Section Summary – Communicating Project Risks

In the previous few chapters in this section we learnt about project risk communication process. Let us now quickly summarize what we have learnt so far.

• After we identify risks, the next logical step is to communicate those identified risks to all stakeholders and this is the purpose of this communicate project risks process
• Though project communications management is not directly a part of project risk management knowledge area, communicating risks and regular updates to all key stakeholders is an integral part of risk management
• Psychological factors can influence peoples attitude towards risk which in turn can affect their risk tolerance
• Peoples risk attitudes can be broadly classified into 4: Risk Averse, Risk Tolerant, Risk Neutral and Risk Seeking
• People usually resist change (risks) when it threatens their level of comfort or control or if they are unfamiliar with the change
• Risk Tolerance is defined as the degree, amount or volume of risk an individual or organization will withstand
• The Stakeholder Register and Stakeholder Management Strategy can help us greatly in managing stakeholder expectations in terms of risk communications
• We cannot please or satisfy all stakeholders. So, a smart manager will classify stakeholders and identify the high influence/power category and keep them satisfied as much as possible
• Most stakeholders will require only high level information
• The information that we share with different categories of stakeholders will depend on their interest in the project, influence on the project and a variety of other factors. Simply put “Not everyone wants everything”
• Risk Management Plan usually contains templates and reporting formats that we must use for the different categories of stakeholders

Prev: Communicating Risks to Stakeholders

Next: Introduction to Risk Analysis

Communicating Risks to Stakeholders

So far, in the previous chapters, we learnt about risk attitudes and have analyzed the stakeholder risk tolerance. So, the next thing for us to do is “Start communicating” to keep our stakeholders informed of the project progress in terms of risk management.

The PMBOK guide defines a separate process that covers the topic of Managing Stakeholder Expectations. This topic was covered in our PMP prep series in a chapter with the same title Managing Stakeholder Expectations. If you check this process, you will see that the Communications Management Plan which is the output of the Planning Project Communication process is an input. This communications management plan is going to define how we are going to communicate with all our stakeholders.

If you are wondering how, then maybe you forgot about the contents of the communications management plan. I suggest you go back to the chapter on Planning Project Communication and revise the contents of the same. The communication management plan contains stakeholder communication requirements which we will be using along with the Stakeholder Management Strategy to effectively communicate about our project risks.

Most stakeholders will require only high level information regarding risks. They will be typically looking for information like:

a. How accurate the presented information is?
b. Whether there is a potential for gain or loss?
c. Can the risk be managed?
d. What are the recommended responses?
e. What is the impact?
f. Etc.

Along with the above mentioned information you must also be able to provide certain additional information like:

a. Who holds the responsibility for the risk and the related events if the risk were to occur?
b. How often will the risk event occur?
c. What alternates do we have?
d. Etc.

But, as with every communication, there is a problem here. Not everyone wants everything. This is where the Stakeholder Management Strategy and the Communications Management Plan come to our rescue. In these documents we contain details like “Who needs what information” and using that we can try to cater to the varying needs of the different stakeholders in our project.

One last thing about communicating project risks is that, the Risk Management Plan usually contains templates and reporting formats that we must use for the different categories of stakeholders. So, we need to take that into account and ensure that the right reports are sent to the right target audience.

Prev: Stakeholder Risk Tolerance

Next: Section Summary

Chapter 71: Distributing Information

One of the important responsibilities of a project manager is to share information with his team and other project stakeholders. You, as the project manager is the communication channel between your team, your management and the customer. Throughout the project lifecycle, you need to continually distribute relevant information to the right stakeholders at the right time by using appropriate methods. The information is distributed according to the communication management plan developed during the planning stage and by using the Distribute Information process.

The picture below explains this process:

Input to Information Distribution

The information distribution process is used to distribute information according to the communication management plan. Therefore, the information to be distributed and the communication management plan are the obvious input items to the information distribution process.

The distributed information includes performance reports, which contain items such as the following:

• Performance information, including cost and schedule
• Status information
• Results from risk analysis and risk monitoring
• Any other useful information
• Current forecasts

The performance reports are generated by using a monitoring and controlling process called Report Performance. In addition to the communication management plan and performance reports, the following organizational process assets can also affect the information distribution process:

• Information and lessons learned from past projects
• Organizational policies, procedures, and guidelines for distributing information
• Templates to facilitate information distribution

Tools and Techniques for Information Distribution

The tools & techniques that the project manager must use for this process are:
Communication skills - Communication is the exchange of information, so communication skills are a necessary requirement for information distribution. Communication skills, an essential part of general management skills, are used to ensure the following:

• The right stakeholders get the right information at the right time.
• The communication requirements and expectations of stakeholders are properly managed.

