Chapter 10Communications Management

Communications ManagementContents

• Importance of communications on a project

• Communications Management processes• Plan Communications Management• Manage Communications• Control Communications

• Communication Models

• Communication Methods

• Communication Technology

Communications ManagementLearning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

•Explain the importance of communications on a project

•Name the Communications Management processes

•Explain the purpose of and activities involved in each process

•Describe various communication tool, techniques, and methods

Why Communication is Important!• The greatest threat to many projects is a

failure to communicate

• Research shows that effective communication is a core element in a projects success.

• It is not one sided.

• 1 out of 4 projects fail due to poor communications.

Top reasons why projects fail

• Poor Communication

• Insufficient resource planning

• Unrealistic schedules

• Poor project requirements

• Lack of stakeholders buy-in

• Undefined success/closure criteria

• Unrealistic budgets

• Insufficient or no risk planning

• Lack of control/change process

Survey Results• 28.0%

• 2%

• 1.2%

• 0%

• 3.7%

• 0%

• 2.4%

• 0%

• 0%

ONLY WAY to solve project problems

• is by communicating……..

• There is no other way…………..

• Communication provides critical links among people, ideas and information that are necessary for success.

Meetings

Fax Telephone

Face to face

email

90% of the Project

Manager’s time is spent

communicating

Communication Management Processes

Process Process Group

Plan Communications Management

Planning

Manage Communications Executing

Control Communications Monitoring and Controlling

Review Quiz

Which one of the following is not one of the Communications Management processes?

A.Manage Communications

B.Identify Stakeholders

C.Plan Communications Management

D.Control Communications

Plan CommunicationsManagement

Project needs Communication with…

• Management

• Project Managers

• Team

• Team Member’s Managers

• Other Project Managers

• Other Stakeholders

Plan Communications Management

• Class Group Activity – 30 Minutes– Divide Class into 3 groups (3 to 4 students in

each group)– Discuss and brainstorm the inputs/outputs– Present your inputs/outputs to the rest of the

teams– Check and compare your inputs/outputs with

PMBOK® Guide, Fifth edition

The Project

Customer, Sponsor,Functional Manager,and Team members

Other ProjectManagers Other Projects

Other Stakeholders

Communications occur internally and externally to the core project team,vertically (up and down the levels of the organization), and horizontally(among peers).

Skills for Effective Communication

Some important skills a project manager must develop for effective communication are:

• Active listening

• Providing positive reinforcement

• Questioning ideas to gain clarification

• Negotiating

• Conflict resolution

• Persuasion

Communications Planning• Communications Planning:

– Every project should include some type of communications management plan, a document that guides project communications

– Communications planning involves communication requirements analysis, Communication technology, Communication models and Communication methods.

– Which means who needs what information, when they will need it, how it will be given to them and by whom.

• Communications Requirements Analysis:

– The analysis of the communication requirements determines the information needs of the project stakeholders.

– Project manager should also consider the number of potential communication channels or paths as an indicator of the complexity of the project’s communications.

– Communication channels grow exponentially– Formula to calculate communication channels is (n(n-1))/2 (Where n represents

the number of people)

Source: http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/units/hit241/applied/communications.html

The Impact of the Number of People on Communications Channels

Communication Models

• Effective Communication– Nonverbal (About 55 percent of the communication is

nonverbal….i.e. based on physical mannerism)– Para lingual (Pitch and tone of the voice)– Feedback (Sender asks for the confirmation of the

information delivered)

• Effective Listening – Feedback– Active Listening– Para Lingual

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Communication Blockers

• What can disrupt effective communication?• Noise

• Distance

• Improper encoding of messages

• Saying that something is a bad idea

• Language

• Culture

Review Quiz

The majority of communication can be described as:

A.Verbal

B.Necessary

C.Non-verbal

D.Effective

Review Quiz

You are on an introductory between your project team and new client personnel based in China. While discussing requirements, you say that implementing the project will be a “piece of cake.” This is an example of:

A. Motivation

B. Communication blocker

C.Gaining confidence of the client

D.Good communications

There are several communication methods can be employed in the exchange of information on a project:

• Interactive communication – between 2 or more people in a multi-directional exchange

• Push communication – sent to specific individuals who require the information

• Pull communication – recipients access the information on their own

Communication Methods

Review Quiz

Which one of the following is not a communication method?

