Manual 10

Project Communication
Management

Book 2 of 3
Information Distribution
 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Contents
Topic 1: Information Distribution 3
Section A: Introducing Information Distribution 3
Information Distribution 3
Information Distribution: Tools and Techniques 3
Communications Skills 3
Information Gathering and Retrieval Systems 3
Information Distribution Methods 4
Lessons Learned Process 4
Information Distribution: Outputs 4
Organizational Process Assets (Updates) 4
Requested Changes 5
Section B: An Overview of Information Distribution 6
Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs 6
Section C: Information Distribution Inputs 8
Section D: Information Distribution Tools and Techniques 9
Common Communication Problems 9
Communications Complexity 10
Communications Skills 10
Guidelines for Clear Communications 12
Monitoring Communications 14
Meeting Management 14
Providing Staff Direction 16
Information Retrieval 17
Information Distribution Methods 18
Project Meetings 18
Hard Copy Documents 19
Electronic 19
Section E: Information Distribution Outputs 20

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 2 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Topic 1: Information
Distribution
Section A: Introducing Information
Distribution
Information Distribution
Information Distribution involves making information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner.
Information distribution includes implementing the communications management plan, as well as
responding to unexpected requests for information.

Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs

1. Communications 1. Communications skills 1. Organizational process

management plan 2. Information gathering and assets (updates)
retrieval systems 2. Requested changes
3. Information distribution
methods
4. Lessons learned process

Figure 1 - Information Distribution: Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs

Information Distribution: Tools and Techniques

Communications Skills

Communications skills are part of general management skills and are used to exchange information.
General management skills related to communications include ensuring that the right persons get the
right information at the right time, as defined in the communications management plan. General
management skills also include the art of managing stakeholder requirements.

As part of the communications process, the sender is responsible for making the information clear and
complete so that the receiver can receive it correctly, and for confirming that it is properly understood.
The receiver is responsible for making sure that the information is received in its entirety and understood
correctly. Communicating has many dimensions:

• Written and oral, listening, and speaking

• Internal (within the project) and external (customer, the media, the public)
• Formal (reports, briefings) and informal (memos, ad hoc conversations)
• Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal (with peers).

Information Gathering and Retrieval Systems

Information can be gathered and retrieved through a variety of media including manual filing systems,
electronic databases, project management software, and systems that allow access to technical
documentation, such as engineering drawings, design specifications, and test plans.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 3 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Information Distribution Methods

Information Distribution is information collection, sharing, and distribution to project stakeholders in a

timely manner across the project life cycle. Project information can be distributed using a variety of
methods, including:

• Project meetings, hard-copy document distribution, manual filing systems, and shared-access
electronic databases
• Electronic communication and conferencing tools, such as e-mail, fax, voice mail, telephone, video
and Web conferencing, and Web publishing
• 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.

Lessons Learned Process

A lesson learned session focuses on identifying project successes and project failures, and includes
recommendations to improve future performance on projects. During the project life cycle, the project
team and key stakeholders identify lessons learned concerning the technical, managerial, and process
aspects of the project. The lessons learned are compiled, formalized, and stored through the project’s
duration. The focus of lessons learned meetings can vary. In some cases, the focus is on strong technical
or product development processes, while in other cases, the focus is on the processes that aided or
hindered performance of the work. Teams can gather information more frequently if they feel that the
increased quantity of data merits the additional investment of time and money. Lessons learned provide
future project teams with the information that can increase effectiveness and efficiency of project
management. In addition, phase-end lessons learned sessions provide a good team-building exercise.
Project managers have a professional obligation to conduct lessons learned sessions for all projects with
key internal and external stakeholders, particularly if the project yielded less than desirable results. Some
specific results from lessons learned include:

• Update of the lessons learned knowledge base

• Input to knowledge management system
• Updated corporate policies, procedures, and processes
• Improved business skills
• Overall product and service improvements
• Updates to the risk management plan.

