report

The best day for the Status Meeting is on Tuesdayand then on Thursday;

It is important to define the date on which it

was decided to freeze" the status of the project (end of

reporting period); the information presented in the Status

Report will refer to the status of the project at that time; If necessary, you can create a section of "last-minute

updates.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Meeting

(Tuesday)End of reporting period

(friday)

Project meetings


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The Status Report - Preparation cycle

A series of bi-weekly reporting (meeting each two Tuesdays)

activities can be organized as follows:

The week T0work on the scheduled activities;

On Friday of T0gather work performance information

and update the project work plan;

On Monday of T1set up the documentation for the Tuesday's meeting

(status, plan, issue, risk, change requests, next steps) and the statusreport is sent to participants (if foreseen in the communication plan)

On Tuesday of T1is held the status meeting

On Friday of T1gather progress information and update the plan

The week T2work on the scheduled activities and on Friday T2you

collect work performance information and update the work plan, but no

status meeting is held.

Project meetings


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Project progress meetings with customer - content


Check actions highlighted in the previous status meeting

Project Plan Update for

project progress deviation of the date and finish compared to baseline project

analysis of the causes of deviations

projection of project success factors

corrective actions (if any) and to improve productivity / timeliness / quality

Update project WBS and OBS

Possible need for updates of the organizational structure and / or itsbreakdown into work packages

List of risks (visible) and related planned actions

Change Requests

checking the status of the previous issued

new variants identified

Agreed actions

identification and assignment of actions to be taken for the solution /

mitigation of problems that emerged in meeting

Project meetings


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OtherProject progress meetings - content


All information contained in customer report, plus:

Control costs / revenues change (if necessary to issue and approve new C12)

Control of subcontractors

Internal status meeting

WBS / WP assigned performance information: allow the monitoring of the

progress of the delivery

Deviations with respect to the schedule baseline and analysis of the causes

corrective actions (if any) and improvement

Change requests (In progress and new)

Status meeting with third parties (subcontractors, partners, )

Where we are the cu stomer..

Project meetings


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OtherProject progress meetings - content


All information contained in customer report, plus:

Control costs / revenues change (if necessary to issue and approve new C12)

Control of subcontractors

Internal status meeting

WBS / WP assigned performance information: allow the monitoring of the

progress of the delivery

Deviations with respect to the schedule baseline and analysis of the causes

corrective actions (if any) and improvement

Change requests (In progress and new)

Status meeting with third parties (subcontractors, partners, )

Where we are the cu stomer..

Project meetings

P j i i h


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The Status Report Template Engineering

2 models, one for the Internal status meeting

(Management, OU, etc.) and one for customer

Available on the corporate intranet

Issue Management


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Issue management is the process of

identifying and resolvingissues.

Problems with staff or suppliers,technical failures, material

shortages these might all have a

negative impact on your project.

If the issue goes unresolved, you risk

creating unnecessary conflicts,

delays, or even failure to produce

your deliverable.

Issue management, therefore, is a plannedprocess for dealing

with an unexpected issue whatever that issue may be if and

when one arises.

Issue management is strictly connected with the management

of the escalation process.

Issue Management

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Issue log


Issues need to be recorded when they

happen. When you create an issues log, you

provide a tool for reporting and communicatingwhat's happening with the project.

This makes sure that issues are indeed raised, and then

investigated and resolved quickly and effectively at the rightlevel of responsibility.

Without a defined process, you risk ignoring issues, or

not taking them seriously enough until it's too late to

deal with them successfully.

Issue Management

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Issue log


An issues log allows you to do the following:

Have a safe and reliable method for the team and the

customer to raise issues. Track and assign responsibility to specific people for

each issue.

Do bear in mind that the success of your issue

management process doesn't necessarily depend on

which tracking mechanism you use, but rather on the type

of information you track and on the commitment in the

application of the process by all the stakeholders involved

Analyze and prioritize issues more easily.

Record issue resolution for future reference and project learning.

Monitor overall project health and status.

Issue Management

Issue log


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Issue log


An issues log allows you to do the following:

Have a safe and reliable method for the team and the

customer to raise issues. Track and assign responsibility to specific people for

each issue.

Do bear in mind that the success of your issue

management process doesn't necessarily depend on

which tracking mechanism you use, but rather on the type

of information you track and on the commitment in theapplication of the process by all the stakeholders involved

Analyze and prioritize issues more easily.

Record issue resolution for future reference and project learning.

Monitor overall project health and status.