A.Interactive

B.Fast-paced

C.Push

D.Pull

Review Quiz

Your company has decided to start a newsletter that will go out to all employees. This would be an example of what kind of communication?

A.Verbal

B.Oral

C.Push

D.Pull

Review Quiz

Conducting a conference call with 20 people would be characterized as what kind of communication?

A.Long distance

B.Remote

C.Push

D.Interactive

• The communication methods can be further broken down into the type of communication and the circumstances in which each type would be used

• Communications can be expressed in different ways….formally or informally, written or verbal.

• The decision of which type to use needs to be made for each instance of communication.

Type of Communication When Used

Formal writtenComplex problems, project management plans, project charter, memos, communicating over long distances

Formal verbal Presentation, speeches

Informal written E-mail, handwritten notes

Informal verbal Meetings, conversations

Communication Methods

Communications Management Plan

• Output of Plan Communications Management

• Describes how project communications will be planned, managed, monitored, and controlled.

• Includes such information as stakeholder communication requirements, methods to be employed for the communication, frequency of distributions, etc.

Manage Communications

• Creation, collection, and distribution of project information according to Communications Management Plan

• Enables effective flow of communication between project stakeholders

• Ensures that communication being conducted has been received and understood

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Manage Communications

• Class Group Activity – 30 Minutes– Divide Class into 3 groups (3 to 4 students in

each group)– Discuss and brainstorm the inputs/outputs– Present your inputs/outputs to the rest of the

teams– Check and compare your inputs/outputs with

PMBOK® Guide, Fifth edition

Manage CommunicationsTools and Techniques

• The same tools and techniques employed in Communications Management Planning are used in Manage Communications

• Information Management Systems – includes hard copy documents, electronic communications (email, fax, etc.), and electronic project management tools

• Performance Reporting – collection and distribution of project performance, such as status reports.

Control Communications

• Monitoring and Controlling communications

• Output is Work Performance Information and change requests

• May trigger Plan Communications Management or Manage Communications activities

Control Communications

• Class Group Activity – 30 Minutes– Divide Class into 3 groups (3 to 4 students in

each group)– Discuss and brainstorm the inputs/outputs– Present your inputs/outputs to the rest of the

teams– Check and compare your inputs/outputs with

PMBOK® Guide, Fifth edition

Exam Tips for the Communications Management Chapter

• Know the Communications Management Process and input/output of each process

• Know how to calculate the communication channels

• Know the basic communication methods, models and tools

• Know communication blockers

PMP, CAPM, PgMP, PMI-SP , PMI-RMP, OPM3 and PMBOK  are registered marks of ProjectManagement Institute, Inc

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Chapter Summary

1. Facts about communications on a project:a. Greatest threat to many projects is poor communicationb. 1 out of 4 projects fail due to poor communicationc. 90% of project manager’s time is spent communicating

2. Communications Management processes•Plan Communications Management•Manage Communications•Control Communications

Chapter Summary

3. Plan Communications Management

• Communications Requirements Analysis• Communication Technology• Communication Models• Communication Methods

4. Manage Communications• Communications Technology• Communication Models• Communication Methods

5. Control Communications

End of Chapter Quiz

Question 1: 90% of the project manager’s time is spent:

A.ManagingB.DirectingC.CommunicatingD.Planning

End of Chapter Quiz

Question 2: The Communications Management Plan is an output of which process?

A.Plan CommunicationsB.Manage StakeholdersC.Plan Communications ManagementD.Manage Communications

End of Chapter Quiz

Question 3: The project team has grown from 7 to 9 people. How many more channels of communication are there?

A.21B.65C.15D.Cannot be determined

End of Chapter Quiz

Question 4: The project manager has just sent out an email providing an update on the project. This is an example of:

A.Poor communicationB.Stakeholder ManagementC.Manage CommunicationsD.Push communication

End of Chapter Quiz

Question 5: The project team members download project documents that were placed on a network drive by the project manager. This is an example of:

A.Pull communicationB.Push communicationC.Interactive communicationD.Control Communications