Plan Communications Management in project management ( PMP ) is the process of coming up with the best way and strategies to communicate about a project based on the needs of the project, the resources that the company has, and the information needs of all stakeholders. The main benefit of this method is that it lays out a clear plan for how to involve stakeholders effectively and efficiently by giving them relevant information at the right time. During the job, this process is done as needed at different times. Figure below shows the process’s inputs, working tools and methods, and results.
It is important to start early in the project life cycle with making a communications management plan that works and takes into account the different information needs of everyone involved. Reviewing it often and making changes as needed, like when the group of stakeholders changes or when a new part of the project starts, is important.
Communications planning is usually done very early on in a project, when stakeholders are being identified and the project management plan is being made.
Although all projects need to share information about themselves, each project may have very different information needs and ways of sharing it. During this process, you should also think about and write down how the project information will be stored, retrieved, and thrown away at the end. Reviewing and changing the Plan Communications Management process results on a daily basis during the project is important to make sure they stay useful.
Plan Communications Management: Inputs
Project Charter
The list of key stakeholders is in the project plan. There may also be information in it about the stakeholders’ jobs and duties.
Project Management Plan
The following are some of the parts of a project management plan:
Resource management plan
Gives instructions on how to organize, assign, control, and set up team resources. According to the communications management plan, different team members and groups may have different contact needs.
Stakeholder engagement plan
The stakeholder engagement plan walks managers through the steps they need to take to effectively involve stakeholders. Communicating is a common way to carry out these tactics.
Project Documents
It’s possible to use the following project documents as inputs for communication management plan ( pmp ) process :
Requirements documentation
Communication with project stakeholders can be part of the requirements documents.
stakeholder register
The stakeholder register is used to plan communications activities with stakeholders.
Enterprise Environmental Factors
Some of the enterprise environment factors that can affect the Plan Communications Management process are the organization’s culture, political climate, and governance framework; policies for managing employees; the level of risk that each stakeholder is willing to take; the communication channels, tools, and systems that are already in place; global, regional, or local habits, practices, or trends; and the location of facilities and resources.
Organizational Process Assets
The following organizational process assets could have an influence on the Plan Communications Management process:
- Policies and procedures of the organization concerning social media, ethics, and security;
- policies and procedures of the organization relating to issue, risk, change, and data management;
- organizational communication requirements;
- Standardized protocols for the creation, sharing, retention, and retrieval of information;
- repository for historical data and lessons learned;
- and communications and stakeholder data and information from prior initiatives.
Plan Communications Management: Tools And Techniques
Expert Judgment
You should look at the information and experience of people or groups who are experts in the following areas:
- Politics and power structures in the company;
- The company’s and other companies’ environment and culture;
- The way the company handles change and the tools it uses;
- The type of project outputs and the industry Technologies for organizational messaging;
- policies and procedures of the organization about the legal requirements of business communications;
- policies and procedures of the organization about security; and stakeholders, such as customers or sponsors.
Communication Requirements Analysis
By looking at communication needs, we can figure out what information the people involved in the project need. To find these standards, you need to look at both the type and format of information you need and how valuable that information is.
Communication Technology
By looking at communication needs, we can figure out what information the people involved in the project need. To find these standards, you need to look at both the type and format of information you need and how valuable that information is.
Communication Models
Communication models can show the communication process in three different ways: simply as a linear “sender and receiver” relationship, more interactively with the addition of feedback (sender, receiver, and feedback), or more complexly with the sender(s) or receiver(s) being real people and trying to show how complicated communication with people is.
Communication Methods
There are a number of ways for project partners to share information with each other. The following groups generally describe these methods:
- Interactive communication
- Push communication
- Pull communication
Interpersonal And Team Skills
For communication management plan ( pmp ) process, you can use the following interpersonal and team skills, but not just those:
- Communication styles assessment
- Political awareness
- Cultural awareness.
Data Representation
You can use a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix as a way to show the facts in this process, but it’s not the only one. The stakeholder engagement assessment matrix shows the gaps between how engaged each stakeholder is now and how engaged they want to be in the future. It can be looked at in more detail in this process to find out what kind of communication is needed (beyond the regular reports) to close any engagement level gaps.
Meetings
In addition to face-to-face meetings and electronic meetings, project meetings can also use tools for sharing and working on documents, such as project websites and emails. As part of the Plan Communications Management process, you need to talk with the project team about the best way to share and update project information and reply to information requests from different stakeholders.
Plan Communications Management: Outputs
Communications Management Plan
The communications management plan is part of the project management plan. It outlines how communications for the project will be organized, carried out, and checked to make sure they are working well. The following information is in the plan:
- Stakeholder communication requirements;
- Information to be communicated, including language, format, content, and level of detail;
- Escalation processes;
- Reason for the distribution of that information;
- Timeframe and frequency for the distribution of required information and receipt of acknowledgment or response, if applicable;
- Person responsible for communicating the information;
- Person responsible for authorizing release of confidential information;
- Person or groups who will receive the information, including information about their needs, requirements, and expectations;
- Methods or technologies used to convey the information, such as memos, email, press releases, or social media;
- Resources allocated for communication activities, including time and budget;
- Method for updating and refining the communications management plan as the project progresses and develops,
- such as when the stakeholder community changes as the project moves through different phases;
- Glossary of common terminology;
- Flow charts of the information flow in the project, workflows with possible sequence of authorization, list of reports, meeting plans, etc.; and
- Constraints derived from specific legislation or regulation, technology, organizational policies, etc.
There may be rules and templates in the communications management plan for project status meetings, project team meetings, e-meetings, and emails. It’s possible to include the use of a project website and project management tools if they are important to the project.
Project Management Plan Updates
People in the company have to fill out a change request for any changes they want to make to the project management plan. The stakeholder engagement plan is one part of the project management plan that might need to be changed. The stakeholder engagement plan is updated to include any new processes, procedures, tools, or techniques that make it easier for stakeholders to be involved in making decisions and carrying out the project.
Project Documents Updates
Because of communication management plan ( pmp ) method, project documents like, but aren’t limited to, the following may be updated:
- It’s possible to add communication tasks to the project schedule.
- It is possible to add planned statements to the stakeholder register.
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