Information Distribution: Outputs

Organizational Process Assets (Updates)

• Lessons learned documentation. Documentation includes the causes of issues, reasoning behind
the corrective action chosen, and other types of lessons learned about Information Distribution.
Lessons learned are documented so that they become part of the historical database for both this
project and the performing organization.
• Project records. Project records can include correspondence, memos, and documents describing the
project. This information should, to the extent possible and appropriate, be maintained in an organized
fashion. Project team members can also maintain records in a project notebook.
• Project reports. Formal and informal project reports detail project status, and include lessons
learned, issues logs, project closure reports, and outputs from other Knowledge Areas.
• Project presentations. The project team provides information formally or informally to any or all of
the project stakeholders. The information is relevant to the needs of the audience, and the method of
presentation is appropriate.
• Feedback from stakeholders. Information received from stakeholders concerning project operations
can be distributed and used to modify or improve future performance of the project.
• Stakeholder notifications. Information may be provided to stakeholders about resolved issues,
approved changes, and general project status.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 4 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Requested Changes

Changes to the Information Distribution process should trigger changes to the project management plan
and the communications management plan. Requested changes (additions, modifications, revisions) to the
project management plan and its subsidiary plans are reviewed, and the disposition is managed through
the Integrated Change Control process.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 5 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Section B: An Overview of Information

Distribution
Information distribution is in the Executing process group of Project Communications Management.

Process Group
Initiating Planning Executing Controlling Closing
Knowledge Area
Project Information
Communications Performance Administrative
Communications Distribution
Planning (Facilitating) Reporting (Core) Closure (Core)
Management (Facilitating)

Information distribution is the process that allows important information to be delivered to stakeholders in
a timely manner. It is important to note that the needs of different stakeholders may vary significantly;
therefore, the information to be communicated, how often it needs to be communicated, and in what
manner it needs to be communicated will also vary. This should all be defined in the communications
management plan.

Definition: Information Distribution

Making the needed information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner.

Information distribution includes implementing the communications management plan. It is important to

note that unexpected events may occur during the course of the project that are not clearly defined in the
communications plan. Information distribution must also account for these unexpected communications
requests to ensure the appropriate stakeholders receive the pertinent information.

Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs

Information distribution uses several inputs. The communications management plan should define most
of the communication needs for each stakeholder group. This guides the project manager in deciding how
communication is distributed and how often information is needed by the stakeholders.

Information distribution considers methods and skills to distribute project information by:

• Applying the project communications management plan

• Utilizing communications skills
• Implementing information retrieval systems
• Employing distribution methods to produce key project documentation

A large component of information distribution is the selection of the correct media and distribution
channel to deliver information to project stakeholders.

Inputs
ΠWork results Tools and Techniques
ΠCommunications ΠCommunications skills
management plan ΠInformation retrieval systems
ΠProject plan ΠInformation distribution methods

Outputs
ΠProject records
ΠProject reports
ΠProject presentation

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 6 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 7 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Section C: Information Distribution Inputs

The inputs for information distribution are the results of other processes. They include:

• Work results
Outcomes of activities performed to accomplish a project; may be tangible or intangible

• Communications management plan

Document resulting from communications planning

• Project plan
Formal, approved document used to manage project execution

Work results are the outcomes of activities performed as the project is executed. Work results include
project status, status on deliverables completed or in process, quality measures, cost and schedule
performance data, and other measures that stakeholders may be interested in reviewing.

The communications plan is a document that serves as the tool to provide information about what, how
and to whom information about the project will be collected, and disseminated.

The project plan contains the baseline against which work results are measured.

Using information distribution tools and techniques, the project manager can prepare, present, and
distribute records, reports, and presentations to keep stakeholders appraised of developments during
project execution.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 8 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Section D: Information Distribution Tools

and Techniques
How information is presented to the various stakeholders should be determined and documented in the
communications plan. Application of communications skills is key in information distribution. Sensitivity to
both what is being communicated and how it is being communicated leads to effective communication; the
system for collecting information from team members must be identified upfront so that project
information is collected in a timely way. Ensure that the retrieval system selected is efficient for both
information providers and receivers.