Issue Management

Issue log template


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Issue log template


Tipologia

Assegnare la criticit ad una delle seguenti categorie:

Tipologie di valore Descrizionedel valore

Processi la criticit relativa al/ai processo/iimpattatidal progetto

Change management la criticit relativa ai ruoli e responsabilit relative alla formazione e comunicazione

Project MGT la criticit relativa alla pianificazione, controllo, finanziamento del progetto

Risorse la criticit relativa alla disponibilt, la qualit e il carico di lavoro delle risorse

Dipendenze la criticit relativa a qualsiasivincolo o dipendenze

Tecnico la criticit ralativa ad aspetti tecnici/disviluppo

Logistica la criticit ralativa ad aspetti logistici

Governance la criticit ralativa ad aspetti di Governance

Ambito la criticit ralativa all'ambito/scopo del progetto

Delivery la criticit ralativa alla consegna del prodotto/servizio richiesto (o di una sua parte)

Esternola criticit relativa ad un evento estraneo al progetto che pu avere un impatto sulprogetto

Data obietti vo di Risoluzione La colonna deve essere utilizzata per indicare la data entro la quale la criticit deve essere risolta

Alert sui tempi di risoluzione

La colonnaindica la differenza dei giorni tra la data corrente la data di chiusura della criticit :-Verde: maggiore o uguale a 10 giorni-Giallo: tra 5 e 9 giorni-Rosso: inferiore o uguale ai 4 giorni

Severit

Valore della severit Descrizionedel valore

AltaLa criticit avr un forte impatto sul successodel progetto e probabilmente fermer ilsuo proseguimento. Effetti inaccettabilisaranno prodotti sul progetto e sugli utenti

finali.

MediaLa criticit avr un notevole impatto sul successo del progetto. Effetti lesivi sarannocomunque pordotti sul progetto ma gli utenti finali possono continaurele loro attivit.

BassaLa criticit avr un basso impatto sul successodel progetto. Gli effetti possonoessere risolti all'occorenza,e gli utenti finali possono continuarele loro attivit.

Assegnatario Inserire il nome della persona responsabile a risolvere la criticit. Provvedere ad informare l'ownerdella criticit.

Data assegnazione Inserire la data in cui la criticit stata assegnata.

Livello di escalation Assegnare il livello di escalation

L1 Riunione di progetto

L2 SAL di Progetto

L3 Riunione Stato Avanzamento Servizio

L4 Riunione comitato ERP (EmergencyResponse Team)

L5 Riunione Comitato Esecutivo

Stato corrente

Assegnare lo status della criticit.

Valore dello status descrizione del valore

IdentificataLa criticit oggetto di indagine al fine di individuare la sua entit e la possibilesoluzioneda applicare.

Assegnata La criticit stata assegnata

In fase di soluzione La soluzione della criticit stata individuata ed in fase di attuazione.

DifferitaLa risoluzione della criticit non necessaria al momento, si decidedirimandarlaneltempo.

Risolta / Chiusa La criticit stata risolta o chiusa (senza che sia stata risolta).

Azioni intraprese o da intraprendere / Soluzione finale Inserire la storia delle decisioni prese, delle azioni intraprese e della soluzione (se individuata)finale adottata.

Data chiusura Inserire la data in cui la criticit stata risolta/chiusa.

Conclusions

Being a Project Manager in Engineering


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Engineering, like many organizations, to support the PM in

the various phases of the projects, provides them with work

rules (procedures, models, guidelines ...), with the aim of:

help PM in facing the many difficult tasks

allow them to focus more and more on higher value-

addedactivities

Conclusions



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CMMi initiative

Great number of tools, simple and personalized

Empowerment

Development of personal ski l ls of the PM, in order to

enable it to handle more effectively the various issues

related to the project: training on soft-skills

PMP certification path and the subsequent process

of continuous education

Conclusions



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The work rules are not enough by themselves to build a

good Project Manager:

do not help to interpret the various situations that occur

over the course of the project!

Thus, in addition to approach the Project Management from

the methodological point of view, Engineering feel the need

to reflect on the role of the PM in terms of personalcharacteristics and ability to make / skill

In this context, the methodological aspect is definitely

one of the points of attention, but not the only and

perhaps not even the most important!

Conclusions



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Engineering, like many organizations, to support the PM

in the various phases of the projects, providing them with

work rules (procedures, models, guidelines ...), ...

It remains true, however, the fact that ...

Project Management, even more

than other professions, is a

purely experiential discipline that

is learned over the years and

thanks to some mistake!

Conclusions


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Conclusions


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