Project Management Communication and Customer Delivery

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Everyone knows the communication is the

problem – but no one told anyone

• Importance of proper communication in project management

• How to communicate with the project stakeholders

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Definition●Communication (from Latin commūnicāre,

meaning "to share”) ●the act or process of using words, sounds,

signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else

Merriam - Webster

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Stakeholders●In order to communicate properly one

needs to know who to communicate with and how.

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StakeholdersSo, who is a steakholder?

‘one who holds the beef’One of the PM training trainees, quoted by Paul Dinsmore and re-quoted by Lynda Bourne from Mosaicproject, January 2011

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Stakeholders

●Communication is not that simple even when using basic words sometimes spelled differently but pronounced the same,

stake -v- steak.

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StakeholdersThe Project Management Institute’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) describes a stakeholder as a person or organization that:

●Is actively involved in the project●Has interests that may be positively or

negatively affected by the performance or completion of the project

●May exert influence over the project, its deliverables or its team members

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It is All in The Numbers

For every US$1 billion spent on projects, US$135 million is at risk — and a startling 56 percent of that amount — US$75 million — is at risk due to ineffective communications.

PMI’s 2013 Pulse of the Profession® Report

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Communication Channels

There are three channels / directions of communication on projects●Upwards●Downwards●LateralThe key to successful communications is to keep information flowing in the right direction.

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http://www.techrepublic.com/search/?a=jason+charvat

http://www.techrepublic.com/search/?a=jason+charvat

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"We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going

to discuss it with the employees."

(Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)(http://www.tensionnot.com/jokes/office_jokes/

management_quotes)

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Need For Communication

●It creates a common understanding of an idea, expectation or an opinion in order to get things done (and done properly).

●Effective communication is the tool that builds understanding, reduces opposition based in ‘fear of the unknown’ and generates a framework for success*

*Lynda Bourne, Mosaicproject, August 2014

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It is not just what is said but how it is

said, too●Different “languages” are used by different

people within and outside an organisation, at different managerial levels and with different responsibilities

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It is not just what is said but how it is

said, too●Communicating effectively is a skilled art

that needs practice and you need to speak in the language of the listener to achieve the greatest effect. *


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Effective Communication Requirements

● Understanding who are the key stakeholders at ‘this point in time’ that you need to influence;*

● Understanding their needs and the best way to communicate with them;*

● Communicating the appropriate amount of information in a way that can be understood by the stakeholder; and then,*

● Taking the time to help the person reach a proper understanding.*

● Understanding how often you need to communicate with whom


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Mind Your Language

Full credit: Lynda Bourne, Mosaicproject, August 2014

Communicating ideas effectively to another person needs a common language, and a common understanding of the meaning of the symbols used in the language. While this sounds simple, language can take many forms including images, sounds and writing.

A simplified graphical language can provide a really useful way of communicating complex information but when you use the language, you need to be sure the people you are communicating with have the same level of understanding you do and ‘see’ the same message.

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Based on your knowledge of the London or Melbourne maps, you do not need to be able to read German to have a good idea how to navigate the Stuttgart metro from the Hauptbahnhof to the Zoo. The language of transport maps has become fairly standard world-wide.

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A convergence of communication style has occurred with in-car road maps. Most books and electronic sat-nav systems use a stylised language similar to the map of North Sydney (below) – another language designed for a specific purpose.

For the purpose of navigating a car to the ‘Aiki Kunren Dojo’, this ‘simplified road map’ is far more useful than the 100% accurate photograph of the same location!

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The style of the road map has been taken ‘virtual’ and global by several organisations including Tomtom. You do not need to be able to read the street names or understand the spoken advice ‘turn left in ……’ to follow the map – the pictures say it all and are just as effective in Shanghai and Munich as Sydney or Melbourne.

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When designing a graphical communication language, useful, accurate and fully detailed are NOT synonymous!

The mapping languages are really simple to use provided you have learned to ‘read the language’ and interpret them correctly.

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Design of the communication is important; the designers of maps need to decide what is important (e.g., the route numbers on the tram map), what is emphasised, what is suppressed, and what is left out – bad design can reduce the elegance of the communication and block understanding. Whereas innovation can enhance it.