The tools and techniques for information distribution include:

• Communications skills
• Sender-receiver model
• Dimensions of communication

• Information retrieval systems

• Information can be shared by team members in a variety of methods
• Includes manual filing systems, electronic databases, project management software, and
technical documentation

• Information distribution methods

• Project information may be distributed in a variety of methods
• Includes meetings, hard copy documents, shared access to databases, fax, e-mail, voice mail,
video conferencing, and project intranet

Common Communication Problems

The difficulties involved in communications are often underestimated. Listed below are some common
communication problems:

• Under-communicating
• Hunkering down, cutting out stakeholders
• Not sharing bad news
• Relying on passive communications: fax, e-mail, web
• Criticizing, never praising
• Failing to monitor communications
• Ignoring receiver’s perspective
• Making project communications a need-to-know exercise: Only telling staff or others what managers
believe they need to know is usually a mistake. This technique leads to suspicion and rumors.
• Being an ogre: Yelling may have good short-term consequences but it almost never works long-term.
• Being self-absorbed: Think about the impact of communications on the people to whom they are
directed. Put yourself in their shoes. What are they hearing? What are they learning? How would you
feel if you were they? Putting yourself in your audience’s shoes will very often modify how you
communicate, and usually result in communication that is more effective.
• Telling people what to do: Managers must be as much a team leader and coach as a drill sergeant.
Ask team members for their opinions about the right way to do something. Use consensus as much as
possible. If managers become tyrants, they will likely fail.
• False group consensus: During reporting the team tells the manager what they think the manager
wants to hear. Additionally, the project team may not say anything definitive, which the project
manager accepts as agreement.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 9 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Communications Complexity

Another communications issue that project managers need to deal with is the number of stakeholders on
their projects. As the number of stakeholders increases, so does the complexity of their communications.
The diagram below illustrates the fact that as the number of stakeholders increases, the communications
channels between the stakeholders increases exponentially.

Expressed mathematically:

C = N(N-1)/2
Where:
C = Number of communications channels
N = Number of people communicating

Even a small project involving 10 people would have 45 possible channels! The project manager must be
aware of the complexity of communications involving many stakeholders. This complexity puts a premium
on designing and implementing an effective communications plan.
n(n − 1)
Number of communications channels =
2

2 people, 1 communication channel

3 people, 3 communications channels 4 people, 6 communications channels, etc.

Communications Skills

A simple communications model provides the framework for understanding good communication skills.

Sender-Receiver Model

The basic sender-receiver model begins to illustrate selected procedures and issues that commonly occur
during communications. Even this simplified model indicates the complexities of communicating. When
reviewing the model, it is clear that there is a great potential that the initial idea from the sender may not
be received as intended (or at all) by the receiver.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 10 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

The sender-receiver model can be described as the following:

1. The sender has an idea that he/she wishes to convey.

2. The sender chooses a method of conveying the idea.

• The sender encodes the message (words, gestures, symbols).
• The sender selects media to carry the message

3. Noise gets in the way (noise is not a process, but a factor competing with the message; most
commonly, noise includes other messages that get in the way).

4. The receiver filters the information, based on his/her culture, experiences, position, and current
information needs.

5. The receiver receives and interprets the idea.

6. Ideally, communication should be a cycle; the receiver should acknowledge the message by cycling
through the process again, giving the sender feedback and checking understanding.

The project manager can review this basic sender-receiver model to consider specific procedures that can
be adjusted to ensure more effective communications.

The project manager can review this basic sender-receiver model to consider specific procedures that can
be adjusted to ensure more effective communications.

