UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Project Communications

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

5. Outline project communications.

5.1 Determine project communication strategies to manage stakeholder expectations and report
performance.

Required Unit Resources

Chapter 4: Leadership and The Project Manager
It is not required to read the case studies at the end of the chapter.

Unit Lesson
Why a Communications Plan?

Building a home brings forth images of carpenters, contractors, hammers, saws, and significant labor. A
communication plan is likely not the first element of a homebuilding project that comes to mind. In fact,
spending time on pondering project communications and creating associated documents may seem like a
waste of time, particularly when the client is anxious to get things started. What is missed by the project
management novice who seeks to avoid drafting a project communications plan is that the development of
such a plan is not a time waster. Instead, it is a time saver. Why? Because there will be many stakeholders in
the project who will want to know what is going on. A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in the
outcome of the project. The client is a stakeholder, and when miscommunication is avoided, there is a greater
chance of project success. Stakeholders in a homebuilding project would include the client, the sponsor,
neighbors, the property developer, and local government, to name just a few. There is that saying, “inquiring
minds want to know,” and this is absolutely true of stakeholders. How then can the project address all of the
communication needs of the project? The answer is to create a project communications plan.

Plan Communications Management

As in the case of scope, schedule, and budget, the project manager, prior to creating a communications plan,
steps back and thinks through how to approach the development and implementation of a communications
plan. This type of thinking is strategic and includes what systems and policies will be put in place to
administrate the project communications function. The challenge with communications strategy is to develop
a plan that keeps the various stakeholders informed but does so without overly taxing project resources. The
process of planning communications management requires taking a close look at several important questions.

Where Will the Project Information Come From?

This question may seem trivial, but it is an essential consideration. The reason is that it takes work to collect
information. Ideally, data should be entered only once and then pulled from a repository for supporting
information systems. It is even better if information is automatically collected by systems as the project
progresses, thereby eliminating the need to assign a team member to chase it. Further, project progress data
may be difficult to come by in projects that lack robust reporting systems. In such cases, project managers
enter progress data manually. Manual entry takes time, and it may be overlooked by project team members.
Progress data that is intended to be entered at the end of a day may be forgotten and be imperfectly
reconstructed if the data is entered several days later. In the interim, any progress information that must be
communicated to stakeholders will be in error.

MGT 6305, Project Management 1

Who Collects the Information? UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Communication requires information, and resources must be assigned to collect it. This can be a supreme
challenge as the project progresses because the volume of work tends to dramatically increase, and
resources become scarce. As the work volume increases, the end of the project approaches, and
stakeholders tend to clamor for more information. What resources will be assigned to data collection, and how
will this impact the project progress? This is a strategic question that bears asking up front. Ideally systems
could be put in place to support project performance data collection. For this to work however, it is important
to think about this early in the project or before it even starts. Otherwise, such a time-saving measure will
arrive too late to make a difference.

Who Reports the Information?

Resources assigned to collect and analyze data may not be the same resources assigned to develop reports,
present at briefings, or manage at face-to-face meetings. Selecting resources for various communications
roles can make a big difference in the impact it makes on stakeholders. As an example, executive-level
stakeholders will have different interests than other stakeholders. They will want to know if the project is on
track or not and the reasons why (explained at a high level). Finally, they are likely to have a strong interest in
budget performance. By way of contrast, a stakeholder who is an engineer will be seeking technical details.
Because of this, it is important to match the presenter of the information with the appropriate receiver. To add
to this, a communications plan can benefit from the creation of a map that matches project team members
with members of the client organization. Creating such a map will result in teaming up the appropriate levels
on both sides so that the consumers of project information get what they need. Doing this also helps avoid
miscommunication. Consider a situation where a senior executive from the client contacts an individual
contributor in the project team and informally requests an apparently small change in scope. A team member
who is not expecting a call from this level of the organization may simply “take orders” and adopt the request.
Apparently simple informal communication can end up causing a ripple effect throughout the project, not to
mention scope creep.

How Is the Information to Be Reported?

The ideal situation for reporting project information is a communication system that features an automated
data collection system paired with an intranet. This is an example of a pull system that stakeholders are able
to take advantage of to satisfy their information needs. When information is needed, stakeholders may easily
obtain it by visiting the project intranet site. Unfortunately, few project environments are this sophisticated.
Given the primitive state of most project communication environments, the project communications plan will
spell out the format to be used when communicating. This may include documents, emails, presentations, and
even face-to-face briefings with the client. Asking this question in the context of planning project
communications presents the opportunity to streamline reporting methods so that one or more reporting
methods may be used with multiple stakeholder groups

How Often Is Project Information Communicated?

Early in a project, it may seem that there is an unlimited amount of time to produce the project deliverables.
As the project progresses in these early days, the overall cadence of the project may be relatively slow. The
project team tends to be focused on planning and stakeholders have less need for information. During this
initial phase, reports to stakeholders may only be required bi-weekly or even monthly. Things change though
as the project progresses and as the project rhythm speeds up. What was once reported bi-weekly or monthly
may transition to weekly reports. It should be no surprise that as the final project target completion date nears,
stakeholders will desire more frequent communication. What was once reported weekly sooner or later will
transition to multiple reports per week and perhaps eventual daily reports. If the rhythm of project
communication slowed at this point, then the project team could get some relief for the constant demands for
information. Unfortunately, it is at this point where a perfect storm of project work and communication
demands peak. It is not uncommon for stakeholders to insist upon daily progress reports and finally, reports
multiple times daily. Planning ahead for this eventuality can offer the opportunity to prepare and to streamline
the reporting and communication delivery as the project approaches its final milestones.

MGT 6305, Project Management 2

 Plan Summary UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
In addition to the documentation of the strategy for the communication plan, the actual communication plan is
usually constructed in the form of a table. This table clarifies the who, what, when, where, how, and why of
project communication in a succinct manner. Further, the communications plan table—in addition to being
referred to frequently—is revised as necessary over the course of the project.

# Stakehol Title Information Media Frequency Owner Assumptions Constrai

der nts
1 Regina VP Scope/featu Face to Weekly Project Alternate None
Dwight Sales res face Manager between client
and project
location
2 Marvin CTO Architecture PowerPoi Bi-Weekly Project None Located
Aday nt Manager in
Europe
3 Farrokh Engine Design Document Monthly Project None None
Bulsara er elements s Engineer
4 Calvin Plant Milestones Gantt Bi-Weekly Manufacturi Likely None
Broadus Manag Chart ng team increase in
er member frequency
5 Steven VP Budget Spreadsh Monthly Finance Likely None
Talarico Financ eet team increase in
e member frequency
Figure 1: Communications Plan example in a table

MGT 6305, Project Management 3

 Manage Communications UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
To carry out the communication outlined in the project communications plan, the communications plan table is
employed alongside the communication channel mapping diagram to ensure that the right contacts are in
place. An example of a communication channel mapping is provided below. This is a document that both the
project team as well as the client organization will need to see and be reminded of so that project
communications proceed along the right path.

Figure 2: Communication Channel Mapping Diagram

Monitor Communications

Is the project communication going according to the plan? Are there any disconnects in the process? Any
incorrect information or a mismatch in assumptions? Reviewing the communication plan during the regular
project team meetings will aid in staying on top of communication-related issues and help ensure that project
information is flowing smoothly even as the pace of the project becomes more frenetic.

Suggested Unit Resources

In order to access the following resources, click the links below.

Review the Chapter 4 PowerPoint Presentation to supplement the textbook reading and lesson content. You
can also view a PDF version of the Chapter 4 presentation.

MGT 6305, Project Management 4