PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS

MANAGEMENT
Kasun Nandapala
Communication Management

• A project manager typically spends 90% of his time communicating

• Includes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate

generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval and ultimate
disposition
Potential Dimensions of Communication Activity

• Internal (within the project) and external (customer, other projects,

the media, the public)
• Formal (reports, memos, briefings) and informal (emails, ad-hoc
discussions)
• Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal (with peers)
• Official (newsletters, annual report) and unofficial (off the record
communications)
• Written and oral
• Verbal and non-verbal (voice inflections, body language).
Processes..

• Identify Stakeholders
• Plan Communications
• Distribute Information
• Manage Stakeholder Expectations
• Reporting Performance
Identify Stakeholders
Identify Stakeholders – Tools and Techniques

• Stakeholder Analysis –

• Power-interest grid

• Power-influence grid

• Influence-impact grid

• Salience model – describing classes of stakeholders based on their power,

urgency and legitimacy
 Example 1

■ For the assignment given in your coursework, identify the stakeholders and draw a power
– interest grid
Plan Communications
 Communication Requirement Analysis

■ Determines the information needs of the project stakeholders

■ Lack of communication leads to failure

■ Total number of potential communication channels ➔ n(n-1)/2

 Example 2

■ Find the number of communication channels for the stakeholders that you have worked
out in Example 1
Communication Technology

• Factors that can affect project

• Urgency of the need for information

• Availability of technology

• Expected project staffing

• Duration of the project

• Project environment
Communication Models
Communication Methods

• Interactive communication
• Push communication
• Pull communication
Distribute Information
Tools and Techniques

■ Communication Methods – Individual and group meetings, video and audio conferences,
computer chats, etc.

■ Information Distribution Tools - Hard copies, Electronic communication, project

management software packages
Manage Stakeholder Expectations
Tools and Techniques
■ Interpersonal skills

– Building trust

– Resolving conflict

– Active listening

– Overcoming resistance to change

Tools and Techniques

■ Management Skills

– Presentation skills

– Negotiating

– Writing skills

– Public speaking
Report Performance
Tools and Techniques

■ Variance Analysis
• an after-the-fact look at what caused a difference between the baseline and the
actual performance
Tools and Techniques

■ Forecasting Methods
• Time series methods – Earned Value, Extrapolation, etc.
• Causal/ Econometric Methods – Regression Analysis using linear or non-linear
regression
• Judgmental Methods