The same challenge applies to project dashboards, reports, and artefacts such as bar charts and CPM diagrams. Creating an appropriate level of understanding in a person’s mind about the true situation of the project and your intended work plans requires appropriate information to be communicated in a language that is understandable to the stakeholder. In this context, ‘appropriate’ does not mean complete or fully detailed; selecting the right level of detail is in itself an art form.

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The bar chart below may be fully detailed and precise but it is not a good communication tool!

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And while preferred by many project controls professionals, the CPM logic diagram below is even less likely to work as a communication tool for stakeholders.

These specialist languages are useful to trained project controls professionals and some experienced project management professionals but are too complex for most communication needs.

www.newlog.co.zaEffective communication does not need fully detailed or accurate representation. What is needed is ‘useful’ information that can be used! You do not need to be an expert in directional boring to understand the plan for this project (all that is missing is the timing for each stage):

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Simple is good, simplistic is dangerous! One of the popular options for reporting project status is using simplistic ‘red-amber-green’ (RAG) traffic lights such as these:

We know there is a scope problem but there is no real indication of the seriousness of the situation or how far into the ‘red zone’ the project actually is.

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Rather than the simplistic 3 point RAG scale, the same information can be displayed using more insightful tools:

Any of the ‘gauges’ will tell you where within each band the project is situated, add in a simple ‘change’ report and the trend becomes apparent as well. The art is knowing how much information is enough.

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The communication challenge is recognising that some concepts will be easy to communicate in some communities of stakeholders, others will be more difficult; and people are frightened of things they don’t understand.

Designing an effective communication strategy requires the project team and project leaders to firstly derive a common understanding between themselves, then determine what the key stakeholders actually understand, then determine how to communicate effectively with the key stakeholders to build their understanding to the level needed to get the ‘buy-in’ required to make the project successful.

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CommunicationPlanning

So, should we then plan for communication?

Necessity:●Emergencies●Reporting●Requirements Gathering● Information Exchange……

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A communication plan facilitates effective and efficient communications with the various audiences having a major stake in the project. It describes how project communications will occur.

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A good communication plan generally includes the following elements:●Communication objectives●Target audiences●Key content for the communications●Communication method and frequency

http://www.pma.doit.wisc.edu/plan/3-1/print.html

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●Rationale/PurposeGood two-way communications among all stakeholders is key for the success of the project. Good communication forestalls surprises, prevents duplication of effort, and can help to reveal omissions and misallocation of resources early enough to permit corrections.

* PM Hut, June 2013

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Recommended actions and strategies

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Effective Communication

We should take communication one step further to something called active listening. Active listening is a skill that gets to what the person “meant” not just what the person “said”. It means that the listener pursues the intent by asking questions like “I thought I heard you say…..?” or “can you clarify what you meant by….?” *

* PM Hut, June 2013

“That is what we’ve ordered…BUT that is not what we want!”

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● When two people want to prioritize different things, your best solution is to get them together and discuss pros and cons of each change as a group. Let them argue the case and agree one route or the other, or a compromise where they both get something. Your role is to facilitate this discussion.

● Overall, managing the relationship between two sponsors comes down to that: facilitation. It’s important to maintain open communication channels and a good sense of humor, especially as it’s a difficult project situation with plenty of challenges.

TWO SPONSORS

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●Specific,●Measurable,●Attainable/Achievable,●Realistic,●Time

S.M.A.R.T principle (downward communication)

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Problems in Project Management: CommunicationWhy the military services have trouble communicating.General Joe Whigham is ordered by the Secretary of Defense to gather together a Navy Lieutenant and Captains from the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force to discover why the services have trouble communicating with each other. He begins by saying that their first project task is to "secure" a certain building, and asks each of them to go home and prepare a list of steps for the project management plan and bring them to the meeting the next morning.

