Project Communications Management is the process of planning, collecting, storing, and updating project information. This article is part of a PMP Study Guide that summarizes the Communications Management Knowledge Area.
The Communications Management knowledge area that a project manager spends the most time on. In fact, over 90% of the project manager’s time is spent on communications.
In this article, we will cover the key terms and three processes in the Communications Management Knowledge Area.
The project manager need to be the expert in project management, and the stakeholders are the technical experts in what needs to be done and how it need to be done. The project manager is the orchestra leader, and the work cannot be done well without stakeholder involvement
Kick-off meeting
Get team members to know each other
Establish working relationships and lines of communication
Set team goals and objectives
Review project plans
Identify problem areas
Establish individual and group responsibilities
Obtain individual and group commitments
Barriers to communication
No channels – lack of clear communication channels
Distance – physical or temporal distance between the communicator and receiver
Difficulties with technical language – the presence of communication barriers may lead to increased conflict
Noise – distracting environmental factors; not paying attention
Detrimental attitudes – hostile attitudes are communication blockers. All communication blockers are noise, but not all noise are communication blockers
Communication role of PM
PM’s spend about 80 – 90% of their time acquiring and communicating information
PM is key to all project communications and must be skilled at communicating with top management, customer, project team, competing project teams (peers)
PM serves as focal point for ensuring real, two-way communication between the project team and customer
PM’s communications covers all facets: laterally, vertically and diagonally through an organization and across
Building effective team communications
Be an effective communicator
Be a communications expeditor – initiate relationships
Avoid communication blockers (i.e. negative response that kill or inhibit)
Innovative ideas
Use a tight matrix – collocation of project team is best communication for the team
Have a project war room
Make meetings effective
Establish a meeting policy
Only call a meeting when there is a real need
Make the purpose of the meeting very clear
Prepare an agenda
Encourage participation
Issue minutes
Follow up on all tasks and action items
General management skills
Leading
Communicating
Establishing direction; motivating
Exchange of info – written/oral; formal/informal; vertical/horizontal
Negotiating
Problem solving
Conferring with others to reach an agreement
Combination of problem definition and decision making
Influencing organization
Ability to get things done
Organization structure and communication
3 types of organizations: functional, projectized, matrix
Communication and information flows are thought to be the most complex in the matrix environment
Best positive communications – free flow of information
Plan Communications Management
Plan Communications Management is the process of developing communications plans and processes based on the existing procedures and stakeholder’s needs. The main output of this process is the Communications Management Plan.
Communication requirements analysis determines the information needs of the project stakeholders
Sources of information used to identify communication requirements:
Organizational charts
Stakeholder register
Project charter
Project documents
Communication technology and factors that affect it:
Urgency of the need for information
Availability of technology
Ease of use
Project environment
Sensitivity and confidentiality of the information
Communication model:
Communication models are framed around three parts:
Sender
Messenger
Receiver
Effective communications
The sender should encode a message, determine which communication method to use, and confirm that the message is understood. When encoding the message, the sender needs to be aware of the following communication factors:
Non-verbal – about 55% of all communication is non-verbal
Paralingual – pitch and tone of voice also help to convey a message
Communication methods
These methods can be grouped into the following categories:
Interactive communications
The method is reciprocal and can involve just two people or many people
Examples include conversations, meetings, and conference calls
Push communications
This method involves a one-way stream of information
The sender provides the information to the people who need it but does not expect feedback on the communication
Examples include status reports and email updates
Pull communications
The project manager places the information in a central location. The recipients are then responsible for retrieving or “pulling” the information from the location
Communication type
When used
Formal written
Complex problems, project management plan , project charter , communicating over long distances
Formal verbal
Presentations , speeches
Informal written
E-mail, handwritten notes, text messages, instant Messages
Informal verbal
Meetings, conversations
Manage Communications
Manage Communications is the process of creating, collecting, distributing, and updating project information according to the Communications Management Plan. This process happens during the Executing process group.
The key benefit of this process is that it enables efficient communications between project team members and stakeholders.
