Project Communication

Matrix
COMMUNICATION MATRIX
Key Knowledge Area Purpose Proactive communication is important on all projects. The project
manager must make sure that team members, customers, and stakeholders have the information
they need to do their jobs. Communication is also a vital way to manage expectations about how
the project is going and who needs to be doing what. This can be as simple as talking to your
team members about how they are doing on their assigned work, or holding a regularly
scheduled status meeting. However you do it, proper communication can go a long way toward
ensuring project success.
On smaller projects, communication is simple and does not require much proactive effort.
However, communication gets much more complex the larger a project gets, and the more people
that are involved. Larger projects require communication to be planned in advance, taking into
account the particular needs of the people involved. This is where a Communication Matrix is
useful. A Communication Matrix allows you to think through how to communicate most
efficiently and effectively to the various constituents. Effective communication means that you are
providing information in the right format, at the right time, and with the right impact. Efficient
communication means that we are providing the information that is needed, and nothing more.

Creating a Communication Matrix

Determine Project Stakeholders

There can be many types of customers, users, vendors, managers, and stakeholders. First
determine what people or groups of people you want to include in the Communication Matrix.

Determine the Communication Needs of Each Stakeholder

For each of the stakeholders identified above, determine what their communications needs are.
For instance, certain managers have a need for ongoing status information. Steering committee
members need ongoing status, plus a dialog on strategy and vision. Your users might need
awareness communication, mentoring, question-and-answer sheets, promotional information to
build enthusiasm, etc. For large projects especially, the project team should be creative in
determining how, what, to whom, where, and how frequently the communication takes place.
Determine How to Fulfill the Communication Needs of Each Stakeholder
Project communication can take many shapes and forms. In this step, brainstorm how you will
fulfill the communication needs for each stakeholder. When possible, look for types of
communication that can cover more than one stakeholder’s needs.
Mandatory: The types of communication are required by your agency, OCIO, ITC, ITOC, or by
statute. This information is pushed to recipients.

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• Project Status Reports
• Regular voicemail updates (of status)
• Status meetings
• Meetings with steering committee
• Regular conference calls and videoconferences with remote stakeholders
• Government-required reports and other information
• Financial reporting such as budget vs. actuals, or any other required financial information
Informational: This is information people want to know, or that they may need for their jobs.
This information is made available for people to read, but requires them to take the initiative, or
pull the communication.
• Awareness-building sessions that people are invited to attend (These are not meant as
training, just to build awareness.)
• Project paper-based deliverables placed in a common repository, directory, or library that
people can access
• Project information on a Web site
Marketing to Service Providers or Constituent Stakeholders: These are designed to build
buy-in and enthusiasm for the project and its deliverables. This type of communication is also
pushed to the readers.
• Project newsletters, with positive marketing spin
• Meeting one-on-one with key stakeholders on an ongoing basis
• Traveling road shows to various locations and departments to explain project and benefits
• Testimonials from others where value was provided
• Contests with simple prizes to build excitement (corny but it works)
• Project acronyms and slogans to portray positive images of the project
• Project countdown till live date (this is affective)
• Informal (but purposeful) walking around to talk up the project to team members, users, and
stakeholder
• Celebrations to bring visibility to the completion of major milestones
• Project memorabilia with project name or image portrayed, such as pins, pencils, Frisbees,
cups, T-shirts, etc.
• Publicizing accomplishments
Determine the Effort Required
Determine how much effort is required for each of the communication ideas surfaced previously.
Some of the activities might be relatively easy to perform. Others will require more effort. If the
communication is ongoing, estimate the effort over a one-month period. For instance, a status

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report might only take one hour to create, but might be needed twice a month. The total effort
would be two hours.
Prioritize the Communication Options
Some communication activities provide more value than others. In the previous exercise, you
brainstormed lists of communication options. Now you need to prioritize the items to determine
which provide the most value for the least cost. If a communication activity takes a lot of time
and provides little or marginal communication value, it should be discarded. If a communication
option takes little effort and provides a lot of value, it should be included in the final
Communication Matrix. Of course, if a communication activity is mandatory, it should be
included no matter what the cost. If a mandatory activity is time consuming, you may be able to
negotiate with the stakeholders to find a less-intensive alternative.