Y Sender selects a method to convey idea Noise gets in the way

[
Receiver filters
information

Encoding Media
Distribution

Sender has an idea

\
X Receiver receives
(interprets) idea

] Feedback checks understanding

Sender Receiver Responsibilities

Definition: Sender and Receiver Responsibilities

The sender is responsible for making the information clear, unambiguous, and complete so that
the receiver can receive it correctly. The receiver is responsible for making sure that the
information is received in its entirety and understood correctly.

It is important to note that the sender and receiver have a shared responsibility in ensuring effective
communications. The sender should encode the message appropriately and select appropriate media to
convey the message. The receiver should guard against filters that distort the meaning intended by the
sender. Both the sender and receiver should provide feedback, checking that what was sent and received
is aligned.
Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 11 of 20
 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

The sender is responsible for making the information clear, unambiguous, and complete so that the
receiver can receive it correctly. The receiver is responsible for making sure that the information is
received in its entirety and understood correctly.

Guidelines for Clear Communications

It is critical that the project manager develop strategies and tactics for dealing with communications
issues. Though effective methods may be influenced by the specific situation, it is helpful for the project
manager to focus on several key elements. Information distribution methods for clear communications
include:

• Pay attention to verbal and nonverbal communication

• Keep communication factual, objective, and simple
• Use the best channels for each message
• Be consistent
• Get feedback
• Use face-to-face proximity
• Prepare the message in advance
• Transmit the message in language the receiver can accept
• Be aware of both words and feelings in transmitting the message
• Consider the timing of the message
• Listen for what is said (and is not said) by the receiver
• Use techniques to draw out a response from the receiver

Recognizing the Potential for Miscommunication

Human beings do not always express themselves clearly. They often use words that are vague, or they
omit important information that could clarify the message.

Furthermore, everyone has unique experiences, perspectives, and expectations that lead the individual to
interpret information in his or her own way. The interpretation of the message is at times significantly
different on both ends.

For example, a project manager may ask a software engineer about how long a task may take, to which
the engineer responds, “no time at all, it will be easy.” If the engineer is accustomed to working on tasks
that last several weeks, “no time at all” might mean a few days. A project manager who normally works
with tasks of much shorter duration might interpret the engineer’s response to mean a few hours. Using
more precise terms helps avoid misinterpretation.

One common mistake is for a project manager to assume that silence from the recipient signifies
understanding - or agreement. The project manager should actively check for accurate comprehension. It
is also important to understand that communication is a shared responsibility between the sender and
recipient, and the sender should not criticize a recipient who “just doesn’t get it.” Often, if senders
mentally place themselves in the recipients’ shoes, it will be clear how messages are miscommunicated
and misunderstood.

Checking for Understanding

Although every project team member and stakeholder should check to make sure their message is
understood, this skill is especially important to the project manager, who sits at the center of the
communications web. Project managers should constantly check their understanding of feedback
provided by stakeholders, clarifying that their needs and concerns are clearly understood. Although this
can be confirmed verbally, it is safest to get stakeholders to commit in writing. The permanence of paper
merits closer review by the stakeholder. A good rule of thumb is: the higher the value or risk of any item
being communicated, the more certain the project manager should be of what was communicated.

The project manager is also responsible for ensuring that the project team members receive the
messages and clearly understand what is expected of them. One way to check for understanding is to ask

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 12 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management
the person to give a summary of the information included in the message. Omission of key elements may
be an indication of a misunderstanding.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 13 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Monitoring Communications

The job of communicating cannot be considered complete just because the message is sent. Part of the
project manager’s responsibility in distributing information is ensuring its receipt. The project manager
should solicit feedback to monitor if communications are being received in a timely manner, and if the
information being received is useful to the recipients.

The project manager must balance the stakeholders’ needs for project information with the capacity to
process the information. Overloading the recipients may be as great a problem as not providing
information. Stakeholders may only require monthly updates on a project, but they may be more
responsive to information if the report is broken into smaller components that are sent at weekly
intervals.