Any communication line has two ends. There is a sender on one end and a receiver on the other. Both the sender and the receiver need to have communication skills. The sender has the following responsibilities:

• Ensure that the information is clear and complete.
• Confirm that the information is received and properly understood.

The receiver has the following responsibilities:

• The information is received in its entirety.
• The information is correctly understood.

So, the success of information distribution depends on both the sender and the receiver.

Communication has two flavors in each of the following dimensions:

• Media - These flavors are writing and speaking on the sender’s end and reading and listening on the receiver’s end.
• Place - These flavors are internal to the project; that is, within the project; and external to the project; that is, communicated to entities external to the project, such as the customer, the media, and the public.
• Format - These flavors are formal, such as reports and briefings, and informal, such as memos and ad-hoc conversation.
• Hierarchy - A horizontal hierarchy means communication among peers, whereas vertical means communication between different levels of the organizational hierarchy; for example, a manager communicating to the team that reports to the manager.

The information that needs to be communicated also needs to be gathered, stored, and retrieved.
Information distribution methods - The information can be distributed in a number of ways that fall into the following two categories:
• Synchronous - Both the sender and the receiver have to be present at the same time, such as at face-to-face project meetings and telephone calls.
• Asynchronous - The sender and receiver don’t have to be present at the same time, such as with written paper or electronic documents, online bulletin boards, e-mail etc.

Information distribution tools - You can use one or more appropriate tools to distribute information. These sets of tools include the following:
• Document format - Hard copy or electronic.
• Messages - E-mail, fax, voicemail, Internet bulletin boards, blogs.
• Meetings - Face-to-face meetings, video conferences, and teleconferences.
• Management tools - Project scheduling tools.
You use these tools and techniques to generate the output of the information distribution process.

Output of Information Distribution

The output of the information distribution process is, well, the distribution of information to all stakeholders. This distribution of information falls into two categories:
• Formal distribution - This distribution refers to communicating the information as planned, such as regular status and progress information updates at scheduled times, such as once a week every Wednesday.
• Informal distribution - This refers to the communication of information on an as-and-when-you-need basis. For example, the project sponsor can ask you for information that is not part of the regular schedule of distributing information. You don't have a choice but to provide him with this report.

The process of distributing information will create some items that can be added as a record to the organizational process assets. Some of them are:

• Project reports and status reports
• Stakeholder notifications about resolved issues and approved changes
• Project presentations
• Project records, such as memos, meeting minutes, and project files, such as plans and schedules
• Feedback from stakeholders
• Lessons learned

Prev: Managing Stakeholder Expectations

Next: Summary - Managing Stakeholders

Important Terms and Definitions - Project Schedule & Communication Management

Let us now take a look at some of the important terms and definitions we learnt as part of the preceding chapters.

