Project Communications Management PDF

CHAPTER 4 PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT Prof. Islam Elgammal Learning Objectives  Discuss the role of soft skills in IT project management, and highlight the importance of good communications as one means of achieving project success  Review key concepts related to communications...

CHAPTER 4 PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT Prof. Islam Elgammal Learning Objectives  Discuss the role of soft skills in IT project management, and highlight the importance of good communications as one means of achieving project success  Review key concepts related to communications  Explain the elements of planning project communications and how to create a communications management plan  Describe how to manage communications, including communication technologies, media, and performance reporting  Discuss methods for controlling communications to ensure that information needs are met throughout the life of the project  List various methods for improving project communications, such as running effective meetings, using various technologies effectively, and using templates The Importance of Project Communications Management (1 of 2)  Greatest threat to many projects is a failure to communicate  You cannot totally separate technical skills and soft skills when working on IT projects  For projects to succeed, every project team member needs both types of skills  Main processes in project communications management  Planning communications management  Managing communications  Monitoring communications The Importance of Project Communications Management (2 of 2) Keys to Good Communications  Project managers say they spend as much as 90 percent of their time communicating  Several important concepts can help ◼ Focus on group and individual communication needs ◼ Use formal and informal methods for communicating ◼ Distribute important information in an effective and timely manner ◼ Set the stage for communicating bad news ◼ Determine the number of communication channels  Focusing on Group and Individual Communication Needs  People are not interchangeable parts  As illustrated in Brooks’ book The Mythical Man-Month, you cannot assume that a task originally scheduled to take two months of one person’s time can be done in one month by two people ◼ Nine women cannot produce a baby in one month  Every person is unique, so you cannot simply generalize based on a personality profile or other traits  Seek first to understand, as author Stephen Covey suggests in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ◼ Put yourself in someone else’s shoes before you can truly communicate What Went Wrong? (1 of 2)  Amusing examples of miscommunications are common, especially when they involve the use of new technologies  Example: right click (on the computer mouse) versus writing the word click Formal and Informal Methods for Communicating  Many people prefer informal communications  Several colleagues and managers want to know the people working on their projects and develop a trusting relationship with them  Oral communication also helps build stronger relationships among project personnel and project stakeholders  Effective creation and distribution of information depends on project managers and project team members having good communication skills Distributing Information in an Effective and Timely Manner  Important considerations  Include detailed technical information that affects critical performance features of products or services  Document any changes in technical specifications that might affect product performance  Report bad news  Have short, frequent meetings Setting the Stage for Communicating Bad News  It is important to put information in context, especially if it’s bad news  If there is a problem, know how it will affect the whole project and the organization ◼ Recommend steps to take to mitigate a problem  Project managers should know how a major problem might affect the bottom line of the organization  Use leadership skills to handle the challenge Determining the Number of Communications Channels (1 of 2)  As the number of people involved increases, the complexity of communications increases  More communications channels or pathways through which people can communicate  Number of communications channels = n(n-1)/2 (where n is the number of people involved) Determining the Number of Communications Channels (2 of 2) Planning Communications Management (1 of 3)  Every project should include some type of communications management plan  Guides project communications  Varies with the needs of the project, but some type of written plan should always be prepared ◼ For small projects, the communications management plan can be part of the team contract ◼ For large projects, it should be a separate document Planning Communications Management (2 of 3)  Communications management plan contents  Stakeholder communications requirements  Information to be communicated, including format, content, and level of detail  Who will receive the information and who will produce it  Suggested methods or technologies for conveying the information  Frequency of communication  Escalation procedures for resolving issues  Revision procedures for updating the communications management plan  A glossary of common terminology  Planning Communications Management (3 of 3) Stakeholders Document Document Contact Person Due Name Format Customer Monthly status Hard copy Tina Erndt, First of month management report and meeting Tom Silva Customer Monthly status Hard copy Julie Grant, First of month business staff report Sergey Cristobal Customer Monthly status E-mail Li Chau, Nancy First of month technical staff report Michaels Internal Monthly status Hard copy Bob Thomson First of month management report and meeting Internal business Monthly status Intranet Angie Liu First of month and technical staff report Training Training plan Hard copy Jonathan Kraus November 1 subcontractor Software Software E-mail Najwa Gates June 1 subcontractor implementation plan Table (1) Sample stakeholder communications analysis Managing Communications  Managing communications is a large part of a project manager’s job  Getting project information to the right people at the right time and in a useful format is just as important as developing the information in the first place  Important considerations  Use of technology  Appropriate methods and media to use  Performance reporting Using Technology to Enhance Creation and Distribution  Technology can facilitate the process of creating and distributing information, when used effectively  It is important to select the appropriate communication method and media Global Issues  Natural disasters often disrupt communications around the world  Japan’s communications infrastructure damage after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in March 2011 was extraordinary  During the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, people turned to older technology like ham radios to communicate. Selecting the Appropriate Communication Methods and Media  Classifications for communication methods  Interactive communication: two or more people interact to exchange information via meetings, phone calls, or video conferencing ◼ Most effective way to ensure common understanding  Push communication: information is sent or pushed to recipients without their request via reports, e-mails, faxes, voice mails, and other means ◼ Ensures that the information is distributed, but does not ensure that it was received or understood  Pull communication: information is sent to recipients at their request via websites, bulletin boards, e-learning, knowledge repositories like blogs, and other means What Went Wrong? (2 of 2)  Collaboration is a key driver of overall performance of companies around the world  Of all the collaboration technologies that were studied, three