Information should also be timely. A balance must often be struck between accuracy and timeliness. If an
important budget meeting is approaching, the project manager should report a trend of unexpectedly high
costs, even if the data is incomplete.

Meeting Management

Conducting good meetings is a distinct communication skill. Unproductive meetings are often a result of
poor meeting management. Meeting management begins before the start of the actual meeting. The
project manager should consider when a meeting is truly necessary to disseminate or gather information;
it is often more cost-effective and productive to use another method of communication.

If a meeting is unproductive, you may want to ask these questions:

• Was a meeting the right vehicle for managing the information?

• Was an agenda created and distributed prior to the meeting?
• Did the right people attend?
• Did participants know why they were in the meeting?
• Were participants invited and encouraged to participate?
• Were decisions and action items summarized before leaving the meeting?
• Were meeting notes listing decisions and action items recorded and distributed?

The project manager should ensure that all necessary parties are able to attend, and should be clear on
what role each party will fill during the meeting. They should understand the purpose of the meeting and
the meeting agenda, and should come prepared with the items for which they are responsible.

Well-prepared and executed agendas keep meeting participants focused on the necessary tasks. Items
that are not included on the agenda should be documented on a board or sheet of paper (often called a
parking lot). Once the meeting agenda items are completed, the participants can discuss these additional
items.

Meetings usually begin with a brief status report of the action items resulting from the last meeting. Were
previously assigned tasks completed? Generally, the meeting agenda should be arranged and discussed in
a sequential fashion. At the end of the discussion of each topic, a summary of decisions made, or any
action items, should be documented. It is important to note that the decisions that are made during the
meeting should be public.

Meeting Tips

Productive meetings require active participation and honest feedback from participants. True meeting
management includes soliciting sincere participation and moderating input between participants.

Moderating, or balancing, participation during meetings is a delicate facilitation skill. The meeting
moderator should solicit appropriate feedback from specific participants at the appropriate times. Part of
this expectation is set up when participants are informed about the roles they will play during a meeting.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 14 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management
However, the meeting moderator should ask for input based on the participant’s specific expertise, role,
and position. At times, one or more of these factors will make a participant more or less appropriate for
input on a topic. The meeting moderator should ensure the right person provides input when needed.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 15 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Soliciting honest participation can be a challenge. Often, participants feel that their superiors have asked
them to attend the meeting to support ideas, not discuss them. If the superior has already made the
decision, there is no reason to discuss it in a meeting. If the meeting’s purpose is the generation of ideas,
it is important that it is not implied that a decision has been made. The moderator should understand that
silence is not compliance. The absence of disagreement does not necessarily mean that all the
participants agree. Encouraging dissent is an effective facilitation technique to reach true consensus. One
method for encouraging dissent is splitting the group into teams and asking them to generate pro and con
arguments for each position.

Providing Staff Direction

Providing staff direction is a critical communications skill for the project manager. The project manager is
responsible for providing the project team with information regarding the project’s direction and
expectations. The project team should be clear on these expectations at all times during the project.

• Provide clear expectations on:

• Quality
• Scope
• Schedule
• Cost

• Detail the extent of responsibility and authority (set boundaries).

• Develop feedback mechanisms (status updates, informal conversations, access to subject matter
experts).

• Discuss inspections/reviews.

In clarifying expectations, the project manager should define clear metrics. For example, the project
manager should ask for a task to be completed by “the close of business on Tuesday,” rather than, “as
soon as possible.” Quality expectations should also be very clear, defining performance expectations as
well as any conditions of performance. For example, “the web site should be able to support 100,000
concurrent transactions without any change in the system’s performance.”

Project team members should always be clear on cost and resource expectations, understanding how
much money, time, or other resources can be expended for a project element. This bounds the problem
for the project team, and ensures that project team members understand their responsibilities and
authorities in dealing with project issues.

Developing feedback mechanisms enables the project manager to ensure that project team members
understand the expectations. The project manager must clarify how project team members should provide
feedback on performance. For example, “if the deliverable will be even one day late, e-mail, and call the
work and cell phone numbers.”

