C OMMUNICATIONS M ANAGEMENT

C OMMUNICATIONS P LANNING Involves identifying the information and communications needs of the stakeholders This includes determining what needs to be communicated, to whom, when, with what method and how frequently Very proactive approach

STAKEHOLDERS Identify All of them Determine all of their requirements Determine their expectations Determine their interests Determine their level of influence Plan how you will communicate with them Manage their expectation and influence

S TAKEHOLDER R EGISTER

W HOM DO WE COMMUNICATE WITH ? The information needs to be distributed to the following: Internal to the project External to the project Sponsor Management Project Manager Team Team member’s managers Other project managers Other stakeholders

C OMMUNICATIONS M ODEL It looks like a circle with three parts: The sender The message The receiver Each message is encoded by the sender and decoded by the receiver based on the receiver’s education, experience, language and culture

E FFECTIVE C OMMUNICATION The sender should encode a message carefully, determine the communications method used to send it, and confirm that the message is understood Nonverbal : About 55% of all communication Paralingual: Pitch and tone of voice Feedback: “do u understand what I said?”

E FFECTIVE L ISTENING The receiver should decode the message carefully and confirm the message is understood This includes Feedback Active Listening Paralingual

C OMMUNICATIONS M ETHODS Interactive Communication Conversation, meetings & conference call Push Communication (One way stream; no feedback is expected) updates, Company memos etc Pull Communication (info is placed at central location; recipients retrieve )

C OMMUNICATIONS M ETHODS Decision regarding whether the communication needs to be formal or informal, written or verbal, needs to be made for each instance of communication

C OMMUNICATION C HANNELS Adding one more person to the team, communications grow exponentially Channel calculation formula: [N (N-1)/2] where N = number of people

I NFORMATION D ISTRIBUTION It involves implementing the communications management plan Since not everything can be planned, information distribution also involves creating reports providing information that was not planned

P ERFORMANCE R EPORTING It collects performance data and sends it to stakeholders Reports should provide the kind of information and the level of detail required by stakeholders and may include: Status Report Progress Report Trend Report Forecasting Report Variance Report Earned Value Lessons Learned

C OMMUNICATION B LOCKERS The following might get in the way of communications: Noise Distance Improper encoding of messages Saying “That is a bad idea” Hostility Language Culture

P ROJECT C OMMUNICATIONS M ANAGEMENT Project Communications Management includes 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 upto 90% of their time communicating with Team members Internal Stakeholders External Stakeholders Communication-related issues are one of the most frequent problems Project Managers must have a structured approach to managing communications, including a pro-actively identifying stakeholders’ communications requirements, in order to reduce potential communication problems. 17 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

T YPES OF C OMMUNICATIONS Types of Communications Internal, External Formal, Informal Vertical, Horizontal Written, Oral / Verbal, Non-Verbal Communication Skills Active and effective listening Clarification (Probing for better understanding) Fact-finding Setting and Managing Expectations Persuading Motivating Coaching Negotiating Resolving Conflicts Summarizing, and Identifying Next Steps 18 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

P ROJECT C OMMUNICATIONS M ANAGEMENT P ROCESSES Plan Communications Management Manage Communications Control Communications 19 ProcessProcess Group Key Output(s) Plan Communications Management PlanningCommunications Management Plan Manage CommunicationsExecutingProject Communications Control CommunicationsM & CWork Performance Information Change Requests [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Project Communications Management Processes (Cont’d…) Plan Communications Management Process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholders’ information needs and requirements, and available organizational assets Manage Communications Control Communications 20 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Project Communications Management Processes (Cont’d…) Plan Communications Management Manage Communications The process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the communications management plan Control Communications 21 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Project Communications Management Processes (Cont’d…) Plan Communications Management Manage Communications 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 22 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

23 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

P LAN C OMMUNICATIONS M ANAGEMENT Planning Communications is important to the success of any project Inadequate planning may lead to various problems, e.g. Delay in message delivery Communication of information to the wrong audience Insufficient communication to stakeholders Misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the message Effective Communication = Providing information in the right format, at the right time, to the right audience, and with the right impact Efficient Communication = Providing only the information that is needed 24 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Plan Communications Management (Cont’d…) Information needs and distribution methods vary for each project Important Considerations For Communicating What information is required Who requires that information (and who is authorized to have access) When the information is required Where the information is to be stored Format information is to be stored in How to retrieve that information Other Considerations (e.g. Time-zones, language barriers, cultural differences, etc) 25 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

D ETAILED D ISCUSSION : P LAN C OMMUNICATIONS M ANAGEMENT  “Process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholders’ information needs and requirements, and available organizational assets” Key Benefit: Identifies and documents the approach to communicate most effectively and efficiently with stakeholders. 26 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

27 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – ITTOs Inputs Project Management Plan Stakeholder Register EEF’s and OPA’s Tools & Techniques Communication Requirements Analysis Communication Technology Communication Models Communication Methods Meetings Outputs Communications Management Plan Project Documents Updates 28 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Inputs Project Management Plan Provides information on how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed. Stakeholder Register Provides information needed to plan the communications with stakeholders EEFs and OPAs 29 [Ref: PMBoK 5th Edition by PMI, USA]

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques Communication Requirements Analysis Determining information needs of stakeholders Needs: Type and format of information, combined with analysis of value of that information No. of communication channels: n(n-1)/2 Key components of communication planning Limiting the communication channels, and Who will receive what information [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 30

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…) Communication Technology The method/medium to transfer information among project stakeholders Communication technology may vary from project to project. Factors affecting choice of communication technology: Urgency, frequency, format of information Availability, compatibility, and accessibility of technology Ease of use Project Environment (colocated, virtual, time-zones, language and cultural differences etc) Sensitivity and confidentiality of information [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 31

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…) Communication Models The format/sequence in which communication takes place between the parties [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 32

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…) Communication Models (Cont’d…) Components of a communication model: Sender Medium Receiver Noise: Interference (present in the communication medium) which may compromise delivery of message Sequence of steps in a basic communication model: Encode Transmit Decode Acknowledge Feedback [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 33

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…) Communication Methods The method in which communications take place Broadly classified as Interactive Communication E.g. Meetings, Phone Calls Push Communication E.g. s, Letters, Reports, Memos Pull Communication E.g. Websites, Blogs, E-Learning, Knowledge Repositories, Lessons Learned Choice of Communication Method Communication Requirements Cost/time constraints Familiarity/availability of tools and resources [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 34

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Tools & Techniques (Cont’d…) Meetings Conducted to gather the team to determine the most appropriate way of how information will be communicated throughout the project Few considerations for making meetings useful: Time limit, and adherence to schedule Scheduling recurring meetings in advance ‘Just Enough’ frequency of meetings Clear agenda, purpose Team’s input in creating the agenda, and distribution of agenda in advance Sticking to the agenda The right audience Ground rules for meetings Action items and time-limits for each Collection and distribution of minutes of meeting [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 35

Detailed Discussion: Plan Communications Management – Outputs Communications Management Plan Component of project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, structured, monitored and controlled. Project Documents Updates E.g. Stakeholder Register [Ref : PM BoK 5th Edit ion (C) Proj ect Man age men t Inst itut e, USA ] 36

C OMMUNICATIONS M ANAGEMENT P LAN Its the output of communications planning It documents how you will manage and control communications Many people do not realize the extent of the information that must be distributed

L ESSONS L EARNED This document includes what was done right, wrong, and what would be done differently if the project could be redone To be as valuable as possible, lessons learned should cover these areas: Technical aspects of project Project management Management

T HANK Y OU !