Universidad Andrés BelloHigh interest in the project low influence, highly knowledgeable expert on high risk areas cuprerren Communications Management — Invite the stakeholder to participate inthe risk management process, Low interest, the source of major requirements ‘on the project (high influence), not easy to work with ‘Make sure requirements are clear, Send reports. | High intrest, high influence, nota supporter of the project “Make sure you Know wihy the stakeholder isnot supporter and base your plan for managing this stakeholder on dealing with those reasons. | High interest, high influence, a supporter ofthe project Tavolve the stakeholder in team meetings, report to this person, and include the information the stakeholder requested. ‘Moderate interes, high inflvence, completing many activities on the project projet supporter Tavite the stakeholder to oficial join the project team. ‘Moderate interes, high influence because he or she has identified a large numberof potential risks for te project, supporter ofthe project Plan to meet with the stakeholder periodically throughout the project to see ifhe or she has identified any more risks. ‘Moderate interest, nervous about completing his orher assigned activities Plan to find and forward relevant iterature to help the stakeholder and arrange for training if necessary. Pla ACOMMIUING OS 2 “The PMBOK Guide oen suggests work be done in a more structured way than many project managers have previously thought to do. Communication is no exception. In order todo it well, you must understand the performing orgentatio’s environment (enterprise environmental factors), such as culture ard standards, You must havea structured approach and understanding of communications technology, methods, and modes. You mus also tke into account the performing organizations processes and procedures for conducting work and communications, historical records from previous projects, lessons learned, and other stored information (organitationl proces assets) as well asthe stakeholder register and stkeholder management strategy described previous). The result isthe communications management plan, which becomes pat ofthe project management plan, “The Plan Communications process involves identifying the information and communication needs of the stakeholders, While in initiating you identify stakeholders and their communication requirements and preferences, in planning you determine how to apply that information, The Plan Communications ‘process involves determining what effective and efficent communication willbe planned forthe projet, te whom, when, with what method, and how frequently. Ifyou work on a small project, you believe you can spend five minutes thinking about what information the four people on your team need. Taking this attitude forthe exam isa mistake. Imagine ateam of 300 people spreadaronghont the world, speaking many different languages with ‘many ifeent cultural ways of communicating, and you can better see how much work planning communications takes and how worthwhile itis, When we tech communication in our Project Management Tricks ofthe Trade class, this topic i one that most people are not initially intrested in, yet they in the communication activities we offer in cass tobe some ofthe most valuable. (© 201 AMC Pbictens ns + 952.6 4B «elem cam + wept con—— Communications Management curate Once you start thinking about this, you will see how important iis on the ecam. Luckily its not «dificult as long as you think in terms of are projects. 1st hard to imagine that communications should be efficient (providing ony the information needed) or effective (providing informatio inthe right format at the right time)? Now, think about your real-world communications. Do you make the following mistakes? > Mistake: Not asking people what information they need and when istake: Not planaing communications to all the stakeholders » Mistake: Not customizing communication standards within your organization tothe needs of the project > Mistake; Not using multiple methods of communicating » Mistake: Not confirming communication is actually received and understood > Mistake: Not realizing that communication is two-sided, o and from astakeholder » Mistake: Not planning communication wit each stakeholder based on the individuals needs and interests > Mistake: Forgetting o include such people as team members bosses in the list of stakeholders Exercise Test yourself! What information and documents need to be ‘communicated on a project? ANSWET Some possible answers are: » Projectcharter » Project management plan and project documents » Impacts of other projects > How this project impacts other projects > WBS » When resources will be needed > Meeting schedule > Workassigaments » Status » New risks uncovered > Uncertainties » Problems Soccesses > Changes to project scope and product scope “> Updates to the project management plan or project documents > Upcoming work > Deleys (© 2000 AMC Pica, c+ 52.46.4484 «lormcaaectcam «weet cncuerextey Communications Management — > ‘The date ofthe next milestone completion party > Performance reports > Lessonslearned > Issue logs > Configaration management issues > What pes of e-mails willbe sent to each stakeholder > List of planned reviews ofthe project management plan and when updates are likely tobe issued > Contact information forall stakeholders > Method of updating the communications manegement plan ‘Communications occur internally and externally tothe core project tear, vertically (up and down the levels of te organization), and horizontally (among peers). Make sure your planning includes communicetig inl ofthe following directions. Caste Sponsr, Facto! Manages a Teun Members tt oncrpcsione ESTE) <7 or tt (Ober Stabsolers “Many peopl forget communications between projects asf there were no other projets thet could take resources, cause delay, or cause some other such problem on the project. Inder ta have leas, concise communications the project manager must handle communications ina structured