The project manager should ensure that the project team members know about any inspections, reviews,
or other quality assurance activities. In addition to ensuring that the project team is better prepared for
the review, it avoids disheartening the project team by executing a surprise inspection. A surprise review
can give the perception that the project team is not trusted and must be carefully monitored.

Providing Staff Feedback

The project manager should provide feedback early and often. Addressing good performance reinforces
good behaviors.

Positive feedback is often highly motivating, because project members realize their efforts are being
recognized. It also allows the project team members to know where they stand, enabling them to realize
their own good performance. When possible, praise should be given in a public forum. This is not only an
incentive to the individuals being recognized for good performance, but it can also allow other project
team members to identify role models of good performance.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 16 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Bad news should be communicated in a timely manner. The more quickly a problem is communicated, the
sooner the project team members have an opportunity to correct the problem. Negative feedback or
confrontations should be handled in a private manner, particularly when it is in regard to an individual’s
performance.

When addressing performance issues, the project manager should remember:

• Focus on the performance issue: The purpose of providing feedback is to identify poor performance,
and correct it. The focus of the feedback should be on the expectations of performance, and how the
individual’s performance differs. The conversation should be professional and should avoid issues of
employee complaints, personal problems, or other issues that do not directly relate to the
performance problem.

• Avoid personal accusations or judgments: In addition to avoiding topics such as employee

complaints, or personal problems, the project manager should not accuse the individual of the
performance problem. Often, project managers may assume the individual is intending to perform
poorly, or the individual does not have their priorities in line. These statements are often value and
character judgments. Often, the performance issue results from unclear expectations from the
project manager.

• Make expectations of change clear: The most important element of providing feedback is clarifying
the performance expectations. The individual receiving the feedback should be clear on what results
are expected. The project manager should work with the individual to develop a plan so the results
can be achieved. Success of each project team member is in the best interest of the project manager;
if the project team members fail, so does the project manager.

Information Retrieval

The term “communications” usually calls to mind information distribution - the transmission of a
message from a sender to one or more recipients. But communications also includes information
retrieval - storing information and retrieving it when it is required.

Information retrieval systems make it easier and quicker for the project team to access project
documentation. The communications plan should note how information is documented, managed, and
shared.

Many factors impact the selection of information retrieval systems, but one of the most important factors
is security. The permissions for accessing information should be set to the correct level of skill and
authority of the individual seeking information.

The technologies used and channels selected for each type of communications are noted in the
communications management plan.

These methods include:

• Personal/face-to-face
• Reports
• Electronic tools

Status reports and milestone reports are an effective way of creating a chronological record of progress
on the project. They can later be used to view a snapshot of the project at any particular point.

Electronic tools, such as project management software, databases, and networked files, provide a means
of easily storing and retrieving large amounts of data.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 17 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

It should be a goal of the project to document all information that could be valuable, either during the
project or at a later date. Sometimes, though, the best way to retrieve information is to simply ask the
right person. For example, if the minutes from this morning’s meeting are not posted yet, a call to a
participant might communicate the information more quickly. Personal communication can also be very
effective in finding information that is unfamiliar. Electronic tools are very effective at sifting through vast
amounts of data and finding exactly what they are told to search for. A person, however, may tell you about
something valuable that you never would have known to look for.

Information Distribution Methods

Information distribution may be formal or informal, written or spoken. Information distribution methods
include:

• Project meetings
• Hard-copy document distribution
• Shared access to networked electronic databases
• Electronic media, including fax, e-mail, voice mail, videoconferencing, and project intranet

As determined by the communications plan, many different information distribution methods can be used
to disseminate information to the project stakeholders. It is important that the correct technology and
channel is selected for the appropriate communication need.

For example, it would not be effective to use hard-copy document distribution via mail for weekly status
reports for a project team that is geographically dispersed across several continents. Electronic methods
would be more effective in providing more timely communications; however, other unique challenges such
as differences in technologies and time zones will be realized.

