Section A: Logical Argument Introduction Communication is an aspect of project management which must be handled effectively for success to be attained.

According to Wysocki (2011), Effective management of communications is critical for attaining success in project management. Mehta (2002), purports that communication is very important in the management of a project from initiation to closeout. To further stress the importance of communication, Wysocki (2011) opined that the better a project manager is at satisfying the communication needs of the project team, the higher the projects chance of being successful. If there is effective communication amongst the project team, there will be smooth flow of information, which will promote team spirit and strengthen the synergy of the project team (Kisielnicki, 2011). In investigating the role of communication in project management, a link has been made between the current trend of more effective project management and the modern trend of enhanced communication, facilitated by the recent rapid increase in social media (Herbert and Nory, 2012). Doug (2012) also posits that better communication at all stages of a project would translate into better project management and successful project outcomes. Furthermore, the following statement, Stakeholder communication, that is the key to success or failure of a project, is a fullfledged knowledge area essential for Project Management (Naqvi et al, 2011 p. 5825), butresses the fact that communication is important to the outcome of a project.

Thesis Statement: Communication is critical for project success

i.

Timely and Comprehensive Communication Has a Positive Impact on Project Outcome:

Time is one of the key parameters for measuring project success (Naqvi et al, 2011). A successful project is a project delivered, within budget, in accordance with the required quality standard and on time (Kezner, 2011). For a timely completion, a project leader is expected to submit regular updates and ensure prompt dissemination of information to prevent any form of delay from any aspect of the project (Cooke and Williams, 2009). This shows that there is a proportional relationship between timely communication and timely project completion as a major determinant of project outcome. ii. Lack of Effective Communication is a Major Cause of Project Failure:

In their 2010 Chaos survey report, The Standish Group listed communication as one of the top ten reasons why projects fail (The Standish Group in Wysocki, 2012). This is another pointer to the importance of communication to successful project management. Mehta (2002) also opined that one of the many factors that contribute to the failure of projects is poor or insufficient communication (Mehta, 2002 p.2). If projects fail because communication system was faulty, then inferably, communication is critical to project success. iii. Counter-claim: The importance of communication in project management decreases with an increase in the experience level of the project team and stakeholders One may argue that the importance of communication in project management decreases with an increase in the experience level of the key players in a project. However, as Wysocki (2011) concurs, every project is unique and because there are often many methods of achieving the same thing, assumptions could be costly. Hence, the project leader is expected to actively relay information from the inception of the project to close out, regardless of the experience level of his team or the familiarity of the project(Mehta, 2002).

Conclusion It has been observed that through effective and timely communication, the various factors leading to project failure could be avoided (Naqvi et al, 2011; Wysocki, 2012). This is buttressed by the research findings reflected in the following statement:

the outcomes of heterogeneous IT projects suffered from problems like scope creep, cost and schedule overrun and lack of customer satisfaction on project results due to inappropriate stakeholder communication management (Naqvi et al, 2011).

Section B: Analysis of Related Article Article: The Impact of Stakeholder Communication on Project Outcome

Introduction The article above by Naqvi et al (2011), explores the project outcome impact of stakeholder communication, which is a key aspect of project management communication. The article provides a clear and well organized argument in support of the notion that the management of communication amongst the stakeholders of a project has a direct impact on the overall outcome of the project. It is a documentation of the findings from a study conducted in Islamabad and Pakistan on Information Technology (IT) Projects to investigate the impact of stakeholder communication management on project outcomes. The findings of the study have been found to substantiate the claim that, the higher the quality of stakeholder communication management, the greater the success expectancy of the project (Naqvi et al, 2011). This is in consonance with the claim in the logical argument above that communication, whether within the project team or across the project stakeholders is critical to project success. Brief Analysis The authors of the article present the report in an outline format. The argument is clear and well organized as the writers stayed focused on topic. The writers incorporate outside evidence at the beginning of the article, in the main body of the article and also at the end. The writers use first hand and second hand evidences (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2013) to support their argument. In their argument the writers use outside evidence to support the point that stakeholder communication is key to project success or failure (Naqvi et al, 2011). The argument is supported by paraphrases and direct quotes from outside evidence. The outside sources used in the article are referenced using the Author-Date referencing style. I know this article is acceptable for referencing in university work because it is peer-reviewed, which means the facts have been subjected to scrutiny and review by other scholars and authorities in the field (Purdue Online Writing Lab (2013) and has been accepted as written on the first page, with date of acceptance as 17 May, 2011. I know the article is peer-reviewed because it has been accepted and published on an academic journal.

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