COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING

Involves identifying the information and communications needs of the stakeholders

This includes determining what needs to be communicated, to whom, when, with what method and how frequently

Very proactive approach

STAKEHOLDERS

Identify All of them Determine all of their requirements Determine their expectations Determine their interests Determine their level of influence Plan how you will communicate with them Manage their expectation and influence

STAKEHOLDER REGISTER

WHOM DO WE COMMUNICATE WITH?

The information needs to be distributed to the following: Internal to the project External to the project Sponsor Management Project Manager Team Team member’s managers Other project managers Other stakeholders

COMMUNICATIONS MODEL

It looks like a circle with three parts: The sender The message The receiver

Each message is encoded by the sender and decoded by the receiver based on the receiver’s education, experience, language and culture

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

The sender should encode a message carefully, determine the communications method used to send it, and confirm that the message is understood

Nonverbal : About 55% of all communication Paralingual: Pitch and tone of voice Feedback: “do u understand what I said?”

EFFECTIVE LISTENING

The receiver should decode the message carefully and confirm the message is understood

This includes Feedback Active Listening Paralingual

COMMUNICATIONS METHODS

Interactive Communication Conversation, meetings & conference call

Push Communication (One way stream; no feedback is expected) Email updates, Company memos etc

Pull Communication (info is placed at central location; recipients retrieve )

COMMUNICATIONS METHODS

Decision regarding whether the communication needs to be formal or informal, written or verbal, needs to be made for each instance of communication

COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

Adding one more person to the team, communications grow exponentially

Channel calculation formula: [N (N-1)/2] where N = number of people

INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION

It involves implementing the communications management plan

Since not everything can be planned, information distribution also involves creating reports providing information that was not planned

PERFORMANCE REPORTING

It collects performance data and sends it to stakeholders

Reports should provide the kind of information and the level of detail required by stakeholders and may include: Status Report Progress Report Trend Report Forecasting Report Variance Report Earned Value Lessons Learned

COMMUNICATION BLOCKERS

The following might get in the way of communications: Noise Distance Improper encoding of messages Saying “That is a bad idea” Hostility Language Culture

PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

Project Communications Management includes 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.

Project Managers spend upto 90% of their time communicating with Team members Internal Stakeholders External Stakeholders

Communication-related issues are one of the most frequent problems

Project Managers must have a structured approach to managing communications, including a pro-actively identifying stakeholders’ communications requirements, in order to reduce potential communication problems.

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[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS

Types of Communications Internal, External Formal, Informal Vertical, Horizontal Written, Oral / Verbal, Non-Verbal

Communication Skills Active and effective listening Clarification (Probing for better understanding) Fact-finding Setting and Managing Expectations Persuading Motivating Coaching Negotiating Resolving Conflicts Summarizing, and Identifying Next Steps

18

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

Plan Communications Management Manage Communications Control Communications

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Process Process Group

Key Output(s)

Plan Communications Management

Planning Communications Management Plan

Manage Communications Executing Project Communications

Control Communications M & C Work Performance InformationChange Requests

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Project Communications Management Processes (Cont’d…)

Plan Communications Management Process of developing an appropriate approach

and plan for project communications based on stakeholders’ information needs and requirements, and available organizational assets

Manage Communications Control Communications

20

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Project Communications Management Processes (Cont’d…)

Plan Communications Management Manage Communications

The process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the communications management plan

Control Communications

21

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Project Communications Management Processes (Cont’d…)

Plan Communications Management Manage Communications Control Communications

The process of monitoring and controlling communications throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project stakeholders are met

22

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

23

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

PLAN COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT Planning Communications is important to the success

of any project

Inadequate planning may lead to various problems, e.g. Delay in message delivery Communication of information to the wrong audience Insufficient communication to stakeholders Misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the message

Effective Communication = Providing information in the right format, at the right time, to the right audience, and with the right impact

Efficient Communication = Providing only the information that is needed

24

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Plan Communications Management (Cont’d…) Information needs and distribution methods vary

for each project

Important Considerations For Communicating What information is required Who requires that information (and who is authorized

to have access) When the information is required Where the information is to be stored Format information is to be stored in How to retrieve that information Other Considerations (e.g. Time-zones, language

barriers, cultural differences, etc)

25

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

DETAILED DISCUSSION:PLAN COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

“Process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholders’ information needs and requirements, and available organizational assets”

Key Benefit: Identifies and documents the approach to communicate most effectively and efficiently with stakeholders.

26

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

27

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – ITTOs Inputs

Project Management Plan Stakeholder Register EEF’s and OPA’s

Tools & Techniques Communication Requirements Analysis Communication Technology Communication Models Communication Methods Meetings

Outputs Communications Management Plan Project Documents Updates

28

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Inputs Project Management Plan

Provides information on how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed.

Stakeholder Register Provides information needed to plan the

communications with stakeholders

EEFs and OPAs

29

[Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques

Communication Requirements Analysis Determining information needs of stakeholders

Needs: Type and format of information, combined with analysis of value of that information

No. of communication channels: n(n-1)/2

Key components of communication planning Limiting the communication channels, and Who will receive what information

[Ref:

PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

30

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…)

Communication Technology The method/medium to transfer information among

project stakeholders

Communication technology may vary from project to project.

Factors affecting choice of communication technology: Urgency, frequency, format of information Availability, compatibility, and accessibility of technology Ease of use Project Environment (colocated, virtual, time-zones, language

and cultural differences etc) Sensitivity and confidentiality of information

[Ref:

PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

31

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…)

Communication Models The format/sequence in which communication

takes place between the parties

[Ref:

PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

32

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools &

Techniques (Cont’d…)

Communication Models (Cont’d…) Components of a communication model:

Sender Medium Receiver

Noise: Interference (present in the communication medium) which may compromise delivery of message

Sequence of steps in a basic communication model: Encode Transmit Decode Acknowledge Feedback

[Ref:

PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

33

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…) Communication Methods

The method in which communications take place

Broadly classified as Interactive Communication

E.g. Meetings, Phone Calls Push Communication

E.g. Emails, Letters, Reports, Memos Pull Communication

E.g. Websites, Blogs, E-Learning, Knowledge Repositories, Lessons Learned

Choice of Communication Method Communication Requirements Cost/time constraints Familiarity/availability of tools and resources

[Ref:

PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

34

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools &

Techniques (Cont’d…) Meetings

Conducted to gather the team to determine the most appropriate way of how information will be communicated throughout the project

Few considerations for making meetings useful: Time limit, and adherence to schedule Scheduling recurring meetings in advance ‘Just Enough’ frequency of meetings Clear agenda, purpose Team’s input in creating the agenda, and distribution of agenda

in advance Sticking to the agenda The right audience Ground rules for meetings Action items and time-limits for each Collection and distribution of minutes of meeting

[Ref:

PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

35

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management

– Outputs Communications Management Plan

Component of project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, structured, monitored and controlled.

Project Documents Updates E.g. Stakeholder Register [Ref

: PMBoK 5th Edition (C) Project Management

Institute,

USA]

36

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Its the output of communications planning It documents how you will manage and

control communications Many people do not realize the extent of the

information that must be distributed

LESSONS LEARNED

This document includes what was done right, wrong, and what would be done differently if the project could be redone

To be as valuable as possible, lessons learned should cover these areas: Technical aspects of project Project management Management

THANK YOU!