The document discusses the importance of project communications management. It emphasizes planning, managing, and controlling communications through various formal and informal methods. This includes understanding individual and group communication needs, distributing important information in an effective and timely manner, and using technology to enhance information creation and distribution. The key is having the right communication skills and running effective meetings to optimize the flow of information throughout the project life cycle.

1. Project Communications
Management
Prabudh Dhingra
Emmanuel Munet-Quiñones
Deepthi Ranganathan
Henrietta Mengue
Hitesh Parmar
Renjei Mei
Sagnik Saha
Presented to:
Prof. William García
IT Project Management
The George Washington University
Washington D.C.

2. The Importance of Project
Communications Management
• Many threats to project management, like
unclear scope requirements and unrealistic
schedules, could imply that people may not be
communicating very well
• To address these situations, it is important to
follow an important process that involves
planning, managing and controlling
communications

3. Keys to Good Communication
• Focusing on Group and Individual
Communication Needs
• Formal and Informal Methods for
Communicating
• Distributing Important Information in an
Effective and Timely Manner
• Setting the Stage for Communicating Bad News
• Determining the Number of Communication
Channels

4. Focusing on Group and Individual
Communication Needs
• Understand individual and group preferences for
communications
• Project managers and their teams should be aware of
their own communication styles
• Provide several methods of communication
• Geographic location and cultural background also
affect the complexity of project communications

5. Formal and Informal Methods
for Communication
• Project team members normally
submit reports to their project
managers and other
stakeholders and then assume
that everyone who needs to
know the information will read
the reports
• People prefer informal
communications

6. Distributing Important Information
in an Effective and Timely Manner
• It is important to document any
changes in technical specifications
that might affect product
performance
• People have a tendency to avoid
reporting bad news
• Oral communication via meetings
and informal talks helps bring
important information—positive or
negative—into the open

7. Setting the Stage for
Communicating Bad News

8. Determining the Number of
Communication Channels

9. Planning Communications
Management
Communication Management Plan
• A document that guides project communications
• Varies with the project needs
• Can be part of the contract
• Can be a separate document

10. Planning Communications
Management
Items to be addressed in the
communications management plan
• Stakeholders communications
requirements
• Information to be included including
format, content and level of detail
• The receiver and the producer
• Methods for conveying the information

11. Planning Communications
Management
Items to be addressed in the
Communications Management Plan
• Frequency of the communication
• Procedures for resolving issues
• Revision procedures for updating
• A glossary of common terminology

12. Planning Communication
Management

13. Managing Communications
Action : Getting information to the right people at right time
in a useful format
Process :
Who receives it?
What is the best way to create and
distribute information?
A Good starting point:
The stakeholder communications analysis
Result : While answering these questions
during project execution, the project teams
often end up updating business processes
through improved communications.

14. Using Technology to Enhance
Information Creation and Distribution
What does it do ?
Technology makes the process of creating and
distributing information easier
How ?
Make distribution easier
=
Use standard forms
+
Make it available to right people

15. But what if something goes wrong
like:

16. OR

17. OR
Godzilla could attack

18. OR
How about “The Hack” from Beavis and
Butthead?
Therefore, its important to have backup procedures in place in
case something goes wrong with normal communications
technologies

19. Using Technology to Enhance
Information Creation and Distribution
Important considerations in deciding which technologies to use include
the communication method and media:
1. Selecting the Appropriate Communication Methods and Media:
• Interactive communication:
most effective way to ensure common understanding
• Push communication:
does not ensure that it was received or understood
• Pull communication

20. Using Technology to Enhance
Information Creation and Distribution
2. Reporting Performance
• Status reports
Where the project stands at a specific point in time?
How much money has been spent to date?
How long did it take to do certain tasks?
Is work being accomplished as planned?
• Progress reports
What the project team has accomplished during a certain period?
Like a monthly report or a weekly report
Team leaders create progress reports using information received from
team members

21. We don’t always need to go
high-tech

22. Controlling Communication
• optimal flow of information throughout
project life cycle
• Inputs are project management plan,
project communications, issue logs, work
performance data, and organizational
process assets
• reporting systems, expert judgment, and
meetings to monitor
• main outputs are work performance
information, change requests, project
documents updates, and organizational
process assets updates

23. Good Communication Skills

24. Improving Project
Communications

25. Global Organizations…

26. Lead by Example

27. Running Effective Meetings

28. Do you need the meeting?

29. Purpose and Intended Outcome

30. Who should attend?

31. Keep It Interesting

32. Other Guidelines
• Run the meeting professionally
• Set the ground rules of the meeting
• Build relationships

33. Using Communication
Technology
• Collaborative tools – Google Drive, SharePoint,
Microsoft Foundation Server
• Use tools to keep stakeholders connected
• Maintain standard language for communicating

34. Using Templates
• Reuse templates for reports
• Determine templates to use for key documents
• Maintain Project Archives

35. • e.g. Hyperlink in Gantt chart to
another file
• Choose the right communication
channel whether email, blog or
face-to-face meeting
Using Software to Assist in
Project Communications

36. • Translate your strategy to your
team
• Use Project Management
Software e.g. Salesforce, JIRA,
Confluence, MS SharePoint etc.
• Organization’s ability to
communicate is more important
than communication
Using Software to Assist in
Project Communications

37. Using Software to Assist in
Project Communications
• Not all managers need all
information
• Project Human Resources
management using virtual teams,
work from home, GoToMeeting etc.
• The Project Manager’s role as
facilitator

38. Thank you