Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 8

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Unit 8 Project Communication Management

Structure

8.1 Introduction:
Objectives:
8.2 Communications Management Plan
Self Assessment Questions: 1
8.3 Challenges
Self Assessment Questions: 2
8.4 Structure and content of CMP
Self Assessment Questions: 3
8.5 CMP Implementation Suggestions
Self Assessment Questions: 4
8.6 Issues Management Process
8.7 Establishing an effective Project Management Information System (PMIS):
8.8 Summary:
8.9 Terminal Questions:
8.10 Answers to SAQ’s and TQ’s

8.1 Introduction:
Effective communication is a directed, conscious effort to get people to share thoughts,
feelings, and information in a manner that achieves a common vision. The
communications management plan (CMP) and the issues management process (IMP)
are the tools for doing so.

Objectives:
1. To define a professional communications plan for a project
2. To understand the procedure for implementation of a CMP
3. To understand and formulate an effective Issues Management Plan

8.2 Communications Management Plan

A CMP is a formal document that identifies the communications goals, objectives, and
requirements of a project. It also designates who is responsible for communicating the
right information to the right people at the right time in the right format and in the right
quantity and quality. A CMP has two purposes. The first one is to acquire the right

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information and send it to the right people in the right form at the right time. Doing so
requires engaging the right people, selecting the right medium, and conveying the
appropriate data or information. The second purpose is to ensure that the
communication process occurs and sustains itself throughout the life of a project.

Characteristics
An effective CMP has several characteristics.
1. A CMP is documented to varying levels of breadth, depth, and formality to satisfy the
requirements of a project. For small, simple projects, a voluminous CMP may be
unnecessary; however, for a large complex project, it may require considerable
breadth, depth, and formality (i.e., documented), and cover a large range of topics
(i.e., meetings, reports).
2. It is written clearly, like any other project documentation. The document reflects good
writing practices and describes communications needs clearly.
3. A CMP is concise. The contents include only what is necessary to define, plan,
execute, control, and close a project from a communications perspective. It is also
geared towards the specific needs of stakeholders.
4. A CMP is comprehensive. It provides adequate coverage of information for people to
contribute toward achieving the overall vision of their projects. A CMP can be
concise as well as simultaneously comprehensive by providing sufficient breadth and
depth of coverage.
5. A CMP is accessible by all the people who need to reference it. It is not a document
that should sit on a shelf, available only to a chosen few. In today’s highly
computerized environment, accessibility should be the one restriction. The challenge
is in determining which stakeholders should have access to the CMP.
6. It must have the commitment of the people affected by it. Stakeholders should buy in
to the document to get them to abide by the contents. Without buy-in, the chances
increase that no one will adhere to the content. The CMP then becomes nothing
more than mere formality.

Self Assessment Questions: 1

(1) A Communications Management Plan is
A. A Document
B. A Plan
C. A Strategy
D. All of the above

8.3 Challenges
Developing a communications plan, although conceptually simple, is not easy to make a
reality. Project managers face several challenges.
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Size: Principally, this involves a number of people. The more people, the greater the
number of different interactions that can occur among the stakeholders, creating a
complex web of interaction. The number of relationships increases dramatically with the
number of people on a project. For example, project managers may want to add more
people to a complex set of tasks to improve progress. This approach may backfire
because additional people increase the number of interactions and the need for people
to communicate more frequently as they get up to speed.

Complexity: This challenge pertains to meeting technical requirements. The more

technically complex a project the greater the chances for miscommunications and lack of
communications to occur. Multidisciplinary teams often start expressing themselves in
jargon defined and understood differently by the various parties.

They often are less engaged in interaction with other people because of the solitary
nature of their work. Specialists often require the time to think and work alone.

A situation may arise when these people find themselves temporarily isolated from
others, especially on knowledge-based projects. This isolation, although important, can
result in less interaction with others, creating a wide communications chasm among
team members. Not only are interactions minimal, but when they communicate, they use
terminology that others find hard to understand.