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 Communication Matrix
Name/Nature of Type Format Delivery
Communication From To Content Provided By (Man/Mktg/Info) Frequency Used Media Comments

Sponsors
Urgent Issues Program Manager, Executive Program Manager, Project As needed E-mail The Program Manager will
Program Director Sponsor, Program Managers, External collect this issue and add an
Sponsor Stakeholders entry in the Issues Log.

Issues Updates/ Executive Sponsor, Program Director, Executive Sponsor, As needed Verbal updates, The Program Manager will
Resolutions Program Sponsor Program Manager Program Sponsor E-mail, Memos update the Issue and
associated Log.

Status Report Program Manager Program Director Program Manager, Mandatory Monthly Status Report E-mail or The Program Manager will
Project Managers form Shared Storage pull information gathered
from the program status
reports.

Special Program Manager Executive Team Program Manager, Informational As needed To be Meeting
Presentation or Program Director determined,
Meetings for based on
Updating requirements
Executives

Team Members
New Program Program Manager, Program Manager Project Managers, Project (1) Weekly (1) Project (1) E-mail (1) If new issue/action item
Issues or Action Project Managers Team Members, and other (via the Status Report is received through the
Items and Team members, persons Project form (2) Lotus Notes Project Status Report, the
and other persons Status Issues/Action Program Manager will log
Report) (2) Standard Items it after discussing them
Issue or databases. during the Program Status
(2) As Action Item meeting. (Persons outside
needed (via Submission (3) Meeting
Minutes within the team can only use the
Program form by project log new
Manager) Program Program
Manager. issues/action items.)
Manager
(3) As (2) If new issue/action item
needed (via (3) is “Submitted” the Program
Stakeholder Stakeholder Manager will “approve” the
Meeting Meeting issue and also bring it up
minutes) Minutes for discussion during the
document Program Status meeting
(3) The scribe from the
Stakeholder Meeting will
submit these issues; the
Program Manager will
“approve” the issue and
also bring it up for
discussion during the
Program Status meeting

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 Communication Matrix
Name/Nature of Type Format Delivery
Communication From To Content Provided By (Man/Mktg/Info) Frequency Used Media Comments
Issue Items Status Program Manager, Program Manager Program Manager, Project (1) Weekly (1) Project (1) E-mail (1) If the
/ Updates / Project Managers Managers, Project Team (via the Status Report status/update/resolution is
Resolution Members Project form (2) Lotus Notes received through the
Status Issues/Action Project Status Report, the
Report) (2) Lotus databases Program Manager will
Notes enter it into program log.
(2) As “Response”
needed form Status/updates will be
submitted as “Responses”
to a main-topic record in
Program Log. If a
resolution is received as a
“Response” to a main-topic
in the databases, the
program manager will enter
the resolution in the main
record and close out the
issue/action item.

Change Requests Project Managers Program Manager Project Managers Mandatory As needed Standard E-mail These change requests will
Change be submitted to the
Request form program manager,
discussed at the weekly
Program Status meetings,
and captured in the control
files database.

Project Status Project Managers Program Manager Project Managers and Weekly (by Standard E-mail These reports will serve as
Reports Team Members Tuesday Status Form inputs for discussion at the
12:00 PM) weekly Program Status
meeting

Program Status Program Manager Program Manager Program Manager, Project Weekly Standard Program This will be developed as a
Report database Managers Status Report Manager result of the weekly
Form control file Program Status meeting
and will also serve as the
meeting minutes

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 Communication Matrix
Name/Nature of Type Format Delivery
Communication From To Content Provided By (Man/Mktg/Info) Frequency Used Media Comments

Stakeholders
New Issues/Action Stakeholders Program Manager Stakeholders Bi-Weekly Discussions Issues/Action The scribe will capture
Items during bi- Items section of issues/action items and
weekly meeting maintain a running log
stakeholders minutes through the meeting
meeting minutes document. The
scribe will also submit
these issues/action items
via the Program Manager
database.

Issues/Action Program Manager Stakeholders Program Manager, Project Bi-Weekly Program Stakeholders The program manager will
Items Managers, Team Members Management Meeting review the open
Status/Updates/Re update during issues/action items with the
solutions stakeholders project teams and provide
meeting. update, capturing all within
the Program Manager
database.

Urgent Program Director Team & External Program Manager, As needed TBD E-Mail/Voice As critical information such
Information Stakeholders Program Director, Project Mail, as as newly developed issues
Impacting Team Managers appropriate arise, a communication will
and External (I/S) be distributed to ensure
Stakeholders immediate knowledge
transfer.

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