• activity - A component of project work.
• activity definition - The process of identifying the specific schedule activities that need to be performed to produce the project deliverables.
• activity duration - The time measured in calendar units between the start and finish of a schedule activity.
• activity duration estimating - The process of estimating the time in work periods individually for each schedule activity required for its completion. A work period is a measurement of time when the work is in progress; it is measured in hours, days, or months depending upon the size of the activity.
• activity resource estimating - The process of estimating the types and amounts of resources that will be required to perform each schedule activity.
• activity sequencing - The process of identifying and documenting the dependencies among schedule activities.
• analogous estimating - A technique used to estimate the duration of an activity based on the duration of a similar activity in a previous project.
• communication management plan - A document that describes the communications needs and expectations of the project and how these needs and expectations will be met.
• crashing - A project schedule compression technique used to decrease the project duration with minimal additional cost. A number of alternatives are analyzed, including the assignment of additional resources.
• critical path - The longest path (sequence of activities) in a project schedule network diagram. Because it is the longest path, it determines the duration of the project.
• critical path method (CPM) - A schedule network analysis technique used to identify the schedule flexibility and the critical path of the project schedule network diagram.
• decode - To convert the received message from the media back into useful ideas and thoughts.
• encode - To convert thoughts and idea into a message that could be transmitted through the media.
• fast tracking - A project schedule compression technique used to decrease the project duration by performing project phases or some schedule activities within a phase simultaneously, when they would normally be performed in sequence.
• float time - The positive difference between the late start date and the early start date of a schedule activity.
• lag - A technique to modify a dependency relationship by delaying the successor activity. For example, a lag of five days in a finish-to-start relationship means the successor activity cannot start until five days after the predecessor activity has ended.
• lead - A technique to modify a dependency relationship by accelerating the successor activity. For example, a lead of five days in a finish-to-start relationship means the successor activity can start up until five days before the finish date of the predecessor activity.
• logical relationship - A dependency between two project schedule activities or between a schedule activity and a schedule milestone.
• milestone - A significant point (or event) in the life of a project.
• parametric estimating - A quantitative technique used to calculate the activity duration when the productivity rate of the resource performing the activity is available.
• planning component - A WBS component at the bottom level of a branch of the WBS hierarchy for which some planning can be performed.
• precedence diagramming method (PDM) - A technique used to construct a project schedule network diagram in which a node (a box) represents an activity and an arrow represents the dependency relationship.
• project calendar - A calendar of working days or shifts used to establish when a schedule activity can be performed. A calendar typically specifies holidays and weekends when a schedule activity cannot be performed.
• project schedule - A schedule that consists of planned dates for performing schedule activities and meeting schedule milestones.
• project schedule network diagram - A schematic display of logical relationships among the project schedule activities. The time flow in these diagrams is from left to right.
• resource breakdown structure (RBS) - A hierarchical structure of resource types required to complete the schedule activities of a project.
• role - A defined function that contains a set of responsibilities to be performed by a team member, such as a programmer or a tester.
• rolling wave planning - A technique used to plan the project work at various levels of detail, depending upon the availability of information. Work to be performed in the near future is planned at a low level of the WBS, whereas work to be performed far into the future is planned at a relatively high level of the WBS.
• schedule activity - A scheduled task (component of work) performed during the life-cycle of a project.
• schedule baseline - A specific version of the project schedule that is approved by the project management team as a baseline against which the progress of the project will be measured. This version of the schedule is developed from the schedule network analysis of the schedule model data.
• schedule development - The process of creating the project schedule by analyzing schedule activity sequences, schedule activity durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints.
• schedule milestone - A significant event in the project schedule, such as the completion of a major deliverable.
• schedule network analysis - A technique used to generate a project schedule by identifying the early and late start and finish dates for the project.

Prev: Summary

Next: Introduction to Project Resource Management

Summary - Project Schedule & Communications Planning

I am so glad that we have successfully completed yet another big section in our preparation for the PMP certification. Let us wrap up this section by summarizing what we learnt so far in this section.

 Project schedule development is a journey that begins with decomposing the work packages in the WBS to project activities and ends with an approved schedule for performing those activities.
 Schedule planning addresses some basic questions: What are the activities that need to be performed to complete the project, who is going to perform these activities, and when?
 The Define Activities process is used to decompose the work packages in the WBS into schedule activities.
 The resulting activity list is used by the activity sequencing process to generate network diagrams, which display the dependencies among the activities.
 The commonly used method to construct network diagrams is the precedence diagramming method (PDM).
 The activity list and attributes are also used to determine the resource requirements for the project.
 Given the available resource, you can estimate the activity duration i.e., the time it will take to perform the activity.
 By using various time-management processes discussed in this chapter, you identify schedule activities, arrange them in proper sequence, determine resource requirements for them, and estimate their durations.
 All these tasks and accomplishments are a means to an end called the Develop Schedule process.
 You typically use the critical path method to develop the project schedule from a network diagram.
 After you have a schedule, you can use schedule compression methods, such as fast tracking and crashing, to accommodate hard deadlines.
 Schedule development is an iterative process that can continue well into the project execution due to approved changes and risk occurrences.
 However, the approved planned project schedule is used as a baseline to track the project progress.
 Communication, the lifeline of the project, is a common thread that runs through the whole lifecycle of the project.
 Therefore it’s crucial to plan for communication management as early as possible.
 The output of the Plan Communication process is the communication management plan that describes the communication needs and expectations of the project and how to meet them.

So, now that you have a project schedule and you have planned communication, are you ready to execute the project? Well, to be honest, the answer is “Not Really”.

You need resources, such as human resources that will do the project work and funding to get the human resources. You need to plan for these resources. This is what we will learn in the next few chapters (After we cover the important terms learnt in this section).

