6.1 Communications Management

Projects require teamwork, and team members must communicate with each other in a variety of ways. The documents they produce must be collected, distributed, and stored appropriately to ensure timely and accurate communication between team members. Various technologies, including computer and smartphone software programs and applications, often assist this process. The advent of the Internet, accompanied by various ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic by the first quarter of 2020, accelerated the process of digitalization for people and all organizations, including companies, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, governments, and international bodies. Thus, the adoption and spread of ICTs worldwide across organizations and countries increased exponentially. The utilization of global virtual teams in organizations increased to unprecedented levels. 94% of CultureWizard’s Global Virtual Work Survey respondents indicated that employees want to continue working from home—at least part-time ^[1]. More virtual presence has brought about new challenges, as detailed in this chapter’s “Virtual Teams” section.

ICTs can facilitate faster and better communication or become a barrier if they are not well understood and applied appropriately. Besides, as detailed in Chapter 5, the project manager and the team should be in ongoing contact with all the stakeholders based on their power and interest levels and other factors such as influence, involvement, support required, and interdependencies. This necessitates the manager to choose an optimal portfolio of communication technologies and methodologies. Therefore, these issues should be well-thought by the project manager while preparing the project plan and its subcomponent, “Project Communications Management Plan.”

6.1.1 Communication Management Plan

Communications management is about keeping everybody in the loop. The communications planning process concerns defining the types of information we will deliver, who will receive it, the format for communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. Hence, ensuring everybody gets the right message at the right time is important.

As is the case for all knowledge areas (e.g., scope, schedule, cost, resource, risk, communication, and stakeholder), the first step is to plan so that we can delineate the guidelines that we should follow during the execution of the project activities, and while we monitor and control them. This provides us with direction based on the information needs of each stakeholder, available organizational assets, and the project’s needs ^[2]. All projects require a sound communication plan, but not all projects will have the same types of communication or the same methods for collecting, analyzing, and distributing the information. The communication plan documents the types of information needs the stakeholders have, when the information should be distributed, how the information will be delivered with which frequency, who will receive it, and the format and technologies we will use to communicate.

First, we should figure out what kind of communication our stakeholders (including the project team) need so they can make good and well-informed decisions. This is called the communications requirements analysis. Our project will produce a lot of information, so we don’t want to overwhelm the stakeholders with all of it. Our job is to figure out what they feel is valuable. Therefore, the stakeholder power/interest grid (matrix) and the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix would be very helpful in determining the priorities of each stakeholder and how we can communicate with each of them (see Chapter 5); communicating valuable information doesn’t mean we always paint a rosy picture. Communications to stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad news. We don’t want to bury stakeholders in too much information, but we do want to give them enough so that they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions. ICTs have a major impact on how we keep people in the loop. Therefore, our analysis and the plan should include them.

We should answer the questions below in our communications management plan:

