CHAPTER 10

PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

 Project Communications Management includes the

processes that 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
communicating with team members and other project
stakeholders,
 Effective communication creates a bridge between diverse
stakeholders involved in a project, connecting various
cultural and organizational backgrounds, different levels
of expertise, and various perspectives and interests in the
project execution or outcome.
PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT
Overview
 10.1 Plan Communications Management
The process of developing an appropriate approach
and plan for project communications based on
stakeholder’s information needs and requirements,
and available organizational assets.
 10.2 Manage Communications
The process of creating, collecting, distributing,
storing, retrieving and the ultimate disposition of
project information in accordance with the
communications management plan.
 10.3 Control Communications
The process of monitoring and controlling
communications throughout the entire project life
cycle to ensure the information needs of the project
stakeholders are met.
Communication dimensions,

 Internal (within the project) and external (customer,

other projects, the media, the public),
 Formal (reports, memos, briefings) and informal (emails,
discussions),
 Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal
(with peers),
 Official (newsletters, annual report) and unofficial (off
the record communications),
 Written and oral,
 Verbal and non-verbal (voice inflections, body
language).
Requirements of Communication type
Samples of situations with required media
Most communication skills
 Listening actively and effectively,
 Questioning, 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 or organization to perform an action,
 Negotiating to achieve mutually acceptable agreements
between parties,
 Resolving conflict to prevent disruptive impacts, and
 Summarizing, and identifying the next steps.
10.1 Plan Communications
 Plan Communications Management is the process of developing an
appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on
stakeholder’s information needs and requirements, and available
organizational assets.
 The Plan Communications process involves determining the communication
needs of the stakeholders by defining
 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.
 Communication planning includes communication within project, outside
project and within project management team members.
 Plan communication shall be done as early as possible in project
 Shall concentrate on right information given at right format at right time
Plan Communications: Inputs, Tools
& Techniques, and Outputs
10.1.1 Plan Communications: Inputs
.1Project Management Plan
 The project management plan provides information on how the
project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed.
.2 Stakeholder Register
.3 Enterprise Environmental Factors
.4 Organizational Process Assets
 All organizational process assets are used as inputs for the Plan
Communications process. Of these, lessons learned and historical
information are of particular importance because they can
provide insights on both the decisions taken regarding
communications issues and the results of those decisions in
previous similar projects. These can be used as guiding
information to plan the communication activities for the current
project.
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.1 Communication Requirements Analysis
 The project manager should also consider the number of potential
communication channels or paths as an indicator of the complexity of a
project’s communications.
 The total number of potential communication channels is

n(n-1)/2,
 where n represents the number of stakeholders.
 Thus, a project with 10 stakeholders has 10(10-1)/2 = 45 potential
communication channels
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques
Information typically used to determine project
communication requirements includes:
 • Organization charts,
 • Project organization and stakeholder responsibility
relationships,
 • 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., communicating across
organizations),
 • External information needs (e.g., communicating with the
media, public, or contractors), and
 • Stakeholder information from the stakeholder register and
the stakeholder management strategy.
Not an Ideal Situation for Project
Determine and Limit Communication
channels
 10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.2 Communication Technology
 As part of the communications planning, the project manager should identify all
of the required and approved methods of communicating.
 Communication modalities can also include meetings, reports, memos, e-mails,
and so on.
 Factors that can affect the project include:
 urgency of the need for information.

 Availability of technology.

 Ease of Use. There is a need to ensure that the choice of communication

technologies is suitable for project participants and that appropriate
training events are planned for, where appropriate.
 Project environment. if the team will meet and operate on a face-to-face
basis or in a virtual environment; whether they will be located in one or
multiple time zones; etc.…
 Sensitivity and confidentiality of the information.
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.3 Communication Models
 Encode. Thoughts or ideas are translated (encoded) into language by the
sender.
 Transmit Message. This information is then sent by the sender using
communication channel (medium). The transmission of this message may be
compromised by various factors (e.g., distance, unfamiliar technology,
inadequate infrastructure, cultural difference, and lack of background
information). These factors are collectively termed as noise.
 Decode. The message is translated by the receiver back into meaningful
thoughts or ideas.
 Acknowledge. Upon receipt of a message, the receiver may signal
(acknowledge) receipt of the message but this does not necessarily mean
agreement with or comprehension of the message.
 Feedback/Response. When the received message has been decoded and
understood, the receiver encodes thoughts and ideas into a message and
then transmits this message to the original sender.
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques .3 Communication Models
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques .3 Communication Models
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques .
.4 Communication Methods
Interactive communication.
 Between two or more parties performing a multidirectional exchange of
information.
 It is the most efficient way to ensure a common understanding by all participants on
specified topics, and includes meetings, phone calls, video conferencing, etc.
Push communication.
 Sent to specific recipients who need to know the information.

 This ensures that the information is distributed but does not certify that it actually
reached or was understood by the intended audience.
 Push communication includes letters, memos, reports, emails, faxes, voice mails, press
releases
Pull communication.
 Used for very large volumes of information, or for very large audiences, that
requires the recipients to access the communication content at their own discretion.
 These methods include intranet sites, e-learning, and knowledge repositories, etc.
10.1.2 Plan Communications:
Tools and Techniques . 10.1.2.5 Meetings
.5 Meetings
 The Plan Communications Management process requires
discussion and dialogue with the project team to
determine the most appropriate way to update and
communicate project information, and to respond to
requests from various stakeholders for that information.
 These discussions and dialogue are commonly

facilitated through meetings, which may be conducted

face to face or online and in different locations, such as
the project site or the customer’s site.
10.1.3 Plan Communications: Outputs