Location: Location considers whether team members are co-located or dispersed

across a wide geographical area. It is perhaps the biggest challenge confronting an
effective communications plan. The more people are dispersed, the greater the
challenge in getting them to communicate regularly. The likelihood of communications
failures and miscommunication will increase. Geography can attenuate communications
channels for a multitude of reasons. Different time zones can augment the difficulties of
a project with stakeholders spread across a continent and around the world. In today’s
global environment, many project managers find this challenge quite frequently. People
may be spread across a continent or several continents. The distance, coupled with
language and cultural barriers, makes communications difficult even when using the best
communications technology. Communications can become infrequent, and when it does
occur can become quite frustrating.
Diversity: Diversity recognizes that people are different in many ways. Common
differences are, of course, race, religion, and sex. Project managers, however,
frequently overlook others. Diversity can manifest itself through cultural differences,
thinking and working styles, and communication approaches. This type of diversity
provides plenty of opportunity for positive and negative conflicts. Getting people to

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communicate from this perspective can prove quite challenging because they see and
approach reality differently, thereby complicating interaction and communication.

Technology: The types of technological tools are extensive and include fax, email,
videoconferencing, teleconferencing, Web conferencing, microcomputers, and satellites.
Technology can be used as a tool to communicate effectively by adapting it to the user’s
preferred working style. The power of this technology is reflected in the rise of
telecommuting and working virtually. Technology, however, does not guarantee effective
communications. Some people, especially ones with less than desirable interpersonal
skills, for example, will use technology as a means to escape communicating with
others. They will do whatever they can to minimize face-to-face interaction or even avoid
meetings. Dialogue is virtually nonexistent, and their participation at specific meetings is
lukewarm at best. On a large project, the following scenario is not uncommon:

Two people sitting in cubicles on the same floor do not like one another. They might
communicate solely via e-mail. On occasion, one of them may say he never received a
certain e-mail from the other, knowing all too well the truth is otherwise. Ironically, the e-
mails often are poorly constructed and wordy, only adding to more communications
problems.

Norms: This challenge is reflected in patterns of behavior. Norms provide consistency

in thought and behavior, and are both their strength and weakness. Norms provide
consistency because people know what is expected of them and how they should
interact. Norms can sometimes impede the ability to adapt new patterns of behavior and
communication. Deviating from the norm can result in lack of participation by certain
stakeholders. A perfect example is a team that gets set in its way. The team may be
doing well but is not open to new ideas regarding processes or products. Even the
introduction of a new tool can prove threatening. Under this scenario, the best
approaches to knowledge transfer and sharing cannot overcome obstacles, especially if
the team feels threatened. _

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Figure 8.1: A Communications Plan template for a Project

Self Assessment Questions: 2

(1) Which of the following are challenges to Project Managers in implementing a
CMP?
A. Number of people
B. Technical jargon
C. Distributed teams
D. All the above

8.4 Structure and content of CMP

Developing, deploying, and maintaining a CMP is quite easy. Following these simple
guidelines will help project managers improve the chances of having an effective CMP
for their project

Determine the structure and content of the CMP. Although it can vary in structure, a
CMP generally has the following outline and content:

A. Purpose of the CMP

B. Scope
C. Objectives
D. Constraints (overall)
E. Table addressing:

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a. Approach
b. Goals
c. Participants
d. Medium
e. Agenda
f. Responsibilities
g. Frequency and time
h. Equipment and supplies
i. Linkage
j. Constraints
k. Comments

Purpose: This section provides a short description of the project and how the
communications plan can help achieve its vision. For example: ―The project will achieve
these goals: compliance with Section XYZ of the Companies Act and identify
opportunities for consolidating systems and processes. This communications plan will
describe the processes, tools, and techniques for accomplishing these goals.‖

Scope: This section describes the extent of the communications plan (e.g., regularly
scheduled meetings), as opposed to what it doesn’t cover (e.g., ad hoc meetings)
between two people working on an issue. This section is often combined with the
purpose. Example: This plan does not cover ad hoc working meetings to resolve
technical issues, but does cover ongoing meetings, such as project status reviews.

Objectives: The objectives section describes what the CMP hopes to accomplish. Like
the scope, it can be covered in the purpose. Example: This plan will ensure that all
meetings and their attendees have been identified. It will also identify the major reports
that must be identified weekly and who must prepare and reserve them.

