Chapter 10:

Project Communications
Management

Information Technology Project

Management, Eighth Edition

Note: See the text itself for full citations.

 Learning Objectives

 Understand the importance of good

communications on projects and the need
to develop soft skills, especially for IT
project managers and their teams
 Review key concepts related to
communications
 Explain the elements of planning project
communications and how to create a
communications management plan
 Describe how to manage communications,
including communication technologies,
media, and performance reporting
2
Learning Objectives (cont’d)

 Discuss methods for controlling

communications to ensure that information
needs are met throughout the life of the
project
 List various methods for improving project
communications, such as running effective
meetings, using various technologies
effectively, and using templates
 Describe how software can enhance
project communications management

3
4
5
 Importance of Good Communications

 The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to

communicate.
 Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being
good communicators.
 Research shows that IT professionals must be able to
communicate effectively to succeed in their positions.
 Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career
advancement for IT professionals.

6
 Project Communications Management Processes
• The goal of project communications management is to
ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection,
dissemination, storage, and disposition of project
information.

7
Importance Project Communications Management Processes
Studies continue to show a high demand for IT professionals and the
importance of good communication and business skills. According to a
2014 article in the International Journal of Business and Social Science:
• Organizations are looking for workers with the correct mix of
technical, soft, and business skills.
• The most important non-technical skills are problem solving, team
work, listening, the ability to adapt to new technologies and
languages, time management, the ability to transfer knowledge to
application, multitasking, verbal communication, the ability to
visualize and conceptualize, “be the customer” mentality,
interpersonal skills, inter-team communication, and give and receive
constructive criticism.
• “The need for these non-technical skills is so great that some IT
companies indicate that they will hire individuals with minimum
technical skills so long as they demonstrate solid soft and business
skills. 8
 Project Communications
Management Processes
 Planning communications management: Determining
the information and communications needs of the
stakeholders
• Managing communications: Creating, distributing,
storing, retrieving, and disposing of project
communications based on the communications
management plan
• Controlling communications: Monitoring and
controlling project communications to ensure that
stakeholder communication needs are met
9
Information Technology Project
Project Communications Management Summary

10
 Keys to Good Communications
• Project managers say they spend as much as 90 percent of
their time communicating
• Need to focus on group and individual communication
needs
• Use formal and informal methods for communicating
• Distribute important information in an effective and timely
manner
• Set the stage for communicating bad news
• Determine the number of communication channels

11
 Understanding Group and Individual
Communication Needs
• People are not interchangeable parts

• As illustrated in Brooks’ book The Mythical Man-Month, you

cannot assume that a task originally scheduled to take two
months of one person’s time can be done in one month by two
people

• Nine women cannot produce a baby in one month!

12
Importance of Face-to-Face Communication

 Research says that in a face-to-face interaction:

 58 percent of communication is through body language.
 35 percent of communication is through how the words are
said
 7 percent of communication is through the content or words
that are spoken
 Pay attention to more than just the actual words someone is
saying
 A person’s tone of voice and body language say a lot about how
he or she really feels

13
Informatio
Personal Preferences Affect Communication
Needs
• Introverts like more private communications, while
extroverts like to discuss things in public
• Intuitive people like to understand the big picture,
while sensing people need step-by-step details
• Thinkers want to know the logic behind decisions,
while feeling people want to know how something
affects them personally
• Judging people are driven to meet deadlines while
perceiving people need more help in developing and
following plans

14
Informatio
Encouraging More Face-to-Face Interactions

 Short, frequent meetings are often very effective in IT

projects

 Stand-up meetings force people to focus on what they

really need to communicate

 Some companies have policies preventing the use of e-

mail between certain hours or even entire days of the
week

15
Informatio
 Distributing Information in an Effective and
Timely Manner

 Don’t bury crucial information

 Don’t be afraid to report bad information

 Oral communication via meetings and informal talks helps bring

important information—good and bad—out into the open

16
Informatio
• People have different personality traits that often affect their
communication preferences.
• For example, if you want to praise a project team member for
doing a good job, most introverts would be more comfortable
receiving that praise in private, while most extroverts would
like everyone to hear about their good work.
• An intuitive person would want to understand how something
fits into the big picture, while a sensing person would prefer
to have more focused, step-by-step details.
• Strong thinkers would want to know the logic behind
information, while feeling people would want to know how
the information affects them personally as well as other
people.
17
• A judging person would be very driven to meet deadlines
with few reminders, while a perceiving person would
need more assistance in developing and following plans.
• Every person is unique, so cannot just generalize based
on a personality profile or other traits
• It is important for project managers and their teams to be
aware of their own communication styles as well.
• Project managers and their teams must be patient and
flexible when communicating information and focus on
making sure their messages are understood. You cannot
over communicate!