.1 Communications Management Plan

 The communications management plan is a

component of the project management plan that

describes how project communications will be
planned, structured, monitored, and controlled
.1 Communications Management Plan
The communications management plan documents
 Stakeholder communication requirements;
 Information to be communicated,
 Reason for the distribution of that information;
 Time frame and frequency for the 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, including time and budget;
 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
 Communication constraints usually derived from a specific legislation or regulation,
technology, and organizational policies, etc.
10.1.3 Plan Communications: Outputs

.2 Project Document updates

 Project documents that may be updated include but

are not limited to:

• Project schedule,
 • Stakeholder register,
10.2 Manage Communications
 Manage Communications is the process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing,
retrieving, and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance to the
communications management plan.
 Effective communications management include, a number of techniques including:
 Sender-receiver models. Feedback loops and barriers to communication.
 Choice of media. Situation specifics of when to communicate in writing versus
orally, when to write an informal memo versus a formal report, and when to
communicate face-to-face versus by e-mail.
 Writing style. Active versus passive voice, sentence structure, and word choice.
 Meeting management techniques. Preparing an agenda and dealing with
conflicts.
 Presentation techniques. 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.
Manage Communications:
Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs
10.2.1 Manage Communications: Inputs
.1 Communications Management Plan
.2 Work Performance Reports
 Work performance reports are a collection of project
performance and status information that may be used to
facilitate discussion and to create communications. To
optimize this process, it is important that reports be
comprehensive, accurate, and available in a timely manner.
.3 Enterprise Environmental Factors
.4 Organizational Process Assets
 • Policies, procedures, and guidelines
regarding information distribution,
 • Templates,
 • Historical information and lessons learned.
10.2.2 Manage Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.1 Communication Technology
 Individual and group meetings, video and audio
conferences, computer chats, and other remote
communications methods are used to distribute
information.
.2 Communication Models
 As the components in the communications all contribute
toward an effective and efficient communications
process, the focus is to ensure that the choice of the
communication model is appropriate for the project that
is undertaken and that any barriers (noise) are
identified and managed.
10.2.2 Manage Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.3 Communication Methods
 As there can be many potential barriers and challenges during this process,
the focus is to ensure that the information that has been created and
distributed has been received and understood to enable response and
feedback.
.4 Information Management Systems
 • Hard-copy document distribution, manual filing systems, press releases,
and shared-access electronic databases;
 • Electronic communication and conferencing tools, such as e-mail, fax, voice
mail, telephone, video and web conferencing, websites and web publishing;
and
 • Electronic tools for project management, such as web interfaces to
scheduling and project management software, meeting and virtual office
support software, portals, and collaborative work management tools.
10.2.2 Manage Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.5 Performance Reporting
 Performance reporting is the act of collecting and distributing performance
information, including status reports, progress measurements, and forecasts.
 Performance reporting involves the periodic collection and analysis of
baseline versus actual data to understand and communicate the project
progress and performance as well as to forecast the project results.
 The format may range from a simple status report to more elaborate
reports and may be prepared regularly or on an exception basis.
 More elaborate reports may include:

 • Analysis of past performance,

 • Analysis of project forecasts (including time and cost),
 • Current status of risks and issues,
 • Work completed during the period,
 • Work to be completed in the next period,
 • Summary of changes approved in the period, and
 • Other relevant information, which is reviewed and discussed.
10.2.3 Manage Communications:
Outputs
 .1 Project Communications
 Performance Reports,
 Deliverables Status

 Schedule Progress,

 Cost Incurred.

 .2 Project Management Plan Updates

 .3 Project Documents Updates
 Issuelog,
 Project schedule, and

 Project funding requirements.

10.2.3 Manage Communications:
Outputs
 .4 Organizational Process Assets updates
 Stakeholder notifications .
 Project reports

 Project presentations

 Project records

 Feedback from stakeholders

 Lessons learned documentation

 10.3 Control Communications
 Control Communications is the process of monitoring and
controlling communications throughout the entire project
life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project
stakeholders are met.
 The key benefit of this process is that it ensures an
optimal information flow among all communication
participants, at any moment in time.
10.3.1 Control Communications:
Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs
10.3.1 Control Communications:
Inputs
.1 Project Management Plan
 • 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, and
 • Individual or group receiving the information.

.2 Project Communications
 • Deliverables status,

 • Schedule progress, and

 • Costs incurred.
10.3.1 Control Communications:
Inputs
.3 Issue Log
 An issue log is used to document and monitor the resolution
of issues.
 It may be used to facilitate communication and ensure a
common understanding of issues.
 A written log documents and helps to monitor who is
responsible for resolving specific issues by a target date.
.4 Work Performance Data
 Work performance data organizes and summarizes the
information gathered, and presents the results of
comparative analysis to the performance measurement
baseline.
.5 Organizational Process Assets
10.3.2 Control Communications:
Tools and Techniques
.1 Information Management Systems
 An information management system provides a set of standard tools for the
project manager to capture, store, and distribute information to
stakeholders about the project’s costs, schedule progress, and performance.
 Some software packages allow the project manager to consolidate reports
from several systems and facilitate report distribution to the project
stakeholders.
.2 Expert Judgment
 Expert judgment is often relied upon by the project team to assess the
impact of the project communications, need for action or intervention,
actions that should be taken, responsibility for taking such actions, and the
timeframe for taking action.
.3 Meetings
 The Control Communications process requires discussion and dialogue with
the project team to determine the most appropriate way to update and
communicate project performance, and to respond to requests from
stakeholders for information.
10.3.3 Control Communications:
Outputs
.1 Work Performance Information
.2 Change Requests
.3 Project Management Plan Updates
.4 Project Documents Updates
.5 Organizational Process Assets Updates