1. What methods of communication do we need to consider? Which methods can we choose to transfer information?
   • It can take many forms.
   • Traditional communication methods include memorandums, physical letters, notice boards, faxes, leaflets, brochures, banners, and billboards.
   • Digital communication methods include emails, video conferencing, instant messaging, file-sharing services, social media, and collaboration platforms such as Asana, Monday, and Jira, through which project teams can track tasks and project status.
   • Verbal communication methods include in-person meetings, town hall meetings, one-on-one meetings, phone conversations, teleconferences, daily standups, and kick-off meetings.
   • Visual and interactive communication methods include dashboard reports (e.g., data visualization tools like Tableau), mind mapping tools, and interactive workshops.
   • Formal reporting methods include executive summaries, financial reports, and audit reports.
   • Documentations include technical documentation, user manuals, and knowledge bases (e.g., online libraries and databases).
   • Informational communication methods include coffee chats, water cooler conversations, walk-and-talk sessions, team outings, celebrations, and sports events.
   • Feedback channels include interviews, round table discussions, retrospective meetings, surveys and questionnaires, online polls, and feedback boxes.
   • Newsletters, online user forums, and webinars can be utilized to communicate with customers and clients.
2. How should we arrange the timing of the information exchange or the need for updates? What is the reporting frequency for each stakeholder according to the expectations and concerns of stakeholders?
   • Methods and frequency should be identified for each stakeholder based on the role and responsibilities of team members and stakeholders’ interests and power levels.
   • Project teams should engage stakeholders before implementing major changes to ensure alignment and manage expectations. They should also promptly communicate critical milestones such as pivotal achievements, delays, and changes.
   • While project managers can receive updates from team members regarding the progress of the activity and any roadblocks, they can conduct weekly reviews of detailed analyses of the project status, risks, and performance against the project plan.
   • Project steering committees can receive monthly executive summaries highlighting key achievements, milestones, budget status, high-level risks, or quarterly reviews, including in-depth project performance analysis, benefits realization, and strategic alignment.
   • In Chapter 5‘s “Case Study 5.2,” which created the stakeholder power/interest grid for Grocery LLC’s mobile-commerce project, we indicated store managers in the inspection committee and online customers willing to shop through the mobile app. While we can communicate with these store managers more frequently (e.g., once a week) through in-person and online meetings and emails during the project, we can communicate with the customers less frequently by sending them updates in a newsletter format every two weeks.
3. Who is the person responsible for communicating the information? Who authorizes the release of confidential information? Who receives the information according to their needs, expectations, and concerns?
   • Typically, the project manager is responsible for disseminating information to the relevant stakeholders. Still, depending on the complexity and size of the project, it could also be delegated to communication officers or team leads (who are responsible for guiding, directing, and managing a group of team members working on specific tasks within the project). The person responsible for communication ensures that information flows accurately and promptly.
   • Confidential information often requires approval before being shared. This authorization typically comes from higher management, legal teams, or a designated authority in the project, such as the project sponsor or a privacy officer. Authorization ensures that sensitive data is handled in compliance with organizational policies and regulations, and the project and stakeholders can be protected from unintended data breaches or misuse.
   • Different stakeholders require different levels and types of information depending on their role, level of influence, and interest in the project. For example, executives might receive high-level overviews, while team members get detailed operational updates. Understanding stakeholder needs and concerns ensures that the right information reaches the right people at the right time.
4. Do we need to procure new technology or systems, or are there systems already in place that will work?
   • This question assesses whether the project requires new communication technologies (e.g., software tools, platforms) or if existing ones can meet the project’s needs. Identifying this helps plan the budget, time, and resources required for communication tools. It also considers the enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets already in place^[3].
5. What is our staff’s experience with the technology? Are project team members and stakeholders experienced in using this technology, or should we train them?
   • Understanding the team’s proficiency with available communication tools is important. If team members or stakeholders are unfamiliar with a particular technology, it may slow communication or require training, impacting the project’s timeline and budget. Assessing the team’s technical skill level ensures that communication channels are efficient and effective.
6. How does the project team function? Are they located together or spread out across several locations in a country or the world?
   • The geographic location of the team impacts the communication strategy. A co-located team may rely more on in-person meetings and spontaneous interactions, while emails are still an important digital tool. In contrast, a dispersed (distributed/remote) team would need digital collaboration tools like video conferencing, instant messaging (e.g., Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp), email, file sharing, and collaboration tools (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox), and project management platforms (e.g., Trello, Jira, Monday). The team’s setup also determines the frequency and types of communication needed to keep everyone aligned.
7. What are the resources, time, and budget allocated for communication activities?
   • Communication activities need adequate resources, such as personnel, technology, and time. Budget allocations cover tools, training, and other costs associated with setting up and maintaining effective communication channels.

Answers to the questions above should be documented in the communication plan. Remember that all the components of a project management plan are interrelated. A communication plan cannot be prepared independently of other components, such as the plans for the scope, schedule, cost, risk, and stakeholders. For example, concerning ICTs, we should consider whether the technology we choose would work throughout the project’s life or if we should upgrade or update it at some point.

The information we communicate typically includes project status, project scope statements and updates, project baseline information, risks, action items, performance measures, project acceptance, etc. We should also consider the language, format, content, and level of detail. The information needs of the stakeholders must be determined as early in the planning phase of the project management life cycle so that as we develop project planning documents, we already know who should receive copies of them and how they should be delivered.