way and choose the best type of communicetion for the situation Communications can be expressed in different ways—formlly or informal, writen or verbal. The decision of which type to use needs to be made foreach instance of communication. Make sue you understand te folowing chart Formal writen ‘Complex problems, project management plans, project charter, ‘memos, communicating ove long distances Formal verbal Presentations, speeches Informal writen E-mail, handwritten notes Informal verbal Meetings, conversations Exercise Test yourself! What is the best type of communication in the following situations? Updating the project management plan Presentations to management © 200 NC eating, + 952846.84 snort on + waren 355=== Communications Management cure te ‘Trying to solve a complex problem | Moking notes regarding a telephone conversation Making changes ta contract Informing a eam member of poor performance (Erst notice) Informing «team member of poor performance {second natie) Scheduling a meeting Clarifying a work package Requesting aaltional resources Teying to discover the root cause of problem Sending an e-mail to ask fr clarification ofan issue Holding @ milestone party [ Conducting a bidder conference Answer Imagine these as situational questions. Exam questions may have more words, but they will boil down to straightforward situations like the ones described below. Presentations to management Formal verbal | Trying to solve a complex problem Formal written Making notes regarding @ telephone conversation Informal written Making changes to contract Formal written Tnforming team member of poor performance (Rzst_| Informal verbal natice) Informing a team member of poor performance Formal written (second notice) | Scheduling a meeting Informal written Clarifying a work package Formal written Requesting additional resources Informal verbal | Trying to discover the root cause of « problem Informal verbal ‘Sending an e-mail to ask for clarification ofan issue _| Informal written. Holding a milestone party. Informal verbal ‘Conducting bidder conference Formal verbal Communication Models When was the las time you took a communications class? For most people, the answer would be never. Therefore, many of us make the mistake of not ensuring that messages ae properly sent and received, We do not think scientifically about our communications. We just send an e-mail and hope itis read and interpreted properly without checking to see if important 356 {© 208 AC Peon «26 64mm » ww meccai | i curren Communications Management — communications are understood. Project management requires more formality with communications. You should thereforeunderstind communication models. Communication models are framed around three parts: the sender, the message, and the receiver. Each message i encoded by the sender and decoded by the receiver. Factor lke the receiver education, experience, language and culture affect the way the receiver decodes a messige. Communication models often call these types of factors *noise” Effective Communication The sender should encode a message caiefully, determine which ‘communication method o use to send it and confirm thatthe message is understood, When ‘encoding the message, the sender needs to be aware ofthe following communication factors: > Nonverbal About 55 percent ofall communication is nonverbal. based on physical mannerisms). Therefore, most of whats communicated is nonverbal, » Paralingual Pich and tone of voice also help to convey a message ‘To confirm the message is understood, the sender should ask for feedbeck, saying things lke, “Do you understand weet {have explained?” Effective Listening ‘The receiver should decode the message carefuly and confirm the message is understood. This includes watching the speaker to pick up physical gestures and fcil expressions, thinking about what to say before responding, and vsing active stening, in which the receiver confirms he or she is listening expresses agreement or disagreeme, or asks fo dlriication. Even ifa message is not understood, the receiver should stil acknowledge tbe message (Le, saying things such as “Iam not sure I understand; can you explain that again?” Like the sender, the receiver needs to keep in mind the potential effects of nonverbal nd paralingual communication when giving feedback, Sender Noise Recdirer a Communication Technology PAGE 254 Another aspect of Plan Communications is to determine how to communicate each item. Communications can take place in many ways, including face-to-face interactions; by telephone, fax or e-mail or through meetings. The different ‘means of communicating are called communication technology. To determine the appropriate technology to use, ask questions such as > Would it be better to communicate the information through an e-mail or telephone call? » What technology is the team familiar and comfortable with (e.., online forums, data reports, telephone conferences)? » How quickly do I need to communicate the information? » Should I send a letter through the mail in order for it to get real attention? (© 2009 AMC ators nc» 952846 4484 + eneomcplctcom + wwmepetcom 357— Communications Management cw-ter te 358 fame this chapter, you are seeing many new terms. They are not very important to study. “What you might say. Mos of these terms you can figure out without memorization as ong 2s. you understand the concept that communications must be planned and thought through to include all stakeholders in many countries, For example, cant you guess what a push communication might be ‘without reading the next paragraph? Think about it now. You will see these terms on the exam, but they do not require memorization ust read this chapter over once or twice, and you should understand it for the exam. Communication Methods Pace 256 When planning communicetions, itis ls important to determine the communication method. sit better to cll someone, e-mail them, send alte, or go see them? These methods can be grouped into the following categories! > Interactive