Communication

Management
Objectives
 Identify and describe the processes

associated with the Project Management

Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) area called
project communications management,
which includes project communications
planning, information distribution,
performance reporting, and
administrative closure.

 Describe several types of reporting tools

that support the communications plan. 1
Communication
Breakdowns

2
What Are The Results?

 Work falls
through the
cracks Delays
 Work needs to Cost
be re-done increases
 Work is
duplicated
 Trust
3
When it comes to projects, no one
likes surprises. Nothing can
diminish a project manager’s
credibility faster than the
surfacing of unexpected situations
that should have been identified
some time before.

4
Project Communications
Management
 Communications Planning — attempts
to answer:
 How will information be stored?
 How will knowledge be stored?
 What information goes to whom, when, and
how?
 Who can access what information?
 Who will update the information and
knowledge?
 What media of communication is best?

5
Project Communications
Management – Continued
 Information Distribution—getting the
right information to the right people in
the right format
 Performance Reporting—collection and
dissemination of project information to
the various project stakeholders.
 Administrative Closure—verifying and
documenting the project’s progress.

6
 Understanding
communication
communication

Information Managers
Making decisions
Tell others
st ideas
ost creative suggestion communication
nest plan
od communication lead to successful
7
Four facets of communication
 In any communication:
 The Sender is the person trying to
communicate a message
 The Receiver is the person at whom
the message is directed
 A message is sent to convey
information
 Information is meant to change
behavior

8
 The Communication
Process
Transmission of encoded
message through media channels

Sender Receiver

Message to Encoded Message Decoded

be sent Message Received Message
Noise

Feedback to sender
9
 The Project Manager as
Information Nerve Center
External Internal
Information Information

Project Manager as Monitor


Information processor
ck  Communicator
ba

Fe
ed

ed
e

ba
F

ck
Manager as Disseminator Manager as Spokesperson
 Distributes Distributes
information to information to
subordinates people outside the organization
10
 How we
communicate
 We communicate and build
interpersonal relationships
through:
 Speech
 Writing
 Listening
 Non-verbal language

11
 Choosing your
medium
 Depending upon the situation, one
method of communication may be
better than another.
 In person: one-to-one
 In person: meetings, small groups
 In person: presentations, large groups
 Letter
 Memo
 Note
 Email
 Voice mail

12
The Pyramid of Channel
Richness

13
 Choosing your medium
 To determine the best medium for
your message determine:
 What you as the sender need to
achieve
 What the receiver needs to know.
What the receiver wants to know
 How detailed, important, and or
personal the information in the
message is
 Which behavior you want to influence
and how

14
Choosing your
medium
 How would you communicate…
 an organizational change in your
department
 the introduction of a new employee
 a change in someone’s job duties
 a reprimand
 notice of a meeting

15
 Choosing your medium
 The best way to communicate…
 an organizational change in your
department by memo and small group
meetings
 the introduction of a new employee by
group and one-on-one meetings
 a change in someone’s job duties by
memo and one-on-one meeting
 a reprimand in a one-on-one private
meeting
 notice of a meeting by memo and email
16
Communications
Channels

17
 Communications Channels

SOURCE: Adopted from Richard L. Daft and Richard M. Steers, Organizations; A

Micro-Macro Approach. 18
Communication Within Project
Team
 Part of the plan
 Who needs what, when?
 4 major needs within team
 responsibility
 coordination
 status
 authorization
 Make assignments clear
 individual status meeting

19
Comm. Within Project Team(cont.)
 Project status meeting
 everyone must come prepared

 Verzuh’s 5 rules
 agenda in advance

 begin/end on time

 every item three goals (stay on topic)

 disseminate info

 come to decision


or gather info
 Draw people out

 Record decisions & action assignments

20
Comm. with management &
other stakeholders
 Remember communications plan
 who needs info & why?
 what type of info, what detail, how often?
 what is your goal and how best to
accomplish?
 The simple facts are often the best
approach

21
 Project Communication
 Failure to communicate effectively often
posses greatest threat to project success
 Communication is fuel that keeps project
running smoothly
 Stakeholders
 who needs to know what, when (how often) &
how?
 constant, effective communication among
everyone involved in project
 formal, informal, written, verbal
22
 Communications (cont.)
 Need formal communications plan
 plus informal supplementation as
needed
 Integrated with overall project plan
 Conflict is endemic to project, need
skills to manage
 confrontation
 compromise
 withdrawal (least desirable in projects)

* project management is all about

solving problems quickly & effectively 23
Are written communications more
effective than verbal ones?
 Memos,letters.e-mail,organizational
periodicals,
bulletin boards
 Tangible,verifiable and more permanent
 Both sender and receiver have a record
 Message can be stored for a period of
time available for later reference
 More care is taken with the written word
than with the oral word,and is more
likely to be well thought out,logical,and
clear
24
Are written communications
more effective than verbal ones
Still the written ones have some
drawbacks

 Writing consumes a great deal of

time
 Lack of feedback

25
What barriers exist to effective
communication?

26
How can managers overcome
communication barriers?

27
 Project Communications
Plan
 can be formal or informal, depending on
the needs of the project stakeholders and
the size of the project
 communications plan should determine:
 Who has specific information needs?
 What are those information needs?
 How will a particular stakeholder’s information
needs be met?
 When can a stakeholder expect to receive this
information?
 How will this information be received?