Constraints: This section describes some of the restrictions the project manager might
confront in executing the CMP. The constraints may be, for instance, any technological
ones or geographic locations of team members. A useful addition to this section is to
highlight some of the communications tools and techniques employed to deal with these
constraints. Example: Where possible, emphasis will be on conducting meetings
remotely using teleconferencing and Webex technology.

Table: The table is the ―meat‖ of the CMP. This section covers the breadth and depth of
the CMP and provides details for each communications approach. Just about all
columns are optional, with the exception of the approach column. Here is a list of items

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that may be included in the table: approach, goals, participants, medium, agenda,
responsibilities frequency, time, equipment and supplies, linkage, constraints, and
comments.

The approach column contains the name and description of each communications
event or activity that occurs. This event or activity might include, for example, a steering
committee report or a project review meeting. The goals column describes what the
event or activity hopes to achieve. These goals might include sharing information or
dealing with a change to the schedule baseline. The participants column lists the
stakeholders involved. The list may include simply the names of organizations or specific
people. Being specific is preferred, of course. The medium column lists the tools and
techniques to achieve the goals. Examples in this column might include a meeting,
written report, or an e-mail to certain stakeholders, Web conferencing, or placing output
on a Web site.

The agenda column lists the major categories of topics to be covered. The agenda for a
standard meeting might reflect, for example, what is always covered and allow for topics
that arise, based upon needs at the time. The responsibilities column lists the major
activities to ensure that they will happen as planned. For example, someone may be
assigned responsibility for ensuring that a meeting room is fully equipped with supplies
or that he or she acts as a facilitator or scribe.

Figure 8.2: A Status Report

The frequency and time column lists how often the communications occurs and when.
Typical items listed might include ad hoc, every other Thursday, or bi-weekly on a
specific day. The equipment and supplies column highlights any specific support
requirements to execute whatever approach is taken. These items might include
software, microcomputer, white boards, easel pads and stands, projectors, markers,

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lighting, and other hardware equipment. The linkage column lists any approaches
taken by this project in association with other projects. For example, a project might feed
information to another project. It is important to ensure that whatever communications
approach taken for the current project is tied, for example, to a related, downstream, or
concurrent project. This linkage might include feeding information to generate additional
reports or making decisions at key meetings and communicating results to another
project. This linkage is especially important in programs. The constraints column lists
some of the factors that restrict the performance of an approach listed in the CMP.
Constraints might include reports being generated or distributed in a specific format
(e.g., hard copy vs. digital) or that certain people must attend certain meetings. The
additional comments column covers anything else that may relate to an identified
approach. Examples might include ground rules for meetings, specific report decks to
generate, and approvals for certain decisions.

Draft the CMP. Drafting the CMP can occur in one of two ways. Project managers can
draft the initial version and have other key stakeholders review it, or they can assemble
all the key stakeholders in a room and provide content to it. Obviously, the former
approach takes less time but may invite extensive criticism of the draft, whereas the
latter takes more time but obviates criticism.

Obtain feedback. The CMP is a living document, meaning that it will require updates
throughout the life cycle of a project. Stakeholders and the means of communication will
constantly change. A good practice is to review the CMP with stakeholders periodically
to obtain this feedback.

Revise the CMP. Using the feedback, project managers can make the necessary
updates to the content of the CMP. An important point here is to keep configuration
control over the CMP to ensure that everyone references the same document.

Obtain approval for the CMP. A CMP should go through a rigorous approval process to
ensure the accuracy of the content. Key stakeholders should give approval for updates
to the document.

Publish the CMP. Upon receiving approval, project managers can publish the CMP.
They can do so simply by posting the document on a server or Web site. The document
at that location can serve as the authoritative CMP for the project.

Sl.No Description Responsibility Date Committed Completed Comments

Date Date

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Figure 8.3: Critical Issues/Action Items Log

Self Assessment Questions: 3

(1) The structure of the CMP includes
A. Purpose
B. Scope
C. Table
D. All of the above

8.5 CMP Implementation Suggestions

As mentioned earlier, developing a CMP plan is relatively easy. Implementing one can
present a challenge. Here are some suggestions for implementing an effective CMP on
a project:

1. Establish an issues governance process. The purpose of this process is to identify

issues, give them visibility, and track their resolution. The key is to give visibility to the
issues, such as posting them in a critical issues/action item log on a Web site, sending
the log out to all team members, and following up on them during meetings.

