Being On The Same Page: Project Communications Management
By: Luc Nguyen
You always want to be on the same page with everyone else. That way, there are no misunderstandings and everyone can understand what is going on. You can make sure you're on the same page with everyone else by establishing good communication habits. In project management, managers have to make sure good communication is established between the development team and the stakeholders. Don't know how to do that? Well, let us tell you a guide on how to establish good project communications in order to make your projects more successful.
Communication is very emphasized when it comes to projects. As a project manager, you should be creating a communications management plan for your team. It is essentially a document that allows you to provide guidelines for project communication. It also identifies important information that should be outlined to the stakeholders, and who is involved within the communication. This involves who starts the communication, who should receive it, and the criteria for how often communication should occur and be received. Here are some important things to have on your communication management plan:
Purpose/Goals of the Communication Management Plan:
It may seem easy as to why we should incorporate having communication. Different projects have different requirements, so although it may be for the same purpose, make sure it best fits your project as a project manager.
Communication Requirements:
Especially for the stakeholders, everyone may have their own requirements when it comes to communication. Some prefer communication over the phone while others prefer email. As a project manager, you need to find a good common ground so that all involved parties are comfortable and satisfied with the agreed-on form of communication.
Details/Formatting:
You shouldn't be communicating just to be communicating. The purpose is to let the other party be informed of any new information that may be brought up so that everyone is in the loop. This includes making sure to establish formats that include specific details important to the project.
Frequency:
Being updated on something can always be a good thing. But for some, it may be annoying. That's why you should discuss the frequency of how often you would like to have communication. Everyone's schedule can be different which causes them less likely to be able to communication. Form a good ground level basis on how often the team should have communication, as well as making sure the stakeholders are satisfied with it as well.
Potential Escalation Issues:
Not everything can be set in stone. Life can get into the way of things, which causes the plan to not be followed all the way to the bone. You should include any potential situations that may arise during the plan and laying out relevant solutions that members can follow if said problem were to occur.
Now you know what needs to be included, here is a step-by-step guide on how to actually create a project management communication plan.
Step 1: Choosing a basis.
You want to choose something that your development team and stakeholders can easily have access to. This can vary from a document to a spreadsheet to a flowchart. You also want this to be easily understood when viewed, so pick something that will best fit your teams needs.
*Example of a Communication Plan
Step 2: Setting up a Communication Goal
Make sure you create a goal in mind when setting up your communication plan. It can be making sure everyone creates an account for a specific communication software. It can also be making sure communication happens every X-amount of times within a week. Set up a goal and make sure that goal can be achieved so that it start to grow healthy and beneficial habits that will make it easier in the long run.
Step 3: Identify Stakeholders
As previously mentioned, you always want to keep your stakeholders in the loop. Because of this, you want to make sure each and every one of them is satisfied. If needed, you can rank them based on their influence and mold your communication plan so that their requirements get filled.
Step 4: Identify Methods of Communication
There are many ways to communicate with people. Make sure as a project manager, you are selecting the one that best fits the team and their needs! This will ensure that you can received all the information you need, as well as how you can convey this information to the stakeholders. Here are some examples of methods you can implement when communicating between your team and the stakeholders:
Check Ins
Meetings
Reports
Presentations
Dashboards
You should also keep in mind of any important milestones that will be met. They can be used as a good meeting point on how often you should hold your communication methods.
Step 5: Determine Frequency/Updates
As stated earlier, you need to emphasize on the frequency on communication. If you are utilizing any planning software, make sure to integrate this, as well as making sure the correct contacts are being notified of any updates or changes during the plan.
Sources:
Textbook: Information Technology Project Management 9th Edition by Kathy Schwalbe
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