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Art of Communication in Project Management
Art of Communication in Project Management
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CONFERENCE PAPER 2010
By Rajkumar, Sivasankari
How to cite this article:
Rajkumar, S. (2010). Art of communication in project management. Paper presented at PMI®
Research Conference: Defining the Future of Project Management, Washington, DC.
Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Abstract
This paper focuses on the importance of communication in project
management. Nothing is more important to the success of a project than
effective communication. More effective communication = Better project
management is obviously known to everyone in project management, but we
do face difficulties in implementing it due to various factors like the nature of
the project, structure of the organization etc. About 90% of the time in a project
is spent on communication by the project manager. If this continues in a
project, there is a danger of missing the deliverables or other outcomes as
required by the sponsor. This paper highlights more specific details like, what
communication means in a project, the steps required for effective
communication, the major obstacles in communication, how to overcome
obstacles through communication sharing, the importance of communications
in diverse work groups and provides a four-step process for effective
communication explained with a case study. As all of us know, communication
is not an absolute, finite thing. Developing an effective communication plan is
explained in steps on how to identify communication requirements: 5Ws
(What, Why, Who, Where, When) and 1H (How). Enterprise environmental
factors and organizational process assets are also described. So in short, if
the steps outlined in this paper are considered and followed, more time would
be saved for the project manager. Therefore, he or she can concentrate on
other loopholes and successfully complete the project.
Based on stakeholder analysis, the project manager and the project team can
determine the communications that are needed. There is no advantage of
supplying stakeholders with information that isn't needed or desired, and the
time spent creating and delivering such information is a waste of resources.
A communications management plan can organize and document the process,
types, and expectations of communications. It provides the following:
The project manager and the project team work together to identify who needs
what information. In other words, project management needs to know what the
requirements of successful communications are in order to plan on how to
achieve those requirements.
First, the team to whom communication is essential needs to be determine the
number of channels of communication possible using the communication
formula as illustrated in A Guide to the Project Management Body of
®
Knowledge, (PMBOK Guide)—Fourth Edition (Project Management Institute
[PMI]. 2008) This is a very simple equation that any good program and project
manager should know which is: N(N-1)/2.
Using the formula, let us take an example with a small project team of five
people where the formula calculates that there are 10 possible channels of
communication as:
5(5-1)/2 = 5(4)/2 = 20/2 = 10. So the project manager must ensure that five
people on th team are communicating real time, and that there are no gaps in
everyone's' understanding that they need to manage only 10 communication
channels among the team.
Stakeholders will need different types of information, depending on their
interest in project and the priority of the project. The project manager will need
to complete the analysis of the identified stakeholders to determine what
information they actually need as well as how often the information is needed.
The project manager and the project team can identify the demand for
communications using the following,
Organization charts,
The project structure within the performing organization,
Stakeholder responsibility relationships,
Departments and disciplines involved within the project work,
The number of individuals involved in the project and their locales,
Internal and external information needs, and
Stakeholder information.
1. Identify the 5Ws (Why, What, When, Where, Who) and 1H (How)
Why—In order for the project to succeed, Anderson knew that effective
communication was paramount. In addition to the large project team, he had
considerations from the hospital board of directors, the community, and
ultimately the hospital patients. Very early in the project Anderson addressed
the Communications Management Plan
How—The project communications management was based on a
template for all projects within Springfield Community Hospital. This project
plan, however, addressed new areas of communication demands because of
the structure of the IT department compared to the structure of the medical
staff, their expectations, and availability for communication. Anderson
continually reinforced the pending communication expectations to keep the
project team, stakeholders, and management abreast of the project
The project team also relied on one another. One of the first tasks within the
project was to create a project team directory that included e-mails, phone
numbers, campus locations, and roles for each project team member. This
directory was published in print and on the hospital's intranet. Because of the
variety of the project team members, it was not ideal to locate all of the project
team members in one place physically, but the directory helped bring the
project team closer together. Regular status meetings, e-mail, phone
conferences, and impromptu hallway meetings all contributed to the project's
success.
3. Identify and Accommodate the Enterprise Environmental Factors
This project focused on changing the culture to a paperless working
environment. They had to comply with the expected norms and standards of
any health organization. They used the intranet within the organization. The
major databases that provided inputs were the patient records, medical
history, etc.
4. Identify Organizational Process Assets
Conclusion
This paper strongly suggests communication is the key for success for any
project. It lists the importance of communication, the communication process,
the steps to keep communication alive, an effective communication plan, four
steps for effective communication, the obstacles in communication,
importance of communication in a diverse work group and tips for any
individual to communicate effectively in a team. Finally, it elaborates a case
study for the four-step effective communication. It saves time and money,
makes life easier, makes you more profitable, and it just makes sense!
References
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