18
• Geographic location and cultural background also affect
the complexity of project communications.
• If project stakeholders are in different countries, it is
often difficult or impossible to schedule times for two-
way communication during normal working hours.
• Language barriers can also cause communication
problems; the same word may have very different
meanings in different languages. Times, dates, and other
units of measure are also interpreted differently.

19
• IT professionals have different personality traits, such as
being more introverted, intuitive, and oriented to thinking (as
opposed to feeling).
• These personality differences can lead to miscommunication
with people who are extroverted, sensation-oriented, and
feeling types.
• For example, a user guide written by an IT professional
might not provide the detailed steps most users need. Many
users also prefer face-to-face meetings to learn how to use a
new system instead of trying to follow a written guide.
• It is important to provide several methods of communication,
such as written words, visuals, videos, and meetings, and an
environment that promotes open dialogue.
20
 Project Communications Management Processes

• Identifying stakeholders: identifying everyone involved in or

affected by the project and determining the best ways to manage
relationships with them
 Planning communications: determining the information and
communications needs of the stakeholders
 Distributing information: making needed information available
to project stakeholders in a timely manner
 Managing stakeholder expectations: managing communications
to satisfy the needs and expectations of project stakeholders and
to resolve issues
 Reporting performance: collecting and disseminating
performance information, including status reports, progress
measurement, and forecasting 21
 Identifying Stakeholders
• Recall that the ultimate goal of project management is to meet
or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project,
so you must first identify who your particular project
stakeholders are
• Two key outputs of this process include:
– Stakeholder register: a public document that includes
details related to the identified project stakeholders (see
Table 3-4 for an example)
– Stakeholder management strategy: an approach to help
increase the support of stakeholders throughout the project;
often includes sensitive information

22
 Planning Communications
 Every project should include some type of communications
management plan, a document that guides project
communications

 Creating a stakeholder analysis for project communications also

aids in communications planning (see Table 10-2 for an
example)

23
PLANNING COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

The communications management plan should address the

following items:
• Stakeholder communications requirements
• Information to be communicated, including format, content, and
level of detail
• Who will receive the information and who will produce it
• Suggested methods or technologies for conveying the information
• Frequency of communication
• Escalation procedures for resolving issues
• Revision procedures for updating the communications management
plan
• A glossary of common terminology

24
Sample Stakeholder Analysis for Project Communications

25
 MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS

•Managing communications is a large part of a project

manager’s job.
• Getting project information to the right people at the right
time and in a useful format is just as important as developing
the information in the first place.
•The stakeholder communications analysis serves as a good
starting point for managing communications.
•Project managers and their teams must decide who receives
particular information, but they must also determine the best
way to create and distribute the information.

26
Using Technology to Enhance Information
Creation and Distribution
• Technology can facilitate the process of creating and
distributing information, when used properly.
• Most people and businesses rely on e-mail, instant
messaging, Web sites, telephones, cell phones, texting, and
other technologies to communicate.
• Using a project management information system, you can
create and organize project documents, schedules, meeting
minutes, and customer requests, and make them available
in an electronic format.
• Information can be in local software or make it available
online.

27
 Selecting the Appropriate Communication
Methods and Media
There are three broad classifications for communication
methods:
• Interactive communication: As the name implies, two or more
people interact to exchange information via meetings, phone
calls, or video conferencing. This method is usually the most
effective way to ensure common understanding.
• Push communication: Information is sent or pushed to
recipients without their request via reports, e-mails, faxes,
voice mails, and other means. This method ensures that the
information is distributed, but does not ensure that it was
received or understood.
• Pull communication: Information is sent to recipients at their
request via Web sites, bulletin boards, e-learning, knowledge
repositories like blogs, and other means.
28
29
 Distributing Information
in an Effective and Timely Manner

 Don’t bury crucial information.

 Don’t be afraid to report bad information.

 Oral communication via meetings and informal talks helps bring

important information—good and bad—out into the open.

30
Importance of Face-to-Face Communication
 Research says that in a face-to-face interaction:
 58 percent of communication is through body language.
 35 percent of communication is through how the words are
said.
 7 percent of communication is through the content or words
that are spoken.

 Pay attention to more than just the actual words someone is

saying.

 A person’s tone of voice and body language say a lot about how
he or she really feels.

31
Encouraging More Face-to-Face Interactions

 Short, frequent meetings are often very effective in IT projects.

 Stand-up meetings force people to focus on what they really

need to communicate.

 Some companies have policies preventing the use of e-mail

between certain hours or even entire days of the week.

32
 Understanding Group
and Individual Communication Needs
 People are not interchangeable parts.

 As illustrated in Brooks’ book The Mythical Man-Month, you

cannot assume that a task originally scheduled to take two
months of one person’s time can be done in one month by two
people.

33
 Personal Preferences Affect Communication
 Introverts like more private communications, while extroverts
like to discuss things in public.