2. Escalate the issues. This suggestion is closely tied to the last point but involves
more of a way to overcome an impasse with a stakeholder. By creating a help needed
list of items that you can present to a steering committee or to senior management, you
at least put pressure on noncompliant stakeholders. Noncompliance can take many
forms, such as nonattendance at meetings, not providing status for reports, or disrupting
sessions. This visibility can continue until the issue has been resolved.

3. Recognize that the medium does make a difference. Project managers should
employ a medium to gain the desired effect if this option is available to them. For
example, critical meetings might not be best served by a teleconference but rather
through face-to-face meetings. Another example might be providing hard-copy reports to
have a more dramatic effect than sending an electronic copy.

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4. Role identification can prove helpful. For example, assigning someone as the
single point of contact for leading discussions on certain topics (e.g., technical issues) at
meetings can engender a greater sense of responsibility to participate. Responsibility
assigned to items listed in critical issues and action items can also prove meaningful.
Segregating roles at meetings (e.g., scribe, facilitator) can also generate commitment to
execute a particular role.

5. Give visibility to results. For meetings, ensure that the minutes get posted on a Web
site or distributed. For performance reports, ensure that the results get similar visibility.
Regardless of approach, ensure that the right people at the right time receive the results
in the most appropriate format. The key is to give people the visibility that they want and,
just as important, that they hope to avoid.

6. Gain feedback and follow up on results. Just because someone agrees with
something at a meeting or the content of a report that shows erroneous or negative
performance (e.g., SPI less than 1.0), it does not mean that the work of a CMP is
complete. Project managers must ensure that feedback and follow up occurs. Visibility
can only go so far, and then project managers must employ dogged determination to
ensure that all the approaches of a CMP have been successfully deployed.

Self Assessment Questions: 4

(1) The CMP should lead to the establishment of:
A. Issues Governance Process
B. Feedback and follow up
C. Role Identification
D. All the above

8.6 Issues Management Process

Issues management process (IMP) is a formal approach to identifying, analyzing, and
addressing concerns or problems not originally appearing in the project plan. It provides
a means for managing events and issues without having to re-plan. From time to time,
issues arise that can affect the outcome of project results. The management of these
issues, whether they relate to cost, schedule, or quality, will determine to a large degree
whether stakeholders, including project managers, can manage issues more effectively
by following these guidelines.

Establish an issues management process. A governance process, as mentioned

earlier, has the purpose of identifying issues and making them viable. At a minimum, the
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issues management process should enable the project team to capture issues,
determine their relevance and importance, track completion status, and add any relevant
information.

Escalate issues. An issues management process should provide an opportunity for all
stakeholders to present issues and have them recorded. The typical venue for these
issues is the project review meetings. During these meetings, stakeholders can present
issues or query the status of the existing ones. Under some circumstances, stakeholders
may find that certain issues must be escalated beyond the purview of the project. A
process must be in place, therefore, that allows the team to elevate issues to higher
levels of management. Often, such issues are placed on a help-needed log or slide or in
an activity report that is submitted to members of a steering committee.

Give visibility to issues. Project managers have several options for giving visibility to
issues. They can cover them at the project status review meetings or post an issues log
on a project Web site. The key is to keep issues, especially the critical ones, in the
forefront of the stakeholders until resolved.

Obtain feedback. Project status review meetings are perfect venues for receiving
feedback on the resolution of issues. Other approaches include obtaining feedback via
e-mail or even a telephone call. If these two approaches are used, however, project
managers should populate the critical issues lists prior to the project status review.

Follow up on results. Just because people say they have addressed a critical issue
does not necessarily mean they did so very effectively. Sometimes, issues resurface.
The best preventive approach is to revisit a completed issue from time to time to
ascertain whether the solution was effective and not merely a short term fix.

