Project Communications PDF

4 PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS Project communication is intricate and delicate, as it revolves around the accurate exchange of information. Miscommunication can lead to disaster. A project manager spends over 90% of their time communicating—brainstorming, directing, instructing, leading meetings, document...

4 PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS Project communication is intricate and delicate, as it revolves around the accurate exchange of information. Miscommunication can lead to disaster. A project manager spends over 90% of their time communicating—brainstorming, directing, instructing, leading meetings, documenting results, and engaging with stakeholders. Thus, communication is the most critical skill for a project manager. However, this skill is not about being naturally vocal; it involves mastering techniques in communication and effectively using modern communication technology and approaches. PMI describes project communications management as a knowledge area that includes the processes necessary to ensure that the information needs of the project and its stakeholders are met through development of artifacts and implementation of activities designed to achieve effective information exchange.1 Project communications planning is conducted by the team, led by the project manager or a communications manager assigned to the project. They create the Communications Management Plan, a policy document guiding all project communications throughout its life cycle. This plan details preferences for communication strategies in planning, execution, monitoring, controlling, and closure. The team frequently refers to this plan for guidance. It outlines how information will be received, stored, and disseminated based on stakeholders' needs, available organizational infrastructure, and the project's nature. Project communication is closely tied to stakeholder management. Effective communication planning requires understanding stakeholders' needs, preferred methods of receiving information, existing communication systems, established channels, lessons from previous projects, organizational standards, and the broader stakeholder environment. This includes considering different cultures, locations, languages, and potential communication barriers. 1 Project Management Institute. 2017. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). 6th ed. Newton Square, PA: Project Management Institute. 1|Page Understanding the communication requirements of the project itself is essential. We need to know under what conditions to communicate various aspects, including project plans, status and progress, instructions, feedback, results, team meetings, vital information, elements impacting the project, changes, issues, and risks.  Efficient and Effective Communication  In project management, efficiency and effectiveness in communication are distinct concepts. Efficient communication is communicating the information and only the information needed, avoiding unnecessary details that could obscure the main idea. Effective Communication, on the other hand, is communicating the right information at the right time to the right stakeholder with the right impact.  Communication Awareness  In project communication, it's crucial to be mindful of the project environment and avoid hurting others' feelings. Recognize that team members have diverse political, social, cultural, and religious affiliations. They may hold different political ideologies, come from various ethnic or racial backgrounds, and follow different religious beliefs. Understanding and respecting this diversity is essential.  Communication Technology  In today’s high-tech world, numerous tools have been developed to enhance communication. Beyond traditional tools like mobile phones, fax machines, and email systems, we now have advanced tools for remote conferencing and instant messaging. Additionally, various project management software applications and information radiators facilitate work visualization, team collaboration, and progress communication. 2|Page   Communication Model  Project Communications Management begins with understanding the communication model, which outlines the stages of information flow to achieve communication objectives. Communication involves transmitting information from a sender to a receiver through a medium. The sender encodes an idea into meaningful language, considering the receiver's perspective for easier decoding. Communication is complete when feedback confirms the message is understood. Showing concern for the recipient's perspective and practicing effective listening, focused on understanding rather than just responding, are crucial. The sender should ensure understanding by asking the receiver to repeat the message, while the recipient should verify complete receipt of the information. Remember, anything that disrupts the flow of information, distracts attention and inhibits understanding is considered as noise.  Communication Requirements Analysis  Understanding the degree of communication complexity is vital for creating an effective communications plan. Factors contributing to communication complexity include language barriers, time zone differences, emotional barriers, cultural differences, and the number of stakeholders. Analyzing these factors helps the team develop a plan that addresses these complications. Generally, the more stakeholders 3|Page involved, the more complex the communication, as the number of stakeholders determines the number of communication channels in a project environment.  Communication Channels  A project of two stakeholders has only one communication channel. As you can see, a project of three stakeholders has three communication channels. A project of four stakeholders has six communication channels. Notice the exponential increase with the addition of each new stakeholder. 4|Page Consider the following questions: Q.1: A project has 10 stakeholders. How many channels are there on the project? Q.2: A project has 10 stakeholders. Two additional stakeholders were identified. How many more channels have been added? Q.3: You are working on a project in which you have identified 14 stakeholders with whom you need to communicate. How many channels are there on the project? The formula for the calculation of the number of communication channels is given below, where n is the number of stakeholders.  