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● The Navy Lieutenant calls his Master Chief and says "Tell those swabs to:-- Unplug the coffeepots -- Turn off the computers -- Turn out the lights -- Lock the doors and leave the building unoccupied"

● The Army Captain has his list in his notepad: -- Assemble the company -- Appoint guard mount and Sergeant of the Guard -- Take control of all exits -- Make sure no one gets into the building without a pass

● The Marine Corps Captain writes down her steps on palm of her hand: -- Assemble the platoon and supplies -- Approach the building along three axes -- Bring the building under mortar and SAW fire -- Assault the building under covering fire -- Sequester surviving prisoners -- Establish lanes of fire -- Prepare artillery calls -- Repel counterattacks

● The Air Force Captain types his list into his laptop:-- Contact real estate agent -- Negotiate 1-year lease -- Be sure to get option to buy

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If project staff do not know what their tasks are, or how to accomplish them, then the entire project will grind to a halt. If you do not know what the project staff are (not) doing then you will be unable to monitor project progress. And if you are uncertain of what the customer expects of you, then the project will not even get off the ground. Maintaining open, regular and accurate channels of communication with all levels of project staff and stakeholders is vital to ensuring the smooth flow of instructions from customer to factory floor and sufficient warning of risks and changes to enable early assessment and preparation.*

*Project Smart, January 2009http://www.techrepublic.com/resource-library/whitepapers/the-importance-of-

communication-in-project-management/

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Noise

In any communication model, noise is interference with the decoding of messages sent over a channel by an encoder. There are many examples of noise:

Communication NoiseNow we know how to properly communicate, with whom, how often and what kind of information we should convey to each stakeholder. BUTHave we forgotten something???

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●Environmental noiseNoise that physically disrupts communication, such as standing next to loud speakers at a party, or the noise from a construction site next to a classroom making it difficult to hear the professor.

●Physiological-impairment noisePhysical maladies that prevent effective communication, such as actual deafness or blindness preventing messages from being received as they were intended.

●Semantic noiseDifferent interpretations of the meanings of certain words. For example, the word "weed" can be interpreted as an undesirable plant in a yard, or as a euphemism for marijuana.

Communication Noise**Wikipedia

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●Syntactical noiseMistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such as abrupt changes in verb tense during a sentence.

●Organizational noisePoorly structured communication can prevent the receiver from accurate interpretation. For example, unclear and badly stated directions can make the receiver even more lost.

●Cultural noiseStereotypical assumptions can cause misunderstandings, such as unintentionally offending a non-Christian person by wishing them a "Merry Christmas”.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tense

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●Psychological noiseCertain attitudes can also make communication difficult. For instance, great anger or sadness may cause someone to lose focus on the present moment. Disorders such as Autism may also severely hamper effective communication.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism

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●Cultural noise

Communication NoiseExample

Sticking up Victory

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●On a visit to Canberra in 1992, George H.W. Bush unwittingly insulted a group of locals by giving them the V-sign while riding past in his armored car. The gesture might mean “Victory” in America, but it means something radically different in Australia when given with the palm facing inward, as in Bush Senior’s case. Used that way, it’s actually equivalent to the upraised middle finger in the US.

Communication Noise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2ZZMWWWtr0%23t=64

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●Later that same day, Bush Sr. gave a speech at the local center for American Studies advocating stronger efforts “to foster greater understanding” between the American and Australian cultures. The Lakeland Ledger, reporting the president’s gestural gaffe, wrote, “ Wearing mittens when abroad would be a beginning.”


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Communication Noise

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CommunicationManagement Process

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Communication PM Proverbs

● The project would not have been started if the truth had been told about the cost and timescale.

● Good project management is not so much knowing what to do and when, as knowing what excuses to give and when.

● Of several possible interpretations of a communication, the least convenient is the correct one.

● I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

● What is not on paper has not been said.● A user will tell you anything you ask about, but nothing more.● What you don’t know hurts you.● A problem shared is a buck passed.● When the weight of the project paperwork equals the weight of the project itself,

the project can be considered complete.

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The information contained herein is based on sources that are believed to be reliable, but their accuracy is not guaranteed, and it should be understood to be general information only. The information is not intended to be taken as advice with respect to any individual situation and cannot be relied upon as such.

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Project Management Communication and Customer Delivery

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