Project Communications Katy Koenen 05/07/2013

2 Agenda TaxonomyThe Process Best Practices Introduction Q & A

3 Project Communications Goal Understand the importance of project communications Objective Be able to describe and create project communication tools Section Introduction

4 Project Communications Why Communicate? To manage expectations To inform stakeholders, customers and team members about project status, risks, and issues To keep the project on-track Section Introduction

5 Project Communications Why bother with project communications? By communicating key information about your project, you will provide those involved with a greater understanding of the project, thereby increasing your chances for success. Section Introduction

6 Taxonomy Communication The act of communicating or imparting information Taxonomy

7 DocumentPurpose Project Charter Describes the purpose & business justification of the project Scope Statement Describes what the project will include & what it will exclude Project Plan Describes how the project will be executed and implemented Communications Plan Identifies the audience for each type of communication Identifies the type of information each audience needs Describes how and how often you will communicate with each audience

8 Taxonomy DocumentPurpose Risk Management Plan Identifies risks to the project and describes how they will be mitigated Change Management Plan Describes how changes to the project’s scope, schedule, and resources will be handled Status Report Describes the current state of the project at a given point in time Status Meeting Meeting to report on the project status and discuss the issues, risks, assumptions, and changes that have cropped-up since the last meeting

9 The Process Create a Communications Matrix Communication TypeAudienceFormatFrequencyOwner Project CharterStakeholders Project Team DocumentAt inceptionPM Project PlanStakeholders Project Team DocumentAt inceptionPM Communication PlanStakeholders Project Team DocumentAt inceptionPM Risk Management PlanStakeholders Project Team DocumentAt inceptionPM Change Management Plan Stakeholders Project Team DocumentAt inceptionPM Status ReportsProject Team WeeklyTeam Members Status MeetingsProject TeamMeetingWeeklyPM

10 The Process 1.Create a Project Charter 2.Write the Scope Statement 3.Create the Project Plan 4.Create the Communications Plan 5.Create the Risk Management Plan 6.Create the Change Management Plan 7.Write regular Status Reports 8.Conduct regular Status Meetings

11 Best Practice Do…  Create each type of project communication  Identify the audience for each type of project communication  Create a Communication Matrix Don’t…  Forget to analyze the needs of each audience. Different audiences have different information needs. Best Practices

12 Q & A What are your questions?

13 Examples Section Wrap- up Scope Statement Develop a Scope Management Plan for the project based on project size and complexity. Typical Scope Management Plans describe the process of how project scope and the work breakdown structure will be defined, developed and verified. Scope Management Plans can also outline how project scope is managed and controlled; however, this will be documented in the Change Management Plan found later in this document.

14 Examples Section Wrap- up Project Charter Project Charter Elements Project ManagerAssumptions Project SponsorConstraints StakeholdersRisks ApproversHigh-Level Milestones Executive Project SummarySummary Budget Purpose/Business JustificationRequirements Project Scope

15 Examples Section Wrap- up Project Plan (MSIT) Alternate Template Project Plan Elements IntroductionRisk Management Plan Approach/MethodologyIdentify Risks Background InformationAnalyze & Rate Risks Goals & ObjectivesDefine Risk Responses ScopeScope Management Plan High-Level TimelineCost Management Plan MilestonesSchedule Management Plan Communications Management Plan Change Management Plan Communication MatrixStatus Reporting

16 Examples Section Wrap- up Project Communications Plan (ITLC) Communication Plan Elements OverviewInternal Communications cont’d. SummaryProject Calendar ObjectivesUAT & Training Communications Audience Internal CommunicationsExternal Communications Distribution ListsPublicity Project Status CommunicationsExternal Inquiries Communications Requirements Matrix Project News & Briefings Confidential & Sensitive Information

17 Examples Section Wrap- up Risk Management Plan (MSIT) Risk Identified By Team By PM Risk Analyzed and Rated Impact Probability Exposure Risk Response Defined Create Risk Mitigation Plan Monitor Risk Etc. Review Risks Periodically Update Close Change to Issue

18 Examples Section Wrap- up Change Management Plan (MSIT)

19 Examples Section Wrap- up Status Reports Status Report Elements Health Indicators Executive Summary Help Wanted Top Risks/Issues Key Milestones Planned Activities Budget Change Management

20 Section Wrap-up In this section we… Learned the importance of a Communications Plan The importance of communicating with team members and stakeholders about the project Learned the various types of communications required for a project

21 Section Wrap-up Sources

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