Project Communication Management

Arch. Saad Al Jabri, PMP

Introduction

“Project mangers spend most of their time (about 90%) communicating with team members and other project stakeholders — internal or external to the organization”.

Importance of Communications Management

•The project manager should effectively and efficiently communicate with stakeholders.

•Managing communications is very vital for any project.•A failure in communication can have a negative impact

on the project.

Importance of Communications Management

The project manager uses a variety of communication methods to share information among stakeholders. He/she should decide what, how, and when to use each communication method.

Project Communication Management

Is the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.

Various forms of communication

Form of Communication

Characteristics Examples

Written Formal Precise Transmitted through the

medium of correspondence

Project charter, scope statement, project plan, WBS, project status

Complex issues Contract related

communications Memos

Written Informal Email, notes, letters, etc. Regular communication with

team members

Oral Formal High degree of flexibility Use the medium of personal

contact, group meetings, or telephone

Presentations, speeches Negotiations

Oral Informal

Conversation with team members

Project meetings Break-room or war-room

conversations

Non-verbal Communication About 55% of total communication

Facial expressions, hand movements, tone of voice while speaking, etc.

Plan communications management

•Mostly performed during the early stages of the project, i.e., during developing project management plan.

•Is linked with enterprise environmental factors, because project’s organizational structure impacts the project’s communication requirements.

•The results of this process should be reviewed regularly throughout the project and revised as needed to ensure continued applicability.

•The project Kick-Off Meeting is held at the end of the project-planning phase.

Communications management plan

•Is the main output of plan communications management•It includes:

▫Stakeholder communication requirements▫Information to be communicated, time frame, frequency,

format, etc.▫Person responsible for communicating information, for

authorizing release of confidential information, and persons going to receive information

▫Technologies/methods used to convey information▫Resources allotted for communication activities

Communications management plan

▫Escalation process, identifying the time frames and management chain

▫Flow charts of information flow, workflows with possible sequence of authorization, list of reports, and meeting plans, etc.

▫Communication constraints derived from legislation, regulation, technology, etc.

▫Method of updating and refining the communications management plan as project progresses and develops

Plan comm. - Tools & Techniques

• A Communication Requirements Analysis determines the information needs of each project stakeholder throughout the project.

• The PM should also consider the number of potential communications channels, or paths among project stakeholders

• This can be used to plan and control who will communicate about what, and who will receive what during the requirements analysis.

Problems in Requirements Analysis

•Miscommunication and omission often occur between the system analyst and customer

•Successful acquisition of information cannot be guaranteed

•Analyst have difficulties:▫In getting pertinent (appropriate) information▫Handling large and complex problems, i.e. as complexity

increases, effort increases▫Accommodating changes that occur during and after

analysis

Plan comm. - Tools & Techniques

Communication Methods: They are used to share information among project stakeholders. They are broadly classified as follows:• Push communication is when information sent to specific stakeholders

who need to receive it. (e.g., letters, memos, reports, emails, faxes, voice mails).

• Pull communication requires stakeholders to access information on their own from a posted location (e.g., intranet sites, e-learning module, information systems, or other databases).

• Interactive communication occurs between multiple stakeholders engaged in a multidirectional exchange of information. This method is the most efficient way to ensure all participants understand the information (e.g., meetings, phone calls, instant messaging, and video conferencing).

Plan comm. - Tools & Techniques

Communication Models like the basic Sender-Receiver Model are used to facilitate information exchange:• Encode – ideas are translated or coded by the sender• Transmit Message - information is sent by sender using the medium of choice• Interruption or Noise – interference or barriers that may compromise

message delivery (e.g., distance, technology used, infrastructure, culture differences, insufficient information); noise must be identified and managed

• Decode - message is translated by the receiver back into meaningful ideas• Acknowledge - receiver may acknowledge receipt of the message• Feedback - receiver encodes a response message and transmits it to the

original sender

Plan comm. - Tools & Techniques

Example of communication plan

Project name: Redevelopment Project (ref: db61001)Stakeholder group Area of interest Information requirements Information

providerMethod of communication Frequency

Senate and Chancellor’s office

 

Senior Management Board

Progress to cost and budget advance notice of problems. Achievement of benefits.

Highlight reports and exception reports. Project Manager At monthly committee

meetings.

Monthly or as required for escalations

External Relations Office/Communications Office

 

Benefits to University and impact on community

High level information regarding the master plan and progress. Details of and involvement in consultation planning and communication planning.

Project Office and Project Manager

At meetings and via email.

Bi-weekly and as required.

Business and enterprise

Benefits to University and impact enterprise

High level information regarding the master plan and progress.

Project ManagerTo Director via Senior Management Board meetings.

Monthly

The 3 fastest means ofCommunications

Television, Telephone,Tell a woman

Manage Communications

• Enables an efficient and effective communications flow between project stakeholders.

• The Communication Management Plan is implemented during the Manage Communications Process.

• Performance Reporting includes collecting and distributing project performance information such as status reports. Progress measurements and forecasts. Baseline and actual project data are compared to determine status and forecasting results. Performance information includes such things as percent complete, past performance analysis, schedule and budget forecasts, status of risks and issues, changes recently approved, etc.

• Project Records are Organizational Process Assets that are kept on file such as correspondence, memos, meeting minutes and other documents describing the project. Records may be maintained in physical or electronic notebooks or registers.

Control Communications

•Ensures an optimal information flow among all communication participants, at any moment in time.

•Triggers an iteration of the Plan Communications Management and /or Manage Communications processes.

The Battleship And A Lighthouse

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