Project Management:

Business Communication

Project Communication

Why Project Communication?

Constant, effective communication among all project stakeholders ranks high among the factors leading to the success of a project. It is a key prerequisite of getting the right things done in the right way. As knowledge is power, sharing knowledge empowering every project stakeholder.

5 Factors that Make a Project a Success

By: Eric Verzuh, the author of The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management

To be successful, a project must have...:

3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project in order to coordinate action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes... More

Communication Plan

A project communication plan is the written strategy for getting the right information to the right project stakeholders at the right time. Each stakeholder has different requirements for information as they participate in the project in different ways.

Making Information Timely

For information to be used, it has to be delivered to its target users timely. As a project manager, while developing your communication plan, you need to decide how often to contact each stakeholder and with what information.

Visibility Room

Visibility rooms are the areas displaying  key project documents for easy reference by the project stakeholders. They should contain the following kind of documents:

• The project charter, milestone chart, and issues log

• The current version of the statement of work, project plan, project schedule, organization chart, responsibility matrix, risk management plan, and other project management information and forms

• Product development information (design, prototyping, testing, scaling-up, interim deliverables, etc.)

Communicating within the Team

Internal communication within the project teams is to meet their four major communication needs⁴:

1. Responsibility of each team member for different parts of the project

2. Coordination information that enables team members to work together efficiently

3. Status information tracking the progress, identifying problems and enabling team members to take corrective action

4. Authorization information - decisions made by customers, sponsors, and upper management - that relates to the project and its business environment, and enables the team members to keep all project decisions synchronized.

Internal communications happen primarily through team meetings, memos, voice mail, and e-mail. Project managers need to be able to write, speak, and listen well, lead meetings and resolve conflicts effectively.

Communicating with Upper Management and Customers

External stakeholders, such as sponsor, customer and resource manager, must be kept informed of progress and their inputs solicited. "The communication plan should detail the strategy not only for informing these stakeholders, but for actively managing their expectations as well⁴".

Answer the following questions to decide what information should be relayed to managers and customers:

• Who needs information, why, and when?

• What type of information will they need and in what detail?

• What will you goal be when you communicate with customer and management and what medium will best accomplish that?

Communicating with other External Players

Every component and every stakeholder in your project, however a minor role he or she may play, is important. Even minor role players have the potential to come out large if they fall behind schedule, eventually affecting your critical path. So, don't make the mistake of assuming that all players outside your department or your company, nominated as contact persons, are already on board psychologically. Be proactive in making them a successful part of your project through making personal contact, establishing some rapport face to face, asking for their help, providing them with all necessary information timely, and sending thank-you notes acknowledging their level contribution to them personally and their supervisors.

Change Management

Set up an Escalation Procedure for rapid communication with upper management when a project begins to run over cost or schedule, or rapid decisions need to be made in response to internal or external changes. This escalation should determine which level of upper management to contact depending on the degree of variance from the project plan⁴.

Close-out Reporting

The deliverables from the project close-out serve two purposes. They:

1. finalize the project in the eyes of the stakeholders, and

2. present a learning opportunity.

Formal acceptance of the final deliverables by the customer signifies that the project is complete. The lessons-learned report presents opportunities for improvement of both your project management process and your personal skills.

GREAT Model

By: Michael S. Dobson

To make your project team function effectively, the first thing you need to know is the GREAT model: Goals; Results; Expectations / Performance; Accountabilities / Abilities; Timing.

The GREAT model specifies what people must know before they can work together effectively... More

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