The communications plan should provide an effective outline for which types of communications tools,
media, and methods should be used for different types of project information and unique stakeholder
groups. By referring to the communications plan, project team members should have the guidance they
need in selecting the appropriate communication tool for their needs in specific situations.

Project Meetings

In certain situations, meetings have clear advantages over other methods of information distribution.
Assembling stakeholders in the same room at the same time allows the project manager to:

• Have a high degree of certainty that the message is received.

• Focus attention on the information.
• Emphasize the importance of the message.
• Use non-verbal tools to communicate.
• Measure comprehension of the message.
• Answer questions immediately.
• Conduct discussion and make necessary decisions involving group input.

Meetings should be called whenever these advantages are important. One recommended use for
meetings is to communicate bad news. By doing this, the project manager can ensure that the message is
received instead of getting buried in a report that may go unread. Bad news can also elicit a range of
responses and questions; face-to-face communication allows the project manager to deal with these
reactions.

There are, however, some disadvantages to meetings. They can be:

• Difficult to schedule and coordinate.

• Costly - especially if participants must travel.
• An inefficient use of participants’ time.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 18 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

The decision to schedule a meeting should always take into consideration the cost of the participants’
time. When people are in meetings, they are not performing other valuable tasks. Most people have
attended meetings that were a waste of their time, often because only one item in ten was relevant to
them. Project managers should avoid scheduling meetings to convey information that could be better
distributed through methods that allow recipients to get the message more efficiently.

Hard Copy Documents

Some information requires a significant amount of time for recipients to analyze and review. Reports are
effective in giving a standard format to the many types of information, including technical, financial, and
schedule data, that are best distributed by this method. The project communications plan should define
the format and frequency for such reports.

Some of the advantages of well-designed hard copies are that they are portable, easy-to- read, and are
not limited by the constraints of technology. High-quality and oversized prints can be easier to work with
than information viewed on a computer monitor. Their disadvantages include printing costs, delivery time,
and restrictions on the recipients’ ability to work with the data.

Electronic

Electronic tools can be very effective in rapidly sending a large amount of data to multiple users. E-mail,
websites, and networked files allow nearly instantaneous global communications.

Electronic communication includes tools that go beyond simple messages. Project Management
Information Systems (PMIS) are tools that allow a project manager to schedule and assign tasks to project
members, and then check status on the project. This integrated workflow environment can assist the
project manager in assessing progress and workflow using a consistent methodology.

Another advantage of electronic data is that it may allow the recipient to re-format the information so that
it is more meaningful for that person. For example, a recipient can use a large spreadsheet to create a
graph using data that is significant to that person.

Electronic methods for distributing information have certain disadvantages, however. An e-mail message
that travels from Boston to London in a few seconds might sit unnoticed for days amid a flood of other
messages. An electronic document on a computer screen might not catch the receiver’s attention as well
as an attractively designed report on paper.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 19 of 20

 Manual 10: Project Communication Management

Section E: Information Distribution Outputs

The information distribution process creates several outputs. These project documents, listed below, are
critical communication pieces, and can later be archived for organizational learning and reference.

Although external communications records, reports, and presentations are usually archived and
identifiable, the internal communications are project records that contain a great level of detail and
lessons learned for a project.

The project team should archive internal records appropriately so information can be retrieved when
needed.

Project Records include any correspondence, documents, or memos pertaining to the project maintained
in an organizational structure for access. Often, project team members maintain personal records in a
project notebook.

Project Reports include formal project status reports and other reports on issues. Often, the project team
will prepare project reports for the customer and other key stakeholders.

Project Presentations are used to keep particular groups of stakeholders informed of project
developments; it is important that each presentation includes information that is relevant to the intended
audience, and that the media used for the presentation makes the information available to the target
audience.

Book 2 of 3: Information Distribution Page 20 of 20