Concepts

• Communication Management covers all tasks related to producing, compiling, sending, storing, distributing, and managing project records.

• Determine:
  • What to communicate,
  • To Whom,
  • How often,
  • When to reevaluate the plan.

• It involves understanding who your stakeholders are and what they need to know.

• It focuses on keeping the stakeholders properly informed throughout the project.

• It is always proactive and thorough.

• It is essential that the project manager distribute accurate project information in a timely manner and to the right audience.

• Communicating effectively is the most important skill set for Project Manager.
  • Communication always is the answer to the questions like: "what the project manager's most important job or most important skills are", or "how most of the project manager's time is spent"
  • An effective project manger spends about 90% of time communicating, fully 50% of that communication time is spent communicating with the project team.
  • Project Manager should be in control of the communications process.

Processes

• [Planning] Plan Communication Management

  • Plan Communication Management is performed early, and may be revisited as often as needed.

  • It does depend on the process of Identify Stakeholder.

  • Inputs

    • Project Charter

    • Project Management Plan
      • Key component: Stakeholder Engagement Plan
      • Communications is almost always the primary way in which stakeholders are kept engaged.

    • Project Documents
      • Most important document: Stakeholder Register, which shows which stakeholders will receive project communications.

    • Enterprise Environmental Factors

    • Organizational Process Assets

  • Tools

    • Expert Judgement

    • Communication Requirement Analysis
      • The goal of this technique is to identify which stakeholders should receive project communications, what communications they should receive, how they should receive these communications, and how often they should receive them.
      • Communication Channels:
        • Channels Count = n x (n-1) / 2

          (* n = number of people on project)

      • Official Channels of Communication
        • If there are a large number of channels of communication on the project, the project manager should work to define which communication channels are official.

    • Communication Technology
      • The right tool should be selected for a given communications need.

    • Communication Models
      • The communication model is a formal way of understanding how message are sent and received.
      • Sender's Responsibilities:

        • Encode the message clearly

        • Select a communication method

        • Send the message

        • Confirm that the message was received and understood by the receiver.
      • Receiver's Responsibilities:

        • Decode the message

        • Acknowledge (Confirm that the message was received)

        • Respond and give feedback
      • Noise can be anything that affects the receiver's ability to understand a message. e.g. language and cultural issues, method of transimission, distance, and bias.
      • Different ways of communicating:

        • Active Listening: requires receiver to take steps to ensure that the sender's message was understood.

        • Effective Listening: requires the listener's full thought and attention, monitor nonverbal and physical communication and to provide feedback indicating whether the message has been clearly understood.

        • Feedback: the verbal or nonverbal cues a speaker must monitor to see whether the listener fully comprehend the message.

        • Nonverbal: take place through body language, e.g. facial expression, posture, hand motions, etc.

        • Paralingual: vocal but not verbal. e.g. tone of voice, volume, pitch, etc.

        • Communication Blockers: anything that interferes with the sender encoding the message or with the receiver decoding it.

    • Communication Methods
      • Formal & Informal Written
      • Formal & Informal Oral
      • Internal & External
      • Official & Unofficial

        

      OR

      • Interactive
      • Push
      • Pull

        

    • Interpersonal and Team Skills
      • Important aspects: being political and culturally aware

    • Data Representation
      • The Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix is a powerful tool to show how stakeholders relate to the project.

    • Meetings

  • Outputs

    • Communication Management Plan
      • Communication Management Plan defines:

        • Who should receive project communications

        • What communications they require and what should be included

        • Who should send the communication

        • Who should approve sensitive communications

        • How the communication will be sent

        • How often it will be updated

        • Deifnitions so that everyone has a common understanding of terms

    • Project Management Plan Updates

    • Project Documents Updates

• [Executing] Manage Communications

  • Manage Communication is the process where the bulk of project communications takes place.

  • The approach to this process can be summed up as four statements:

    • Always deal with the problem

    • Always communicate directly

    • Always tell the truth

    • Always distribute accurate information

  • Manage Communication generally updates stakeholders on the progress of the project according to the communications management plan.

  • Start quite early on the project, but it typically elevates in importance and activity during the construction phases of the project.

  • Inputs

    • Project Management Plan

    • Project Documents

    • Work Performane Reports

    • Enterprise Environmental Factors

    • Organizational Process Assets

  • Tools

    • Communication Technology

    • Communication Methods

    • Communication Skills

      • Ability to formulate a message

      • Ability to stay on topic

      • How well you receive feedback

      • How you conduct presentations

      • How you set and manage communications expectations with your stakeholders.

      • High Emotional Intelligence(EQ)

    • Project Management Information System

    • Project Reporting
      • Project Reporting includes any communications about the deliverables, whereas the other work performance reports look more at how the work is progressing.

    • Interpersonal and Team Skills
      • Key Skills: Active listening, Conflict Management, Effective Meeting Management, Political Awareness.

    • Meetings

  • Outputs

    • Project Communications

    • Project Management Plan Updates

    • Project Documents Updates

    • Organizational Process Assets

• [Monitoring & Controlling] Monitor Communications

  • Monitor Communications compare the result of Project Communications with the communication management plan.

  • Start early in the project and is performed periodically throughout.

  • Inputs

    • Project Management Plan

    • Project Documents

    • Work Performance Data

    • Enterprise Environmental Factors

    • Organizational Process Assets

  • Tools

    • Expert Judgement

    • Project Management Information System

    • Data Representation
      • Used to show the data in a meaningful format.

    • Meetings
      • Meetings are always classified as formal communication, even if the meeting is ad-hoc.
      • Lesson Learned Meeting or Post Motem Meeting or After Action Review always is the answer, if the meeting is about "if we had this activity to do over again, what would we do differently knowing what we know now?"

  • Outputs

    • Work Performance Information

    • Change Requests

    • Project Management Plan Updates

    • Project Document Updates

The Agile Perspective on Communications Management

• Communication stands out as being more markedly more open and dynamic on agile projects.

• Because the team is often colocated, agile projects benefit from "osmotic communication" where the team benefits from and absorbs information gleaned from other conversation.

• In this enviroment, communication should be rapid, and barriers to direct, transparent communication should be actively removed.

• Agile Project employ stand-up meetings and frequent reviews which facilitate communication.

• Conversation and engagement are highly encouraged over adhering to a plan.

• Healthy Agile teams avoid communication silos and instead foster the collective understanding of the team.