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Figure 8.4: Issue Management Menu

Issues Management Challenges

Implementation of an IMP poses two challenges.
The first is getting people to participate in the process. The major reason behind this
challenge is that people often do not raise an issue for fear of being assigned
responsibility for resolving it. The solution is to encourage someone other than the
person identifying the issue to take this responsibility.

Another challenge is follow-up on the contents. Sometimes, during the intensity of a

project, the issues can become lost or forgotten. Project managers can deal with this
consistently and persistently by going over issues, for example, at status review
meetings.

8.7 Establishing an effective Project Management Information System (PMIS):

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The concept of a project management information system, or PMIS, is an important
component of project communications management. A PMIS is an effective mechanism
for enabling and facilitating communications. All processes and activities on a project
center on it because the success of a project depends as much on the quality of data as
it does on completing the works on time and within budget. Indeed, a persuasive
argument can be made that if the PMIS fails or the quality of its basic elements does not
meet a certain standard, then the likelihood of project failure from a cost, schedule, or
quality perspective will increase. Accepting this argument means that establishing a
PMIS is absolutely critical.

Definition and Components

A PMIS is an integrated, interdependent set of processes, activities, techniques, and
data used to define, plan, control, execute, and close a project to achieve optimum
performance regarding cost, schedule, and quality. The best approach to understanding
a PMIS is to view it as a data-intensive system. A PMIS has several components.

The most important one, of course, is the repository, comprising data and information
about a project. This data may be stored manually or electronically and provides various
levels of access to the people needing it. It is important to note that the repository is
more than just the database for a scheduling package. It also contains other data about
a project, from a copy of the charter to a change management log.

Another component, especially if data is stored electronically, is the technology to

support it. This component can consist of hardware, such as servers, and software, for
example, a database management system (DBMS). This technology requires constant
updating because of the rapid pace of development. However, the right hardware and
software, provided training is available, can increase the power of a PMIS.

Methodology is another key component of a PMIS. A project management methodology

determines—even dictates—the business rules for storing, accessing, and addressing a
data repository under specific conditions. It can prove, however, to be an asset or a
liability to a PMIS. For example, the rules of the methodology may be so detailed and
cumbersome that people will not visit the repository, resulting in their taking short cuts by
circumventing the PMIS.

Policies and procedures are important components. They may go beyond the
methodology, reflecting the requirements of a larger organizational infrastructure much
greater than a project. Still, they may influence the deployment of a PMIS and its access
for specific business reasons. An example is a companywide policy or procedure
restricting certain project data and information from contractors.

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Stakeholders are also important components. They, of course, are people or

organizations having an interest in the outcome of a project. Many of the stakeholders,
to varying degrees, will have an interest in using the PMIS to satisfy their own
requirements.

Forms and reports are critical components. Forms are used, of course, to collect data
to populate the PMIS. Reports are necessary to provide information in a format and level
of detail that satisfies the needs and wants of a stakeholder. The complication with forms
is that sometimes they are used to collect more data than necessary; the complication
with reports is that they sometimes generate more data than information.

The principles, techniques, and tools of project management are components that
are often overlooked. Yet, they vary from one environment to another and from one
organization to the next. These principles, techniques, and tools will influence the
quantity and quality of data in the PMIS.

The environment, or context, is an often overlooked as a component of a PMIS. It can

have a substantial influence on whether a PMIS will be deployable and how it will be
deployed. Business conditions, management style, historical approaches toward
managing projects, and available funding can influence the extent to which a PMIS will
be deployed and utilized.

Key Characteristics
An efficient and effective PMIS possesses certain characteristics.
Integration is a key behavior. Each component plays an important role in converting
data into information to satisfy the requirements of a project. If a component fails, then
the usefulness of output may be lacking.

Interdependence is another key behavior. This depends on the transmission and

sharing of data to produce information for the stakeholders on a project. The
shortcomings or failure by one component can influence the performance of a PMIS. For
example, a schedule based upon incorrect data can lead to stakeholders making
decisions that may have negative long-term impact on the service or product being
delivered to the customer.
The overall pattern of behavior of a PMIS is reflected in the degree of integration and
interdependence of its components. A more complex PMIS, reflected in the terms of
quantity and relationships among components, will have a more sophisticated pattern of
behavior than one with fewer components and relationships. More complexity often

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equates better performance, but it also can result in more dramatic impacts when
breakdowns occur.