Communication Methods  Communication methods show the orientation and objective of a communication strategy typically influenced by the urgency of communication as determined by the sender, time requirement for receipt and understanding, the direction of communication, where the information will be placed and the effort required to access the information by the receiver. In a push communication method: Information flows in a single direction with a particular receiver in mind, one who needs to know. The communication strategy, medium, technology and approach are chosen to target the particular recipient. The recipient receives the information without much effort. Examples of push methods include text messages, emails, postal letters, faxes, software updates that are accepted for push, etc. 5|Page In a pull communication method: Sender has a general idea of target recipients. Sender puts the information at a central location [mostly where the target recipients are likely to see]. Recipients must go to the place of information in order to access the information. They go there, they see it; they don’t go there, they don’t see it. In a pull communication method, some amount of effort is required in order to access the information. Examples of pull include notice boards, websites, newspapers, billboards, magazines, journals, etc. Remember the push method is more effective than the pull. But the pull is typically used to target a broader and sometimes unknown audience. The interactive communication method is a multi-directional flow of information with continuous feedback loop in real time. Examples of interactive include phone calls, instant messaging, audio & video conferencing and face-to-face conversations. The interactive method is the most effective of them all. And among the options of interactive methods, the most effective is the face-to-face conversation because of our ability to access para-lingual information. Para-lingual information are material evidences derived from the likes of emotional expressions, hand gestures and body language. Again, face-to-face meetings are a more direct form of communicating.  Communication Types  When we communicate on projects, communication is either Formal or informal Written or verbal For any situation that is to be communicated, communication type requires us to make a choice between the first set and another between the second set. Formal written communications are ideal in formal situations and agreements where documentation for future reference is necessary such as project reports, contracts and lessons-learned. 6|Page Formal verbal communications are notable for situations in which the parties need to make audible impressions such as team meetings and presentations. Informal written communications mostly happen in peer-to-peer interaction within the team environment such us text messages among team members. And informal verbal communications are mostly ideal when people have a need to bond in situations that require trust and openness. Consider the following: You are about to sign a contract with a new vendor. What will be the best way to communicate this agreement? In a team meeting, you notice that a team member is exceptionally quiet. In recent times she has been missing her targets on the job. You suspect she may be going through a domestic issue which may be affecting her performance at work. You decide to talk to her after the meeting is done to find out what the problem might be. What will be the best way of communicating to this team member?  Effective Team Meetings  Meetings are effective ways of exchanging information about the progress and status of the project and discussing relevant issues. Meetings also set the stage for clarity. An agenda for meetings maintains the focus of the meeting and should be prepared and distributed in advance. The agenda must indicate the duration of the meeting. All persons who will perform any activity during meetings must be informed ahead of time and their specific responsibilities relayed to them before meeting starts. Facilitation techniques are a great way to get team members to actively participate in team meetings and to make relevant contributions to address team concerns. Nothing addresses dormancy in meetings better than effective facilitation techniques. Facilitation techniques [together with conflict management techniques] are also helpful in addressing differences in opinions among stakeholders. When meetings begin, it is important to stick to time and to the meeting agenda. It is not uncommon for unrelated matters, conflicts and concerns that are not on the agenda to arise during team meetings. Unrelated matters are best addressed in separate meetings. If a team member has concerns, remember 7|Page to acknowledge the concern immediately but such cases should not disrupt the meeting agenda. Conflicts are best addressed in private first. As a project manager, it is best to schedule a meeting with the team member first in order to understand the concern and to determine an appropriate resolution strategy. Similarly, if a stakeholder has concerns about a project outcome, the best is to work with that stakeholder to understand the specific concerns the stakeholder has before addressing it together with the team. Remember to include lessons learned in meeting agendas and discuss them as part of project meetings. The proceedings, discussions and outcomes of meetings are documented in meeting minutes. The following are some types of meetings common to traditional waterfall projects. Kick-Off Meetings are held at the end of planning and before execution in order to kickstart implementation efforts. The aim of a kick-off meeting is to start the project on the right foot and to get everyone on the same page of the project vision. Whenever new team members are added to the project, it becomes necessary to schedule new kick-off meetings for these additional resources so they can be on the same page in understanding of the project vision. Status Meetings are held from time to time to review performance and to discuss necessary changes. Stakeholder Meetings are held among key stakeholders in order to sustain their interests and support for the project. End of Project Meetings are held at the end to officially close a project or phase.  Project Reporting  Project reporting is a vital aspect of project communications. In waterfall project management, project reporting can take the form of formal presentations or work performance reports sent to stakeholders who have a need to know. Reports are feedback on progress and must reflect the truth about the project. 8|Page Progress reports communicate what has been completed or realized extracted from work performance data. Status reports analyze the metrics of progress reports to communicate the current performance or wellbeing of the project on scope, schedule, cost, etc. extracted from work performance information. Variance reports communicate variations to project work as a comparison between planned vs. actuals. Trend reports communicate patterns of variation extrapolated from a review of historical performance. Trend reports show if performance is improving or deteriorating. Forecast reports communicate projections of future performance mostly based on trends. 9|Page