Communication Planning


This process involves "determining the information and communications needs of the stakeholders" (PMBOK). The questions to answer are who gets the information, when they get it, what channels will be used to get it to them, who will the sender be, and what the content of the communication is. We will look at each of these questions separately.

Who gets the information is specifically stated in PMBOK. The people who receive the information are defined in the communication plan. Not everyone on the project will be expected to receive every piece of information that you, the project manager, will have. If this were done, there would be such a glut of information that nothing would be communicated.

When the information is sent is critical. There are many studies showing the importance of the timing of communication. If the communication is done too early, it may be misplaced or ignored. If it is too late, problems certainly will occur. This can be seen when a person sends a massive amount of communication at the beginning of the project and expects project team members to remember what was contained in the communication and when the best time to use the information is. This is obviously a major management problem, which you will alleviate by going through communication planning.

The channels through which information will be sent are as important as any other part of the communications planning process. You can communicate information by mail, by email, in person, in meetings, by phone, by fax, and so on; the list of channel types is enormous. None of these channels is the best. The type of channel used should be matched with the way in which the communication will be used. You should also be aware that there are always assumptions about clarity in communication that are generally not true. For instance, the use of email has become more and more prevalent. Unfortunately, email has many problems that can cause communication disconnect. Sometimes the information contained in email is not well written. Other times, the email is one of hundreds that the receiver is getting every day, so it gets lost under an avalanche of other messages. In addition, with email, there is no immediate feedback such as you have when you communicate in person. Each channel of communication brings both good and bad factors. This is not the place to discuss all of them, but there are extensive research articles on the Internet, in scholarly journals, and in libraries that you can reference.

Q.

The people who get specific types of information from the project manager are ________.

 

A.

Project team members

 

B.

Stakeholders

 

C.

Project administrators

 

D.

People in the communication plan


The answer is D. Although all of the other people may get communication at some time, the people in the communication plan are the ones that will get specific types of information. This is why the planning of your communication process is done early in the process of managing a project. If the list of people who need to get information changes, then change your communication plan.

Q.

Which type of channel is the best for good communication?

 

A.

Email

 

B.

Phone

 

C.

FAX

 

D.

All of them


The answer is D. There is no one best channel of communication. Each channel has specific properties that make it unique. The best communication comes from a combination of channels. Using only one channel all the time will result in bad communication some of the time. Choose the channel to fit the communication need.

The inputs to communications planning are enterprise environmental factors, organizational process assets, the project Scope Statement, constraints, and assumptions (PMBOK). The first of these inputs, enterprise environmental factors, was described earlier. In order to have good communication during the project, you need to question the various stakeholders to find what their expectations are for the output of the project and the type of communication that they expect to have during the project. Failure to do this will always result in a lack of project cohesion. If you make assumptions about what a specific stakeholder needs without asking him or her, there is an increased likelihood of communication problems. Asking what kind of information a stakeholder needs is the first step to avoiding these problems.

The organizational process assets may well include some type of expected communication system for projects done within the organization. There are certainly times when stakeholders do not know all of the information they need to perform well. A communication system may well already be in place as a process, and if it is, it is imperative that you use it during the project. You must also be certain to let the stakeholders know what information you think they will need, and you must ask them for their communication requirements. By doing both of these communication actions, you will be able to meet all communication requirements, yours and theirs.

Q.

How do you get the communications requirements for stakeholders?

 

A.

Prayer

 

B.

Ask them

 

C.

Meetings

 

D.

Osmosis


The answer is B. Questioning people about their communication requirements for the project is the first step in getting these requirements.

Q.

In addition to stakeholder needs, who else's needs should be considered when establishing communication requirements?

 

A.

The sponsor

 

B.

The advisory board

 

C.

The customer

 

D.

The project manager


The answer is D. The project manager should consider what information he or she believes will be important to the stakeholders and should be sure to include that information in the communication requirements.

