1. AD642 Project Communication: Intro
Sources: Gray / Larson | Taylor, Bruce; Proj. Mgt. Comm. Bible

2. Objectives Planning to communicate Understanding PM Knowledge Areas
Examining project lifecycles

3. Question
What is the function of the Supreme Court of the United States of America?

4. Three Responsibilities for PMs
Communicate project information in a timely manner
Get the correct information to the right people
Collect, distribute, and store (manage) project information

5. Another question
The client calls and asks for a weekly breakdown of actual vs budget values for each task on the critical path
You ask one of the team members to put the report together each Monday and send it out to the client
Anything wrong with this?

6. What should have been asked
Why do you need this information?
Who will read the report?
How will the report be used?
Is there time / budget for generating it?
Does it really need to be weekly?
Is there some other report that already has this information?

7. The point here isn’t to be obstructive, it’s to be thoughtful about how you as the PM are communicating
If the client is asking this sort of question, you didn’t do the right planning up front

8. YAQ
When you are starting a project, and the client asks you to provide them with a report that you haven’t done before, what’s the first question you’d normally ask?

9. YAQ
When you are starting a project, and the client asks you to provide them with a report that you haven’t done before, what’s the first question you’d normally ask?

10. Talk with the client
Most environments have a set collection of reports that are generated by a project
Are these really what you and the client needs?
When initiating the project, create a communication plan that captures what the client and you need
No more TPS reports!

11. Planning phase
During project initiation, add a communication planning meeting
Include all stakeholders and team members
Create a reporting schedule and matrix that becomes part of the signed-off project plan
Exceptions to the plan are handled as change requests
Remember: It’s OK to say no to a client

12. PM Knowledge Areas
The Project Management Institute (PMI), through the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), defines nine ‘knowledge areas’ present in every project
Can you name them?

13. Ok, so here they are
Project integration; Scope; Time; Cost; Quality; Human Resources; Communication; Risk; Procurement
EACH of these areas requires specific communication planning
Most PMs spend their week in most of these areas
In the course we’ll look at tools for each area

14. The Communication Management Area
PMBOK only spends a dozen or so pages on it
We’ll spend the entire semester
There are four main activities:
Planning
Project information distribution
Performance reporting
Managing stakeholder communication
I add a fifth: team communication

15. When’s the best time to send a status report to the client?
Communication management is not only providing the right information, but
To the right people
At the right time
When’s the best time to send a status report to the client?

16. Project Lifecycles There are countless project process systems in use
Waterfall
Iterative (Rational et al)
Agile
DDDDM2
All of them are similar
PMBOK defines five project process groups or phases
Can you name them?

17. OK, here they are Initiating Planning Executing
Monitoring / Controlling
Closing

18. Initiating Inception-level requirements analysis
Feasibility studies and prototyping
Budget and schedule forecasting
Strategic fit

19. Planning Scope analysis Work breakdown structure
Schedule and resource allocations
Budgeting
Risk analysis and contingency planning
Quality plan
Communications plan
Procurement plan

20. Executing
Working the plan
Quality monitoring
Firefighting
Reporting

21. Monitoring and Control
Oversight of the work
Comparing plan to actual
Mitigating risk

22. Closing Technical closeout Administrative closeout
Delivery and acceptance
Packaging and archival
Administrative closeout
Final documents
Releasing staff
Post mortem

23. Closing Technical closeout Administrative closeout
Delivery and acceptance
Packaging and archival
Administrative closeout
Final documents
Releasing staff
Post mortem

24. Fine, projects have structure. So?
Every knowledge area, phase, and activity requires some sort of communication
It’s the PM’s responsibility
It’s incredibly easy to get it wrong
Inefficient communication is almost always a guarantee of failure
The PM’s Job #1: Communicate!

25. Why is it so hard? Getting everyone together and in agreement is hard
People have ‘communicated’ all their life and don’t feel the need to be told how to do it
Not enough time is allocated for communication activities
Not every PM is even capable of creating an effective communication plan

26. Some quick tips Hold in-person weekly meetings with stakeholders
Deliver reports at the same time on the same day of the week
Use a common format for reporting
Distribute reports a day or two before meetings that will discuss them

27. The Communication Requirements Matrix
The CRM is useful for mapping who gets what when
Place roles across the top, reports down the side
At the intersections mark the frequency and format