Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 1 Communication in Projects

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 2 The word communication is derived from the Latin word communicare which means to impart, share or make common. Webster‘s New Collegiate Dictionary defines communication as: „the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour“. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English language (4. ed.) defines communication as: „The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, or writing“. Defining Communication

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 3 Who and What Communicates? The ability to communicate in some form or the other is a power which living organisms have – whether they are humans, animals, insects and, in some case, even plants. For most of us, communication is the most routine thing we do throughout our lives.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 4 The Project Management Institute defines project communi- cation management as: „the knowledge area that employs the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information“ and that „it provides the critical links among people, ideas and information that are necessary for success“. Communication Management in projects is essentially about the informational interaction which occurs between all the project stakeholders in the course of the project‘s life-cycle. Communication & Communication Management

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 5 Relevance of Communication For Projects Communication is an integral, crucial element of every project. Communication can make or break a project! The communication process in projects can be highly complex and, if the process is not managed properly, can obstruct the project from attaining its goal within time and the budget allocated for it. The fundamental communicational challenge for the project manager and the project team is to design and implement an effective and efficient project-specific communication strategy and plan which satisfies the diverse and changing informational needs of all project stakeholders throughout the project life-cycle.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 6 Information and Communication Information and Communi- cation are basically like two sides of the same coin. They complement each other. Information is of little value unless it can be communi- cated to stakeholders who need it and communication is pointless unless it carries some informational content.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 7 Relevance of Communication For Projects (What Peter Drucker Said) “The ability to communicate heads the list of criteria for success”.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 8 Speaking Listening Reading Writing Body Language How Do Individuals Usually Communicate?

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 9 To Inform To Notify To Instruct To Request To Clarify To Chastise To Review To Evaluate Purpose of Communication

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 10 Process & Intent of Communication Information Process of the Communication Intent of the Communication In what form and using which medium do I communicate the information? Has the message I intended to convey been understood by the recipient(s) and has it brought about the desired result? Effectiveness

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 11 Big Problem in Communication A big problem in communi- cation and project communi- cation is to “get the message” across from sender (s) to the recipent(s) so that the purpose behind the communication is achieved.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 12 Basic Communication Model

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 13 Relevance of Communication for Projects (Empirical Findings) Several and extensive studies have been conducted by consultants and others over the years to etermine the causes of project “failures”. Although the causes of project failure are complex and nume- rous, and are usually attributable to a number of factors, communi- cation inadequacies are often mentioned explicity as one of the causes of project failures.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 14 Consequences of Communication Shortcomings in Projects Communicational shortcomings can cause a number of problems during the project life-cycle, for example: misunderstood or undocumented require- ments and specifications delays (and extra cost) caused by rework unavailability or provision of wrong inputs ommisions and mistakes in the creation of deliverables Poor decision-making and problem- solving, and dissatisfaction and frustration among project stakeholders.

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 15 Importance of Communication for Projects Initiation Closure Planning Execution Communication with Stakeholders Monitoring, Evaluation & Control

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 16 Number of Project Stakeholder Communication Lines The number of possible lines of communication which can exist between stakeholders on a project can be calculated using the following simple formula: LC = n x (n – 1) 2 N = number of project stakeholders (1,2, 3 …………. X)

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 17 Stakeholder Communication Lines Khan Tahir Maliha Qaisar Sarah Zafar Zehra Number of Project Stakeholders = 3 Maximum Possible Number of Lines of Project Stakeholder Communication: = 3 x (3 – 1) / 2 = 6 / 2 = 3 Number of Project Stakeholders = 4 Maximum Possible Number of Lines of Project Stakeholder Communication: = 4 x (4 – 1) / 2 = 12 / 2 = 6

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 18 Complex Stakeholder Communication Net 10 Project Stakeholders = 45 Possible Lines of Communication

Assistant Professor Dr. Aurangzeb Zulfiqar Khan Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan 19 Stakeholder Communication Channels Stk.Comm