The tools and techniques for communications planning are limited to two entries. The first is a communication requirements analysis that is also titled stakeholder analysis. This consists of interviewing the various stakeholders to determine their communication needs. The information needs and the timing of that information are closely linked, so you should be certain to inquire about both aspects of these needs. The technology used for various project team communications should be determined by the specific type of information that is to be transferred. Doing this will support project team performance.

A quick word about stakeholders. Although members of the project team are the stakeholders that will execute the project, the sponsor is the one who gives authorization for expenditures. It would seem rather obvious that the sponsor is the one person who should receive timely information about the progress of the project. However, there are some organizations where the sponsor is not given up-to-the-minute information. This is unfortunate because the sponsor is the person who originally made the project possible. The sponsor is the first person you should interview for your stakeholder analysis because he or she is the one who has taken responsibility for the project.

There is one other consideration that is becoming more and more important in the IT world. The version of the software that is to be used should be standardized. The software side of communication technology is just as important as the hardware. People who send information that needs special software to be read are causing unnecessary problems in communication. The project manager who fails to tell the project team which version of the software will be used in common will find that frustration sets in if several people cannot read the communication with their current software because it is a different version than the sender's.

Q.

The ________ is the most important stakeholder to keep current on the project execution.

 

A.

Advisory board

 

B.

Project member

 

C.

Sponsor

 

D.

Consultant


The answer is C. Because the sponsor started the entire process and is ultimately responsible for the outcome of the project, he or she is the single most important stakeholder to keep informed.

Q.

It is important to control the ________ of the software just as much as the hardware technologies.

 

A.

Version

 

B.

Amount

 

C.

Brand

 

D.

Concept


The answer is A. If people use different versions of the software, this is certain to delay communication and frustrate project team members.

The second tool to consider is the technology. The types of communication technologies used should always match the scope of the project. For instance, if the project is a large one with a multinational project team, it is possible that a website will be the best way to continuously have information available for the project team. This would scarcely be the case on a one-week project where you are trying to get out the quarterly newsletter with only three people on the project team. In this case, the technology might be email or the phone. In fact, there might be so much face-to-face communication that interpersonal communication replaces any type of technology.

When choosing technology for communication, there are several questions to consider. Do you need the information on a real-time basis? If you do, then you will not be using standard mail to get information to people on the project team. What technology is available to the entire team? For instance, does everyone on the project team have access to email? Remember that if your team agrees on one type of technology as the major communication technology for the project, then everyone on the team needs to have access. Leaving one or two project members out of the communication loop is a mistake that will always cause delays in the execution of the project.

The use of cell phones is growing as a project communication technology, and I have been on project teams that use cell phones as their major communication device. In fact, some companies will give out cell phones to their project teams so that communication in that form is always available.

The use of a specific technology will depend on the volume of information to be sent and received, the type of information, the need for speed of dispersal, and the best use of the team's time when communicating. The time for determining the type of technology to be used is when the communications planning is beginning. This will help the project team know how to reach each other and how the team will communicate.

Q.

You need to know the volume and type of information that will be communicated when considering the best ________ for communication during the project.

 

A.

Technology

 

B.

Encoding

 

C.

Places

 

D.

People


The answer is A. Choosing the best technology for communication requires as much planning as choosing the timing of communication.

Communications planning has one output: a communications management plan. This plan has several dimensions, some of which have already been described. First, it will describe who will get the information needed to successfully execute the project. Second, the communications management plan will describe what information is necessary to be successful. Third, the communications management plan will describe when information is needed. Finally, the communications management plan will describe how the information is to be passed. As you can see, a great deal of effort can be expended in creating the communications plan.

However, I have worked on many projects that didn't have a formal communications plan. There should be a formal plan, but it does not have to be very detailed. Keep the essentials in mind when writing the communications plan, and the project team is likely to read the plan and use it as a guideline. If the plan becomes too complex and tries to forecast every possible communication issue, it will be of little use.



Passing the PMP Exam. How to Take It and Pass It
Passing the PMP Exam: How to Take It and Pass It: How to Take It and Pass It
ISBN: 0131860070
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 167
Authors: Rudd McGary

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