Communication This method is reciprocal and can involve just two people or many people. One person provides information; others receive it and then respond tothe information, Examples of interactive communication include conversations, meetings, and conference calls, » Push Communication This method involves 2 one-way stream of information. The sender provides the information to the people who need itt does not expect feedback on the ‘communication. Examples of push communication are status reports, e-mailed updates, and company memos. » Pull Communication In this method, the project manager places the information ina central location. The recipients are then responsible for retrieving, or “pulling” the informatio from that location. This method is used to distribute large documents or to send information to many people, In choosing « communication method, the project manager should consider whether fedbackis needed of ifits enough to simply provide the information. Control of Communications The exam may also ask: > Can the project manager contro ll communications? The answer sno! That would be Impossible. » Should the project manager try to control communications? Yes, otherwise changes, rmiscommunications, unclear ditections, and scope crep can occur. » What percentage of the project manager’ time is spent communicating? About 90 percent Meetings Project managers may have many different types of meetings. Meetings are a problem in the real world, because many project managers manage by doing everything in _meetings and most meetings are not efficient. Expect questions abuut the following cules for meetings (Bat then we already know these and follow them, dorit we?) > Seta time limit, and keep tot > Schedule recurring meetings in advance, > Meet with the team regularly, but not too often. » Have s purpose for each meeting, » Create an agenda with team inp > Distribute the agenda beforehand. > Stick to the agenda. > Let people know their responsibilities in advance. » Bring the right people together. > Chair and lead the meeting with a set of rules » Assign deliverables an time limits forall work eesignments that cesul from meetings. » Document and publish meeting minutes. (© 7000 AMC Pct, » 952.84 484» ilo@rrcackcam + ww meprlet oancuprerren Communications Management — Communication Channels when you add one more person to the team, does the number of communication channels simply increase by one? No. Tere is big incress, and communication needs can grow rapily with each added stakeholder, Understand that communications are complex and reed to be managed. Thec have been some problems with coramunicaticn channel questions on the exam, Some people have felt there were too many ofthese types of questions fr the value ofthe topic to projet management. Others have said the questions were poorly worded. Watch out—expect up to four questions on ths topic on the exam. ‘Communication channels can be calculated with the following form: (N(NE-I))/2, where N equals the numberof people. You should understand tis formula, Oh, now another formula to know? You should have no problem knowing this without memorization. Just practice it, How about some ticks? ‘The only formula withthe eter “N" in it on the exam is communication channels. Bh retreat Youha steam of four people; how meny channels of communication are there?” simply dra the lines or channels of communication, as shown, to get six channels of communication. Using the formula, we would calculate 4 times 3 (which is N-1) to equal 12, and then divide by 2 to reach the answer, which i 6, ‘Now try iton your own, Ifyou have four people on your project and you add one more, how many ‘more communication channels do you have? The answers 10 of course, right? Wrong! The question asked how many more! Do you know how many people get tripped up by poorly reading questions? To use the trick described previously, simply draw a new persoa and drew lines from the new person to all the other people to se tht there are four more channels of communication, as shown. (© 2000 ANC Picton, 2.846.464 «freak can + ww meet. 359— Communications Management crear 360 “To get the answer using the formula, you would have to calculate the communication channels with a team of four and with a team of five and then subtract the difference. We already did the calculation for four peope to find sx channel. The calculation for five team members is 5 mes 4 equals 20; 29 Aivded by 2 equals 10; 10 rine 6 equals Communications Management Plan PAGE 256 ‘The primary output ofthe Plan ‘Communications process ia communications management plan. ‘A comuunications management plan documents how you will manage and control communications. Many people donot realize the extent ofthe information that must be distributed. The following isjust oe sample of what a communictions management plan might lok ike. ‘Because communications are so complex, a communications management plan should be in writing for ‘mos projects. It must address the needs ofall the stakeholders. The communications management plan becomes pat ofthe project management plan. Ifyou have communications problems on your project, youre not spending enough time inthis area, OO While the projects being executed, many stakeholders will need to receive information about the projec. The project manager is responsible for providing this information. The idea of communicating {information to stakeholders is likely not a new concept o yo, but what some project managers don't understands that diferent stakeholders need to receive ferent information in various formals, and ‘the project manager should have determined in advance what each stakeholder needs to know, how, and ‘when. So the Distribute information process involves implementing the communications management plan, which is pact ofthe project management plan. Not only do you send information inthis process, but you also need to make sure the communications are received, effective, and ecient (© 7008 PMC Patios ne 952.6 4484 « infomcpjctco + mow meget