were more commonly present in high- performing companies than in low-performing ones: Web conferencing, audio conferencing, and meeting-scheduler technologies  Study showed there are regional differences in how people in various countries prefer to communicate with one another Reporting Performance  Performance reporting keeps stakeholders informed about how resources are being used to achieve project objectives  Progress reports describe what the project team has accomplished during a certain period of time  Status reports describe where the project stands at a specific point in time  Forecasts predict future project status and progress based on past information and trends Monitoring Communications  Main goal of monitoring communications is to ensure the optimal flow of information throughout the entire project life cycle  The project manager and project team should use expert judgment, project management information systems, data representation, interpersonal and team skills, and meetings to assess how well communications are working ◼ If problems exist, the project manager and team need to take action, which often requires changes to the earlier processes of planning and managing project communications  It is often beneficial to have a facilitator from outside the project team assess how well communications are working Suggestions for Improving Project Communications  Good communication is vital to the management and success of IT projects  Develop better communication skills  Run effective meetings  Use e-mail and other technologies effectively  Employ templates for project communications Developing Better Communication Skills  Most companies spend a lot of money on technical training for employees, even when employees might benefit more from communications training  Individual employees are more likely to enroll voluntarily in classes to learn the latest technology than in classes that develop soft skills  As organizations become more global, they realize they must invest in ways to improve communication with people from different countries and cultures  It takes leadership to improve communication Media Snapshot  93 percent of recruiters check out social media profiles of prospective hires  2014 article in Money magazine provides a list of “9 Social Media Blunders That Cost Millennial a Job or Worse” ◼ Posting something embarrassing on the corporate Twitter feed ◼ Revealing company secrets ◼ Blowing your own cover ◼ Talking smack about a job before you’ve even accepted it ◼ Making fun of clients or donors ◼ Making fun of your boss/team ◼ Posting while you’re supposed to be working ◼ Complaining about your job ◼ Drinking in a photo—even if you’re over 21 Running Effective Meetings  Guidelines to help improve time spent at meetings  Determine if a meeting can be avoided  Define the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting  Determine who should attend the meeting  Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting  Prepare handouts and visual aids, and make logistical arrangements ahead of time  Run the meeting professionally  Set the ground rules for the meeting  Build relationships Using E-Mail, Instant Messaging, Texting, and Collaborative Tools Effectively (1 of 2)  Guidelines to use e-mail as a more effective communication tool  Be sure to send information to the right people  Use meaningful subject lines and limit the content of emails to one main subject  Be as clear and concise as possible  Reread your e-mail before you send it  Limit the number and size of e-mail attachments  Delete e-mail that you do not need to save or that does not require a response  Make sure the virus protection software is up to date  Respond to e-mail quickly  If you need to keep e-mail, file each message appropriately Using E-Mail, Instant Messaging, Texting, and Collaborative Tools Effectively (2 of 2)  Guidelines to help use other communication tools more effectively  Make sure that your team is using a good tool  Be sure to authorize the right people to share your collaborative documents  Make sure that the right person can authorize changes to shared documents and that you back up files  Develop a logical structure for organizing and filing shared documents Using Templates for Project Communications (1 of 2)  Many people are afraid to ask for help  Providing examples and templates for project communications saves time and money  Finding, developing, and sharing relevant templates and sample documents are important tasks for many project managers  The project manager and project team members should prepare a lessons-learned report  Reflective statement that documents important information they have learned from working on the project  Project teams can use one of the many software products available to assist in project communications through the Web  Vary considerably in price and functionality Using Templates for Project Communications (2 of 2) Using Software to Assist in Project Communications (1 of 2)  Many organizations are discovering how valuable project management software can be in communicating project information across the organization  Project management software can provide different views of information to help meet various communication needs  Often, one of the biggest communication problems on projects is providing the most recent project plans, Gantt charts, specifications, meeting information, and change requests to stakeholders in a timely fashion  Most project management software allows users to insert hyperlinks to other project-related files Using Software to Assist in Project Communications (2 of 2)  Many project management software products also provide tools to enhance communications  Portfolio management  Resource management  Project collaboration  Even with all of the technology available, many organizations have problems communicating on global projects  Issues with timing, audio, and video  Differences in culture and language Considerations For managers (1 of 2)  Communications should be up to date, easily available, and reviewed regularly with stakeholders  Many projects involve people who do not work in close proximity to each other ◼ Effectively planning for good project communications and using appropriate technology become even more important in these situations Considerations For managers (2 of 2)  Communication is among the more important factors for success in project management  Technology can aid in the communications process and be the easiest aspect of the process to address, it is not the most important  Improving an organization’s ability to communicate is vital; often requires a cultural change in an organization that takes a lot of time, hard work, and patience Chapter Summary (1 of 2)  Failure to communicate is often the greatest threat to the success of any project, especially IT projects  Communication is the oil that keeps a project running smoothly  Project communications management involves planning communications management, managing communications, and controlling communications  Project managers can spend as much as 90 percent of their time on communicating  There are several keys to good communications  A communications management plan of some type should be created for all projects to help ensure good communications  Contents will vary based on the needs of the project Chapter Summary (2 of 2)  Managing communication includes creating and distributing project information  Various methods for distributing project information include formal, informal, written, and verbal  To improve project communications, project managers and their teams must develop their communication skills  Suggestions for improving project communications include learning how to run more effective meetings, how to use e- mail, instant messaging, texting, and collaborative software more effectively, and how to use templates for project communications