Project Communications Management is the process of making sure that the project and its stakeholders get effective information they need by creating materials and putting in place actions that make information sharing easier as explain in Project Management standard (PMI – PMP ).
There are two parts to Project Communications Management. The first step is to come up with a plan for how to communicate effectively with all parties. Following through with the tasks needed to put the communication plan into action is the second part.
The Project Communications Management processes are:
- Plan Communications Management
- Manage Communications
- Monitor Communications
Key Concepts For Project Communications Management
Communication is the exchange of information, whether it’s on purpose or not. People can send each other information in the form of thoughts, feelings, or directions. The ways that people share information can be in the following categories:
- Written form.
- Spoken.
- Formal or informal (as in formal papers or social media).
- Through gestures. Tone of voice and facial expressions.
- Through media. Pictures, actions, or even just the choice of words.
- Choice of words.
For example, meetings and presentations are examples of communication activities. Artifacts, like emails, social media, project reports, and project paperwork, are examples of artifacts.
Project managers spend most of their time talking to team members and other people who have an interest in the project, both inside and outside the company. People with different levels of knowledge, views, and interests can work together if they can communicate well. These people may come from different cultural and organizational backgrounds.
Communication actions have many parts which help in effective communication management in project management (PMI – PMP) , such as, but not limited to:
- Internal
- External
- Formal
- Informal
- Hierarchical focus
- Official
- Unofficial
- Written and oral
Building the connections needed for projects and programs to succeed depends on communication. There is a wide range of communication activities and tools that can help with them, from emails and casual chats to official meetings and regular project reports. People give and receive information through words, facial expressions, gestures, and other actions, whether they are aware of it or not. To manage project relationships with stakeholders well, communication means coming up with strategies and plans for the right communications tools and activities to use with the stakeholder community, as well as using skills to make planned and unplanned communications more effective.
Communication works best when it’s two-way. The first step is to come up with a good communication plan that fits the needs of both the project and the people who have a stake in it. Based on that strategy, a communications management plan is made to make sure that the right words get to the right people in the right way, in the format, and in the way that the communication strategy specifies. These messages are the project’s interactions, which is the second part of good communication. Project communications are the results of the planning phase. The communications management plan covers how to gather, create, send, store, retrieve, control, track, and lose these communication artifacts. Lastly, the communication strategy and communications management plan will support keeping an eye on how the communication is working.
People working on the project make sure that there are no misunderstandings by choosing the methods, messengers, and texts carefully during the planning phase.
Using the 5Cs of written communications can help clear up misunderstandings, but they won’t go away completely when writing or speaking in a standard (non-social media) setting:
- Correct grammar and spelling
- Concise expression and elimination of excess words.
- A clear goal and language that meets the wants of the reader
- Consistent, sensible flow of thoughts
- Making sure that thoughts and words flow smoothly
Trends And Emerging Practices In Project Communications Management
Focusing on stakeholders and understanding how important it is for projects and organizations to involve stakeholders effectively also means understanding how important it is to create and use effective communication strategies in order to keep relationships with stakeholders strong. Some examples of new and growing ways to do things in Project Communications Management are the following :
Inclusion of stakeholders in project reviews.
Stakeholders from outside the project and even the company should be present at project meetings when it makes sense to do so. All kinds of projects can use the practices that are part of agile methods. Short daily standup meetings are common. These are where the project team and key partners talk about the day’s successes and problems, as well as their plans for the next day’s work.
Inclusion of stakeholders in project meetings.
Personal computers, social media sites, and other forms of social computing have changed how businesses and their employees talk to each other and do business. Social computing uses public IT systems to support a variety of ways to work together. Social networking is the process of making connections with other people to share hobbies and activities. In addition to helping people share information, social media tools can also help people connect with each other and build relationships that lead to more trust and community which help in effective communication management in project management (PMI – PMP) .
Multifaceted approaches to communication.
The standard way for project stakeholders to communicate uses all available tools and takes into account each person’s cultural, practical, and personal choices when it comes to language, media, content, and delivery. People may use social media and other modern computer technologies when it makes sense to do so. These kinds of multifaceted methods work better for talking to people from different generations and cultures.
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