28
Project Communications Plan

29
Project Communication
Stakeholders are project team
members, customers, suppliers,
 Purpose & business management
 Keep all stakeholders informed and
involved
 Key Project Communications
 Project Kickoff
 Team Orientation
 Project Status Reporting
 Project Closedown Announcement

30
Consequences of Poor
Communication
 Project Delays due to
 Low productivity
 Unclear requirements
 Lack of commitment
 Insufficient direction and leadership
 Poor Stakeholder Relationship due
to
 Miscommunication
 Mistrust
 Power struggle and constant conflicts
 Cost Overruns 31
 Communication
Plan
 Purpose
 Describe how communications will occur on a
project. This includes issue management, status
reporting, and status reviews.
 Contents
 Communication Map
 Outline of what will be communicated, to whom,
by whom, when, formal/informal, how will it be
sent (media and format)
 Information gathering and reporting procedures

32
 Communication Plan
 Things to consider
 Timeliness/criticality of information

 Communication needs based on

geographical dispersion of stakeholders

 Compatibility/Availability of Information

technology
 Meaningfulness and usefulness of written

information to its audience and author

 Effectiveness of the communication

strategy
 Project organization

 Project size
33
 Target audience and type of information
 Communication
Topics
 Project Kickoff and Team Orientation
 Introduction

 Project Objectives and Priorities

 Roles and Responsibilities Assignment

 Project Environment Setup

 Q & A

 Status Reporting
 Status with respect to Scope, Schedule,

Cost, and Quality (current status,

planned/actual, variances, issues)
 Risk/Issue Management 34
Communication Topics
(contd)
 Project Closedown
 Formal Signoff

 Customer Satisfaction Survey

 Post Project Review

 Location of Project Archive

35
Sample of a Communication
Map

Audience:
Project Manager

Team Status Report Project Status Report

Used to create
Created by: electronic
team member Audience: Created by:
business managers, project manager
suppliers paper
Audience:
customers,
project team

36
Sample of a Communication
Plan ABC Communication Plan
Note: Standard ABC Templates will be used for all report, review, and meeting documentation
Communication Purpose Frequency Media Audience Responsibilit Distributio
Item y n
Customer Status To 3rd Mon. Paper Customer Project Paper
Meeting Communicate of month Project Manager
Status Manager
Project Status To 2nd Electron Project Project E-mail
Reports (includes Communicate Mon. of ic Manager Team
CM Status) Status month Leader
Team Member To Every 1st Meeting Project Project Paper
Status Report Communicate Mon. of Manager, and Team
Status month Project Team Leader
Project Status To Every Meeting Project Project Paper
Review Communicate 2nd Mon. Manager, and Team
Status of month Project Team Leader
Senior To Quarterly Paper Department Project E-mail
Management Communicate Manager Manager and Paper
Project Status Status
Report
Senior To Quarterly Paper Department Project Paper
Management Communicate Manager Manager
Project Status Status
Report Review
QA Review To review As per Paper Project Team SQA Rep Paper
Process/Produ QA Plan Leader
ct Verification
Product To review Once Paper Customer Project Paper
Conformance Product Manager
Review Conformance
Work Product To review As Electron Project Team Project Paper/Ele
Review (Internal) Work needed ic/Paper Team ctronic
Products Leader
Change requests/ To review As Electron Project Project E-mail
issues review change needed ic Manager Team
requests and Leader
issues
User Acceptance To test Once Electron Users and Project On-line
Testing deliverables ic Customer Team
Leader

37
 Project Progress
 Monitoring, Tracking, Controlling,
Managing
 How does a project get to be six
months late?
 Control versus Risk
 control – track progress, detect
variances in plan, take corrective action

38
 Report
Project Status Report Status Report

Project Manager
Project SAP ID
Project Effort (in Manmonths)
Project Budget (in US $)
Project Start Date
Project End Date
Project Goals
Related Projects

Reporting Period
MM/dd/yy - MM/dd/yy

Actual Costs Actual Effort (in Man-Months) % Cost (A/E) % Effort (A/E) % Complete
$ MM % % %

Milestones Reached Planned Date Actual Date

<Milestone 1>

Deliverables/Patches Released
Name/# Planned Date Actual Date Content Description Rework Description
<Deliverable 1>
<Patch 1>
Current Activities
<Step description>
<Step description>
Next Activities
<Step description>
Project Forecast
<Step description>
<Step description>

Product Issues Status

Risks
Project Issues

Status Commentary:
<Description>
39
Sample of a Team Member Status
Report
Team Member Status Report
Project Name: Project Name
Team Member Name: Your Name
Reporting Period: Date Month 1999 - Date Month 1999

