Overview

Project Communications Management is the Knowledge Area that employs the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information. The Project Communications Management processes provide the critical links among people and information that are necessary for successful communications. Project managers can spend an inordinate amount of time communicating with the project team, stakeholders, customer, and sponsor. Everyone involved in the project should understand how communications affect the project as a whole. Figure 10-1 provides an overview of the Project Communications Management processes, and Figure 10-2 provides a process flow diagram of those processes and their inputs, outputs, and other related Knowledge Area processes. The Project Communications Management processes include the following:

10.1 Communications Planning - determining the information and communications needs of the project stakeholders.

10.2 Information Distribution - making needed information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner.

10.3 Performance Reporting - collecting and distributing performance information. This includes status reporting, progress measurement, and forecasting.

10.4 Manage Stakeholders - managing communications to satisfy the requirements of and resolve issues with project stakeholders.

These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well. Each process can involve effort from one or more persons or groups of persons based on the needs of the project. Each process occurs at least once in every project and occurs in one or more project phases, if the project is divided into phases. Although the processes are presented here as discrete elements with well-defined interfaces, in practice they may overlap and interact in ways not detailed here. Process interactions are discussed in detail in Chapter 3.

Figure 10-1. Project Communications Management Overview

Note

Note: Not all process interactions and data flow among the processes are shown. Figure 10-2. Project Communications Management Process Flow Diagram

Communications skills are related to, but are not the same as, project management communications. The art of communications is a broad subject and involves a substantial body of knowledge including:

• Sender-receiver models. Feedback loops and barriers to communication.

• Choice of media. When to communicate in writing versus orally, when to write an informal memo versus a formal report, and when to communicate face-to-face versus by e-mail. The media chosen for communication activities will depend upon the situation.

• Writing style. Active versus passive voice, sentence structure, and word choice.

• Presentation techniques. Body language and design of visual aids.

• Meeting management techniques. Preparing an agenda and dealing with conflict.

A basic model of communication, shown in Figure 10-3, demonstrates how ideas or information is sent and received between two parties, defined as the sender and the receiver. The key components of the model include:

• Encode. To translate thoughts or ideas into a language that is understood by others.

• Message. The output of encoding.

• Medium. The method used to convey the message.

• Noise. Anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of the message (e.g., distance).

• Decode. To translate the message back into meaningful thoughts or ideas. Inherent in the model shown in Figure 10-3 is an action to acknowledge a message. Acknowledgement means that the receiver signals receipt of the message, but not necessarily agreement with the message. Another action is the response to a message, which means that the receiver has decoded, understands, and is replying to the message.

  
  Figure 10-3: Communication-Basic Model

The components in the communications model need to be taken into account when discussing project communications. There are many challenges in using these components to effectively communicate with project stakeholders. Consider a highly technical, multi-national project team. For one team member to successfully communicate a technical concept to another team member in a different country can involve encoding the message in the appropriate language, sending the message using a variety of technologies, and having the receiver decode the message. Any noise introduced along the way compromises the original meaning of the message. A breakdown in communications can negatively impact the project