Activities performed by a PMIS include retrieving data from different sources, sending
information to specific destinations, transforming or transmitting data and information (or
both), storing data and information, and providing controls over the access and disbursal
of data and information. The execution of these activities often reflects the degree of
integration and interdependence among the components of a PMIS. For large projects,
the relationship of these activities can be quite complex.

Different applications and equipment may be involved, which requires, for instance,
restricting certain access rights to systems and data to external partners. Such
circumstances can add a level of complexity to the integration and interdependence of a
PMIS for a project. Data, of course, plays an important role in ensuring integration and
interdependence. Indeed, it is the ―blood‖ that permeates and nourishes a PMIS. It must
be supplied or acquired, compiled, processed, ―packaged,‖ and then delivered to the
appropriate recipient in the form of information. The information, in turn, is then utilized
by the recipient. All of this occurs systematically. Data collected from different sources,
such as project leads, for example, is sent to distributed servers and applications and, in
turn, is sent to a central repository for processing. The data at the central repository is
processed to calculate cost and schedule progress for each area of responsibility. The
information is then returned back to the originators for further decision making. This is
often the scenario for projects with activities spread across a wide geographical area.

The information generated by these activities is reflected on the many information-

sharing events that occur on a project, which include the conducting of meetings, giving
presentations, listening actively and effectively, producing documentation, deploying a
project Web site, and setting up a war room.

8.8 Summary:
Effective communication is an absolute necessity for successful management of
projects. Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between
senders and receivers through a common system of symbols.

The ability to communicate is an important criterion for promotability.

 A high percentage of frictions, frustrations, and inefficiencies in our working
relationships with other people is traceable to poor communication. Most
problems in organizations can be traced to people—and the inability to
communicate with people is often the cause of such problems.

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 There are many formal and informal means or channels for communicating with
project stakeholders.
 Most present-day failures in communication can be traced to misunderstandings
of the symbols that play an important part in the process of human
communication.
 Communication is a two-way process between a sender and the receiver(s).
 Informal communication is carried out through the informal organization.
Membership in this organization is dependent on common ties and interests.
 Listening is an important part of communication. It is a skill that can be learned
and is important to the project manager and all project stakeholders in finding out
what is going on in a project.
 There can be many impersonal barriers to communication, such as ethics,
morals, beliefs, prejudices, politics, biases, and other things that condition
behavior.
 Nonverbal communications are carried out through physical gestures such as
facial expressions, nodding, hand and body movements, eye movements, and so
forth. The prudent project manager learns to look for nonverbal communications
when working with the project stakeholders.
 There is an abundance of written communications involved in the management of
a project. All project stakeholders should work diligently at improving their ability
to communicate through writing.
 Project meetings, both formal and informal, are an extremely important means for
communicating about the project’s status.
 The application of management theory and practice to a meeting can be done
through the use of planning, organizing, motivation, directing, and control
processes.
 The advancement of technology has provided extraordinary benefits to improving
the ability to communicate in the business world and to manage projects. Such
means as telecommunications, groupware, and the Internet can provide the
project manager with enhanced communication capabilities, if properly planned
and executed.
 A policy on how to communicate with the customer is an important matter and
should be planned and diligently executed.

8.9 Terminal Questions:

(1) Define a Communications Management Plan for a Project. Why is it required?
(2) Describe the structure and format of a CMP
(3) List some of the guidelines for the implementation of the CMP.
(4) What is Issues Governance? What is its significance in a CMP
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(5) What are the considerations for an Issues Governance System?

8.10 Answers to SAQ’s and TQ’s

SAQ 1
(1) D – All of the above

SAQ 2
(1) D – All of the above

SAQ 3
(1) D – All of the above

SAQ 4
(1) D- All of the above

Answers to Terminal Questions:

(1) Refer Section 8.1
(2) Refer Section 8.2
(3) Refer Section 8.3
(4) Refer Section 8.4
(5) Refer Section 8.5

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