Communication methods
Face-to-face (most effective), meetings, video and audio conferences, email, instant messaging, etc.
Techniques and considerations for effective communications
Sender-receiver models
Choice of media
Writing style
Meeting management techniques
Presentation techniques
Facilitation techniques
Listening techniques
Performance reporting
Includes collecting and distributing project performance information
Includes status reports, progress reports and forecasts
Remember that reports are backward-looking, not forward-looking tools
Project communications components include:
Performance reports,
Deliverables status,
Schedule progress
Cost incurred
Communication Channels = [n*(n-1)]/2, where n = number of people
PM Expectations
Stakeholders’ need must continue to be met and their issues resolved throughout the project
Make stakeholders feel that their needs and concerns are being considered
Keeping open communication channels with the stakeholders is key so they can inform the project manager of potential changes, added risks, and other information
Monitor Communications
Monitor Communications is the process of analyzing communications through the project life cycle and sending relevant work performance information to stakeholders.
Communication blockers include things such as:
Noisy surroundings
Distance between those trying to communicate
Improper encoding of messages
Making negative statements
Hostility
Language barriers
Culture barriers
There are different types of performance reports:
Status report – this report describes where the project now stands regarding the performance measurement baseline
Progress report – describes what has been accomplished
Trend report – examines project results over time to see if performance is improving or deteriorating
Forecasting report – predicts future project status
Variance report – compares actual results to baselines
Earned value report – integrates scope, cost, and schedule measures to assess project performance, using the terms described in Cost Management section
Lessons learned documentation – reports on performance are used as lessons learned for future projects
Things to understand:
Reports should provide the kinds of information and the level of detail required by stakeholder
Reports should be designed for the needs of the project
The best way to have a report read and acted on is to use the most appropriate communication method in sending it
You should not spend all time reporting. Remember that many reports are just about the past. Finding information about the past means it is too late to prevent the problem. You need to keep managing the project, rather than just reporting on it, to make a project successful
Report should include measurements against the performance measurement baseline set in the project management plan. Remember that you should have performance measurement baseline (the combined scope, schedule, and cost baselines) that can be measured. Those measurements are an indication of how successful you are as a project manager
Reports must be truthful and not hide what is really going on
Things to Remember
Identify ALL stakeholders
Any stakeholders who are missed will likely be found later. When they are uncovered, they will make changes and could cause delays. Changes made later in the project are much more costly and harder to integrate than those made earlier.
A list of stakeholders is included in the stakeholder register
Stakeholders are first identified as part of initiating the project, and this list is reassessed during project execution
Determine ALL of their requirements
The project manager must make every effort to obtain ALL the requirements before work begins
There are many ways to make sure you have all requirements – from just asking if you do, to conducting requirement reviews, to telling people the negative consequences to the organization and the project if requirements are found later
The requirements should not just relate to how stakeholders want the product of the project to function, but should also include their communications requirements
Determine their expectations
These are what the stakeholders expect to happen to them, and their department, and company as a whole. They tend to be much more ambiguous than stated requirements, or they may be undefined requirements. They may be intentionally or unintentionally hidden
Naturally, expectations that go unidentified will have major impacts across all constraints
Expectations are converted to requirements and become part of the project
Determine their interest
Stakeholders may be particularly interested in working on some part of the project, getting a chance to learn new skills, getting a chance to prove their skills, or even getting out of working on certain parts of the project
A great project manager, will determine each stakeholder’s interest related to the project and attempt to either build them into the project or implement them as reward
Determine their level of influence
To some degree, each stakeholder will be able to negatively or positively affect a project. This is their level of influence, and it should be identified and managed
Plan how you will communicate with them
Project management focuses on planning before taking action. Since communications are the most frequent cause of problems on projects, planning communications is critical
Communicate with them
Stakeholders are included in project presentations are receive project information, including progress reports, updates, changes to the project management plan, and maybe even changes to the project documents
Manage their expectations and influence
Managing stakeholder doesn’t end during initiating. They must be managed throughout the life of the project
Before you go…
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the other study notes in this series and download our free 200 practice questions by clicking the links below:
