Project Communications Management

Dr. Huy Nguyen

Project Management Framework

2
 Process Groups & Knowledge Areas Mapping
Knowledge Process Groups
Areas Initiating Planning Executing Monitoring & Controlling Closing
Develop Project Direct and Manage Project Work Monitor and Control Project Work
Integration Charter
Develop Project Management Plan
Manage Project Knowledge Perform Integrated Change Control
Close Project or Phase

Plan Scope Management

Collect Requirements Validate Scope
Scope Define Scope Control Scope
Create WBS
Plan Schedule Management
Define Activities
Schedule Sequence Activities Control Schedule
Estimate Activity Durations
Develop Schedule
Plan Cost Management
Cost Estimate Costs Control Costs
Determine Budget

Quality Plan Quality Management Manage Quality Control Quality

Acquire Resources
Plan Resource Management
Resource Estimate Activity Resources
Develop Team Control Resources
Manage Team

Communications Plan Communications Management Manage Communications Monitor Communications

Plan Risk Management

Identify Risks
Risk Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis Implement Risk Responses Monitor Risks
Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
Plan Risk Responses

Procurement Plan Procurement Management Conduct Procurements Control Procurements

Stakeholder Identify Stakeholders Plan Stakeholder Engagement Manage Stakeholder Engagement Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
3
Project Communication Management
Monitoring &
Controlling Processes
Planning
Processes

Enter phase/ Initiating Closing Exit phase/

Start project Processes Processes End project

Executing
Processes

Process Groups
Knowledge
Area Monitoring &
Initiating Planning Executing Closing
Controlling

• Plan • Manage • Monitor

Communication Communications Communications Communications

4
Project Communication Management
• The processes are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning,
collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control,
monitoring and the ultimate disposition of project information.
• Project managers spend the majority of their time to communicate with team
members and other project stakeholders.
• Some potential dimensions of communication activity:
– Internal - external;
– Formal - informal;
– Vertical - horizontal;
– Official - unofficial;
– Written - oral;
– Verbal - non-verbal.

5
Communication Skills
• Listening actively and effectively;
• Questioning and probing ideas and situations to ensure better understanding;
• Educating to increase team’s knowledge so that they can be more effective;
• Fact-finding to identify or confirm information;
• Setting and managing expectations;
• Persuading a person, a team, or an organization to perform an action;
• Motivating to provide encouragement or reassurance;
• Coaching to improve performance and achieve desired results;
• Negotiating to achieve mutually acceptable agreements between parties;
• Resolving conflict to prevent disruptive impacts; and
• Summarizing, recapping, and identifying the next steps.

6
1 - Plan Communications Management
• Process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project
communications based on stakeholder’s information needs and requirements,
and available organizational assets.

Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs

1. Project management 1. Communication 1. Communications

plan requirement management plan
2. Stakeholder register analysis 2. Project documents
3. Enterprise 2. Communication updates
environmental technology
factors 3. Communication
4. Organizational models
process assets 4. Communication
methods
5. Meetings
7
1 - Plan Communications Management

8
Communication Considerations
• Who needs what information, and who is authorized to access that
information;
• When they will need the information;
• Where the information should be stored;
• What format the information should be stored in;
• How the information can be retrieved; and
• Whether time zone, language barriers, and cross-cultural considerations
need to be taken into account.

9
Communication Requirements Analysis (Tools & Techniques)
• Includes communicating in all directions:
Customer, sponsor, functional
managers, and team members

Other project The

managers Other
Project projects

Other
stakeholders

• Determine and limit who will communicate with whom and who will receive
what information.

10
 Communication Requirement Analysis (Tools & Techniques)
• Sources of information (n) are used to define:
• Organizational charts;
• Project organization and stakeholder responsibility relationships;
• Disciplines, departments, and specialties involved in the project;
• Logistics of how many persons will be involved with the project and at which
locations;
• Internal information needs (e.g., when communicating within organizations);
• External information needs (e.g., when communicating with the media, public, or
contractors);
• Stakeholder information and communication requirements from within the
stakeholder register.
• Consider the number of potential communication channels or paths:

n( n  1)
– Formula:
2

11
Communication Technology (Tools & Techniques)
• Urgency of the need for information:
– Consider urgency, frequency, and format of the information to be
communicated that may vary from project to project and also within
different stages of a project.
• Availability of technology:
– Ensure technology required to facilitate communication is compatible,
available, and accessible for all stakeholders throughout project lifecycle.
• Ease of use:
– Ensure suitable communication technologies for project participants and
appropriate training events planned for, where appropriate.
• Project environment:
– Determine work space bases on a face-to-face basis or in a virtual
environment, in one or multiple time zones, one or multiple languages for
communication, and other project environmental factors.
• Sensitivity and confidentiality of the information:
– Determine sensitivity, confidentiality and the most appropriate way (with or
without additional security measures) to communicate of the information.
12
Communication Models (Tools & Techniques)
• Basic Communication Model:
– The components in the model need to be taken into account when
discussing project communications;
– The sender is responsible for making information clear and complete so
that the receiver can receive it correctly, and for confirming that it is
properly understood.
Noise
Transmit message
Encode Decode
Acknowledge message
Sender Noise Medium Receiver
Decode Feedback message Encode
Noise

• Make effective communication, sender/receiver need to be aware of these factors:

- Nonverbal: 55% of all communication is nonverbal;
- Para-lingual: pitch and tone of voice;
- Effective listening.
13
Communication Methods (Tools & Techniques)
• Interactive communication:
– Most efficient way to ensure a common understanding;
– E.g. meetings, phone calls, video conferencing.
• Push communication:
– Does not certify that the information reached or was understood;
– E.g. letters, email, press release, faxes, voice mail.
• Pull communication:
– Used for very large information volumes, or for very large audiences;
– E.g. intranet site, e-learning, lessons learned databases, knowledge
repositories.