Prev: Planning Project Communication

Next: Important Terms

Chapter 40: Planning Project Communication

In the previous chapter, we learnt how important project communication is. So as a responsible project manager, it is our responsibility now to plan for the project communication. This is what we are going to learn in this chapter.

So, lets get started!!!

Planning Project Communication

In a project environment, communication means communicating with the project stakeholders. Planning Communication is the process of determining the information needs of the project stakeholders and accordingly designing the communication approach.

To be specific, communication planning determines the following:
• The communication and information needs of the program stakeholders
• The four Ws: what information is needed, when it is needed, who needs it, and who will give it
• How the information will be delivered? say by e-mail, phone call, or presentation

Remember the chapter on Identifying Stakeholders? During the process of identifying stakeholders, you create the stakeholder register and develop the stakeholder management strategy. Both of these items are used in planning project communication.

Trivia:
Planning communication is the process of determining the information needs of the project stakeholders and accordingly the communication approach. Incorrect planning will produce undesired results, such as incorrect individuals getting sensitive information, necessary information not getting to the right stakeholders in time, wrong communication methods being used, and so on.

As expected, the planning of project communication activity is a process and as with all processes, it has some inputs, uses some tools and produces a certain output. Look at the image below:

Inputs to Plan Project Communication Process:

As expected, the stakeholder register and stakeholder management strategy developed during the Identify Stakeholders process will be the major input into the Plan Communication process. Also, because communication is the common thread running through the whole project and because it must be adapted to the whole project environment, all the enterprise environmental factors and all the organizational process assets should be considered as input. Historical information and lessons learned are particularly important because they can be used for wisely planning the communication based on past experience.

Tools and Techniques for Communication Planning

The tools and techniques used for Project Communication Planning are:

Communication Requirements Analysis

Communication requirements, needed for the communication planning process, must be analyzed. This analysis will generate the communication needs of the project stakeholders. For example, a communication requirement may specify the type of information and the format in which this information should be delivered. The analysis of this requirement will estimate the value of this communication requirement; for example, fulfillment of this requirement will significantly contribute to the success of the project, or the lack of it will result in the failure of the project or one of its components. So, one of the purposes of communication requirements analysis is to optimize the use of resources in communication.

Following are some examples of what types of information you will need to analyze the communication requirements for your project:

• Relationships - Organizational and stakeholder responsibility relationships. Organizational charts can be helpful to figure out some of this information.
• Groups - Different groups, disciplines, departments, and specialties involved in this project; for example, marketing, sales, and engineering as departments and software engineering and testing as groups in the engineering department.
• Logistics - How many individuals and groups will be involved in the project and where they are located? Obviously, this information is necessary to plan communication.
• Information needs - Communication is performed to deliver or exchange some kind of information. So to plan communication effectively, it’s important to know the following information needs:
      o Information needs of the stakeholders
      o Internal information needs; for example, communication across the performing organization and communication within the project team
      o External information needs; for example, communicating with contractors, media, and the public

You can appreciate the complexity of communication by realizing that there are n(n—1)/2 possible communication channels among n stakeholders. So, if there are 20 stakeholders, the possible number of communication channels is 20×19/2=190.

Based on communication needs, you can determine which communication technology will be appropriate to meet these needs.

Communication Technology Determination

Depending on the communication needs and the nature of the information, a communication technology may vary from a conversation in a hallway to a sophisticated information system. The following factors can contribute to determining the communication technology to be used for your project:

• Availability - If you are considering a number of options, obviously the technology that’s already in place is more likely to be chosen. (A conference call or a group email etc)
• Project environment - The project environment can also affect the choice of communication technology. For example, the communication technology requirements for a project team that meets face to face will be different from that of a virtual team.
• Project length - The length of the project affects communication technology requirements in the following ways:
      o Is it worth it to spend time on a technology for the given length of the project?
      o Will the technology under consideration change during the course of the project? If yes, that will mean extra cost for the new technology and for training the team members to use it.
• Urgency of the information need - How frequently the information needs to be updated will also play a role in determining the communication technology. For example, information that does not need to change frequently can be delivered in written reports, whereas information that can change very frequently can be delivered through spreadsheets or emails.
• Staffing preparation level - Another factor that can be considered in making the communication technology decision is the users’ or readers level of preparation for using a given technology. Are the users already fluent in this technology or will they need to be trained? Training and learning for the project staff could be the valid issues for consideration.