 Intuitive people like to understand the big picture, while sensing

people need step-by-step details.

 Thinkers want to know the logic behind decisions, while feeling

people want to know how something affects them personally.

 Judging people are driven to meet deadlines while perceiving

people need more help in developing and following plans.

34
 Other Communication Considerations

 Rarely does the receiver interpret a message exactly as the

sender intended.

 Geographic location and cultural background affect the

complexity of project communications.

 Different working hours

 Language barriers

 Different cultural norms

35
Determining the Number of Communications
Channels

• As the number of people involved increases, the complexity of

communications increases because there are more
communications channels or pathways through which people
can communicate
• Number of communications channels = n(n-1)/2

where n is the number of people involved

36
The Impact of the Number of People on
Communications Channels

37
 Performance Reporting
 Performance reporting keeps stakeholders informed about how
resources are being used to achieve project objectives.

 Status reports describe where the project stands at a specific

point in time.

 Progress reports describe what the project team has

accomplished during a certain period of time.

 Forecasts predict future project status and progress based on

past information and trends.

38
 Managing Stakeholders
 Project managers must understand and work with various
stakeholders.

 Need to devise a way to identify and resolve issues.

 Two important tools include:

 Expectations management matrix

 Issue log

39
Issue Log

41
 Suggestions for Improving Project
Communications

 Manage conflicts effectively and early.

 Develop better communication skills.

 Run effective meetings.

 Use e-mail effectively.

 Use templates for project communications (consistency!).

42
 Conflict Handling Modes

1. Confrontation: directly face a conflict using a problem-solving

approach
2. Compromise: use a give-and-take approach
3. Smoothing: de-emphasize areas of difference and emphasize areas
of agreement
4. Forcing: the win-lose approach
5. Withdrawal: retreat or withdraw from an actual or potential
disagreement
6. Collaborating: decision makers incorporate different viewpoints
and insights to develop consensus and commitment
43
 Conflict Can Be Good
 Conflict often produces important results, such as new ideas,
better alternatives, and motivation to work harder and more
collaboratively.

 Groupthink: Conformance to the values or ethical standards of

a group. Groupthink can develop if there are no conflicting
viewpoints.

 Research suggests that task-related conflict often improves team

performance, but emotional conflict often depresses team
performance.

44
 Running Effective Meetings
 Determine if a meeting can be avoided.

 Define the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting.

 Determine who should attend the meeting.

 Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting.

 Prepare handouts and visual aids, and make logistical

arrangements ahead of time.

 Run the meeting professionally.

 Build relationships.

46
 Using E-Mail Effectively
 Make sure that e-mail is an appropriate medium for what you want to
communicate.

 Be sure to send the e-mail to the right people.

 Use meaningful subject lines.

 Limit the content to one main subject, and be as clear and concise as possible.

 Limit the number and size of attachments.

 Delete e-mail you don’t need, and don’t open e-mail if you question the
source.

 Respond to and file e-mails quickly.

 Learn how to use important features.

47
 Sample Collaborative Tools
• A SharePoint portal allows users to create custom
Web sites to access documents and applications stored
on shared devices
• Google Docs allow users to create, share, and edit
documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online
• A wiki is a Web site designed to enable anyone who
accesses it to contribute or modify Web page content
• Kanban boards visually show tasks that need to be
done, are in progress, or are completed

48
Figure 10-3. Sample Kanban Board

49
Informatio
 Project Web Sites
• Many project teams create a project Web site to store important
product documents and other information
• Can create the site using various types of software, such as
enterprise project management software
• Several project management tools can be used on multiple
devices

53
Figure 10-5. Basecamp Used on Several Devices

54
Informatio
Final Project Documentation Items

55
 Using Software to Assist in Project
Communications
 There are many software tools to aid in project communications.

 Today more than 37 percent of people telecommute or work

remotely at least part-time.

 Project management software includes new capabilities to

enhance virtual communications.

 New tools, such as instant messaging and blogs, can enhance

project communications.

56
 Using Software to Assist in Project Communications
Office Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Solution and similar
products also provide the following tools to enhance communications:
• Portfolio management: By providing a centralized and consolidated
view of programs and projects, the user can evaluate and prioritize
activities across the organization. This feature makes it possible to
maximize productivity, minimize costs, and keep activities aligned
with strategic objectives.
• Resource management: Maximizing human resources is often the key
to minimizing project costs. This feature enables the user to maximize
resource use across the organization
• Project collaboration: Project collaboration enables an organization
to share knowledge immediately and consistently to improve
communications and decision making

57
 Chapter Summary
• The goal of project communications management is to ensure
timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination,
storage, and disposition of project information
• Main processes include:
– Identify stakeholders
– Plan communications
– Distribute information
– Manage stakeholder expectations
– Report performance

58