• Project manager cannot control all communications but should try to control
to prevent miscommunication, unclear directions, and scope creeps.
14
Communications Management Plan (Outputs)
• Stakeholder communication requirements;
• Information to be communicated;
• Reason for the distribution of that information;
• Time frame and frequency for required information distribution;
• Person responsible for communicating the information;
• Person responsible for authorizing release of confidential information;
• Person or groups who will receive the information;
• Methods or technologies used to convey the information;
• Resources allocated for communication activities;
• Escalation process identifying time frames and the management chain;
• Method for updating and refining the communications management plan;
• Glossary of common terminology;
• Flow charts of the information flow in the project;
• Communication constraints.

15
Communications Management Plan (Outputs)
• Sample:

16
2 - Manage Communications
• Process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving, and the ultimate
disposition of project information in accordance to the communications
management plan.
• Make sure the information are received, effective and efficient.

Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs

1. Communications 1. Communication 1. Project

management plan technology communications
2. Work performance 2. Communication 2. Project management
reports models plan updates
3. Enterprise 3. Communication 3. Project documents
environmental factors methods updates
4. Organizational 4. Information 4. Organizational
process assets management process assets
systems updates
5. Performance
reporting
17
2 - Manage Communications

18
 Communication Management (Tools & Techniques)
• Sender-receiver models:
– Incorporating feedback loops to provide opportunities for interaction/participation and
remove barriers to communication;
• Choice of media:
– Situation specifics as to when to communicate in writing versus orally, when to prepare
an informal memo versus a formal report, and when to communicate face to face
versus by e-mail;
• Writing style:
– Appropriate use of active versus passive voice, sentence structure, and word choice;
• Meeting management techniques:
– Preparing an agenda and dealing with conflicts;
• Presentation techniques:
– Awareness of the impact of body language and design of visual aids;
• Facilitation techniques:
– Building consensus and overcoming obstacles;
• Listening techniques:
– Listening actively (acknowledging, clarifying, and confirming understanding) and
removal of barriers that adversely affect comprehension.
19
Information Management Systems (Tools & Techniques)
• Hard-copy document management:
– Letters, memos, reports, and press releases;
• Electronic communications management:
– E-mail, fax, voice mail, telephone, video and web conferencing,
websites, and web publishing;
• Electronic project management tools:
– Web interfaces to scheduling and project management software,
meeting and virtual office support software, portals, and collaborative
work management tools.

20
3 - Monitor Communications
• Process of monitoring and controlling communications throughout the entire
project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project stakeholders are
met.

Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs

1. Project management 1. Information 1. Work performance

plan management information
2. Project systems 2. Change requests
communications 2. Expert judgement 3. Project management
3. Issue log 3. Meetings plan updates
4. Work performance 4. Project documents
data updates
5. Organizational 5. Organizational
process assets process assets
updates

21
3 - Monitor Communications

22
Information for Monitoring Communications
• Stakeholder communication requirements;
• Reason for the distribution of the information;
• Timeframe and frequency for the distribution of required information;
• Individual or group responsible for communication of the information;
• Individual or group receiving the information.

23
Exercise
Situations Communication types
Updating the project plan
Presentations to management
Trying to solve a complex problem
Making notes regarding a telephone conversation
Making changes to a contact
Informing a team member of poor performance (first notice)
Informing a team member of poor performance (second notice)
Scheduling a meeting
Clarifying a work package
Requesting additional resources
Trying to discover the root cause of a problem
Sending an email to ask for clarification of an issue
Holding a milestone party
Conducting a bidder conference

24
Exercise (Answer)
Situations Communication types
Updating the project plan Formal Written
Presentations to management Formal Verbal
Trying to solve a complex problem Formal Written
Making notes regarding a telephone conversation Informal Written
Making changes to a contact Formal Written
Informing a team member of poor performance (first notice) Informal Verbal
Informing a team member of poor performance (second notice) Formal Written
Scheduling a meeting Informal Written
Clarifying a work package Formal Written
Requesting additional resources Informal Verbal
Trying to discover the root cause of a problem Informal Verbal
Sending an email to ask for clarification of an issue Informal Written
Holding a milestone party Informal Verbal
Conducting a bidder conference Formal Verbal

25
Generic Skills for Project Managers
• Interpersonal skills:
– Verbal/non-verbal communication;
– Listening;
– Negotiation;
– Problem solving;
– Decision making;
– Assertiveness.
• Management skills:
– Problem solving;
– Decision making;
– Planning;
– Time management;
– Delegation;
– Communication;
– Managing yourself;
– Leading others.
26
Effective Meeting
• Plan or prepare the meeting:
– Set a time / schedule and determine the participants;
– Have a clear purpose for each meeting & communicate it in the invitation;
– Create the agenda and distribute it in advance.
• Stick to the plan (discipline):
– Begin on time, end on time;
– Introduce the moderator and stipulate who will keep the minutes;
– End every agenda with a summary and consensus of the participants.
• Good follow-up:
– Send the minutes showing the result along with the to do list;
– Get feedback from the participants;
– Monitor the status of all action items.

27
 Next topic:
Project Procurement Management

Thank You

28