Task Status:
Status Code
C Completed
O Open
T Target
L Late
D Delayed by others
K Canceled

Project Plan Task % Work Product Name/Location Comments

Task # Status Completion
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Change Activity
# Change Change Request Work Product Comments
Status Code
Request # Name/Location

Risk
# Risk Description

Issues
# Issue Description

Commentary

40
Sample Stakeholder Analysis for
Project Communications
Stakeholders Document Name Document Contact Person Due
Format
Customer Monthly Status Hard copy Gail Feldman, First of month
Management Report Tony Silva
Customer Monthly Status Hard copy Julie Grant, First of month
Business Staff Report Jeff Martin
Customer Monthly Status E-mail Evan Dodge, First of month
Technical Staff Report Nancy Michaels
Internal Monthly Status Hard copy Bob Thomson First of month
Management Report
Internal Monthly Status Intranet Angie Liu First of month
Business and Report
Technical Staff
Training Training Plan Hard Copy Jonathan Kraus 11/1/1999
Subcontractor
Software Software E-mail Barbara Gates 6/1/2000
Subcontractor Implementation
Plan 41
Effective Meetings
 Five rules
 agenda in advance

everyone should come prepared
 begin/end on time
 avoid long meetings (one hour if practical)
 for each agenda item
 pass on information
 come to decision
 stay on track
 Draw people out

silence not necessarily consent
 Record decisions & action assignments

keep on top of resulting action list
42
 Information Distribution
 Getting right information to right
people at right time & in useful
format is just as important as
developing information in first place
 Important considerations include
 using technology to enhance
information distribution
 formal and informal methods for
distributing information

43
 Performance Reporting
 Performance reporting keeps stakeholders
informed about how resources are being used
to achieve project objectives
 Status reports describe where the project stands
at a specific point in time
 Progress reports describe what the project team
has accomplished during a certain period of time
 Project forecasting predicts future project status
and progress based on past information and
trends
 Status review meetings often include performance
reporting

44
Suggestions for Improving
Project Communications
 Manage conflicts effectively
 Develop better communication
skills
 Run effective meetings
 Management by walking around
(MBWA)

45
Responsibility Matrix

46
Definitions
 Authority is the right of an individual
to make the necessary decisions
required to achieve his objectives or
responsibilities.
 Responsibility is the assignment for
completion of a specific event or
activity.
 Accountability is the acceptance of
success or failure.

47
 Responsibility Matrix
(RASIC)
R - Responsible for ultimate delivery
and execution.
A - Approves the course of action
being chosen (Authority).
S - Supports the task with resource(s),
time or other material benefit(s).
I - Input to the task, but does not have
a critical contribution.
C - Consults on an ad hoc ‘as required’
basis.
48
 Responsibility Matrix
 General management responsibility
 Operations management responsibility
 Specialized responsibility
 Who must be consulted
 Who may be consulted
 Who must be notified
 Who must approve

49
 Responsibility
Assignment Matrix

Pr
(For Raw Material
Pr

oje
Te
o

De na b
Pr

ct
jec

am
Procurement)
o je

pa ge er
MaMem

Sp
tM

rtm r
ct

on
an

Of

so
en
ag

fic

r
t
er LEGEND
e
Raw Material Procurement
Prepare bill of materials
Contact vendors General Management
Visit vendors
Prepare purchase orders
responsibility
Authorize expenditures Specialized
Place purchase orders Responsibility
Inspect raw materials
Quality control testing Must be consulted
Update inventory file Must be notified
Prepare inventory report
Must approve
Withdraw Materials
50
Responsibility Matrix
(RASIC)
 The key to the RASIC charts function is
that it ensures an activity has a defined
owner and therefore gets done, as well
as avoiding duplicate ownership.
 In addition, it recognizes that there is a
sliding scale of involvement that
minimizes abdication of partial
responsibility for tasks that are not
central to an individuals daily activity.

51
 Responsibility Matrix
(RASIC)
 RASIC charts can be used at any
level, where clarity of responsibility
is required. The value of RASIC
charts is that they can be custom
tailored and constructed to fit the
needs of individual programs and
activities.

52
 Barriers to communication can be
invisible to the casual observer but
can often be greater obstacles
than physical barriers. However,
barriers do not include
B) Channel Richness
C) Filtering
D) Selective Perception
E) Language
F) Information Overload

53
Sample Exercise
 What are the communication
barriers faced by Project
Managers
 Filtering

 Selective Perception

 Information Overload

 Language

 Anxiety

54
Sample Exercise
 How project managers can
overcome these communication
barriers.
 Use Feedback

 Listen Actively

 Constraint Emotions

 Watch Body Language

55
 Sample Exercise
 What is RASIC?.

R - Responsible for ultimate delivery and

execution.
A - Approves the course of action being
chosen (Authority)
S - Supports the task with resource(s),
time or other material benefit(s).
I - Input to the task, but does not have a
critical contribution.
C - Consults on an ad hoc ‘as required’
basis.
56