Project Communication Management Another Chapter in Project Life According to PMBOK

Speaking of Communication The Importance of Speaking Up

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw Plus, we tend to make many assumptions and act as if they are true. It’s human nature, but don’t fall for mind-tricks.

Project Communication Management Includes the processes used to generate, collect, distribute, and store appropriate project management information efficiently and effectively. Here is how they work together: The communication planning process is used to generate the communication management plan, which becomes an input item to other processes of communication management such as --the information distribution and manage stakeholders processes. Performance reporting process uses performance measurement baseline as an input to generate performance reports.

CAPM Exam Question Which of the following is not an example of formal communication? a) Contract b) Email c) Project status report d) Status meeting B- Email

Make these Connections! Project scope statement is an input to the communication planning process. The communication management plan is generated by the communication planning *process* and becomes an input to the information distribution and manage stakeholders processes.

Remember Performance is always measured and reported against a baseline that consists of cost, quality and schedule (time) and generally includes quality parameters due to the current business focus on quality Old -----------------------------> New >

Not so obvious, but please note: A key component of planning project communication is to determine and limit who will communicate with whom and who will receive what information!

As Always, Be Aware That project management communication is a subset of communication in general Project resources are expended on communicating information that 1) contributes to the project’s success – or 2) where lack of communication could result in a failure.

However That does not mean that bad news should not be shared. Manage it, and draw on your knowledge of crisis management to handle it.

Getting Yourself Through, and Communicating During Stress Periods and Crises Consider any lessons already learned. Breathe deeply as much as you can. Realize that you and your team can/will grow through it.

As PM You Hold the Key

Face reality. No matter how bad things are, they could get worse. Some team leaders try to convince others that things aren’t so bad, and swift action can make problems go away. This causes leaders to undershoot the mark in terms of corrective actions. Before asking others to sacrifice, first volunteer yourself Never waste a good crisis. A crisis provides the leader with the platform to get things done that were required anyway and offers the sense of urgency to accelerate their implementation. Get in front of your issues, don’t hide anything (or behind anything,) and show your team—and anyone who is watching—how to move through crisis and fear with grace and courage.

Know that Your Attitude Communicates All The Time as You Manage Your Project Much of your success depends on your ability to go with the flow of life, figuring your way through challenges. The military has a concept that is similar: OODA (observe, orient decide and act.) “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Good Communication Relies on both sender and receiver to verify the appropriate message has been delivered and received- and is understood.

Memorize for CAPM The dimensions of communication -oral, written, listening, speaking (and beware of texts) -Internal and external to the project -formal and informal (beware of texts) -horizontal and vertical (beware of texts) Be very careful of “reply all” functions…

Info Distribution Methods Include: Project meetings Hard copy document distribution, manual filing systems, shared access electronic databases Electronic communications incl. Skype and web publishing Number of communication channels among n stakeholders is n(n-1) / 2.

PMI LOVES THIS – IT WILL PROBABLY SHOW UP ON YOUR EXAM N(N-1)/2 is the formula to calculate the number of communication channels on a project where N=the number of team members/stakeholders on a project. This is frequently a test question for certification. What it means to project managers is that the larger the project team, the greater the complexity and the more time spent communicating. “Lack of communication” or “mis-communication” is frequently cited as an issue in lessons learned. Check with the team and stakeholders regularly for feedback on how communication is going and how communication can be improved. Communication is the key to optimal project performance.

Virtual Team Communications Resource For Your Toolkits Keeping Everyone Looped In

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