Communication Models and Methods

If you have some experience in IT or in the field of communication, be aware that when PMI refers to communication models and methods, it has very specific things in mind. Although it’s a very broad topic, we will confine our discussion to what PMI means by communication models and methods, for the purpose of the exam.

Communication models - PMI’s basic communication model is illustrated in the picture below:

• Sender - The individual that initiates the communication by sending the original message.
• Receiver - The individual that receives the original message sent by the sender.
• Encode - To convert thoughts into a format that can be sent as a message to the receiver.
• Message - Encoded piece of information that travels from one individual to another.
• Feedback message - The response sent by the receiver to the sender. It may be a simple acknowledgment or it may be a full message that may require a response.
• Decode - To convert the encoded message back into thoughts and ideas upon which one could act.
• Medium - The means of communication used to send and receive the message. E-mail, telephone, and face-to-face conversation are some examples of media.
• Noise - While the message travels through the medium, it can be interrupted and modified by some interfering entity called noise. Anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of the message is called noise. Some examples are distance, lack of background information or context in which the message is composed, and unfamiliar technology being used. For example, e-mailing and texting have their own lingo, acronyms, and symbols that can become noise for people who are new to these technologies.

Note: In the picture, noise will be between the arrows from the sender/receiver and the communication medium. I did not want to write too much info in the picture text so excluded noise…

For the communication to work, both the senders and the receivers have some responsibilities. The responsibilities of the sender include ensuring that the message being sent conveys the complete information clearly and ensuring that the information is received correctly and understood properly by the receiver. The responsibilities of the receiver include ensuring that the information is received correctly and understood properly in its entirety and that it is acknowledged.

Communication methods - In its most basic form, communication is an exchange of information between two entities. Even communication among several entities is better handled by looking at it as a set of exchanges between two entities. For example, A communicating with B, C, and D is a set of exchanges between A and B, A and C, and A and D. In other words, exchange between two entities is the basic building block of communication. So we can always break down a communication as an exchange between a sender and a receiver.
From the perspective of how the sender and the receiver are involved with each other through the communication system, communication can be classified into the following two categories:
1. Interactive communication - In this type of communication, the receiver receives the message and sends a response to it. This way, the communicating entities keep switching the roles of sender and receiver. There are two kinds of interactive communication:
      o Asynchronous communication - A communication in which the two communicating entities do not have to be present on both ends of the communication line at the same time. E-mail is an example of asynchronous communication because when the sender of the e-mail pushes the send button, the intended recipient of the e-mail message does not have to be logged on to the e-mail server. The recipient can log on later, retrieve the message, and read it.
      o Synchronous communication - A communication in which the two communicating entities have to be present on both ends of the communication line at the same time. It’s a live, real-time communication; if you are not present when the sender is sending the message, you miss the message. Speaking with someone face to face and conversing with someone on the telephone are two examples of synchronous communication.
2. One-way communication - There are two kinds of one-way communication:
      o Pull communication - In this kind of communication, the receiver pulls the information from a pool of information. Downloading from websites is an example of this communication.
      o Push communication - In this kind of communication, the sender broadcasts the information to a set of entities without waiting for the request of information and without the need to confirm that the information reached its destination. Marketing e-mails and letters are examples of push communication.
The pull and push methods can also be used in conjunction with each other. For example, the sender can also push the information to a pool, and the receivers can pull it from there at their own convenience.

Communication types discussed here are called communication methods in the PMI Standard. Depending on the purpose, the project manager can decide which of these communication methods to use. Quite often a hybrid approach is used in the real world; i.e., a mix of more than one method.

Output of Communication Planning

The major output of communication planning is the communication management plan. It also results in updates to certain project documents.

Communication Management Plan

This is the document that describes the communication expectations, needs, and plans for the project. It specifies what information will be communicated, when and how it will be communicated, and who will communicate it and to whom. It includes:

• Communication requirements of the project stakeholders
• Information to be communicated: content, format, and level of detail
• Who will communicate the information, who will receive it, and why
• The person responsible for authorizing the release of confidential information
• Methods of communication that will be used, such as e-mail, presentation etc
• The frequency of communication, such as daily or weekly or monthly
• The method and procedure for escalating the issues that cannot be resolved at a lower staff level, such as project level
• A glossary of common communication terminology
• Methods and procedures for updating and refining the communication management plan if needed as the program progresses
• Communication constraints

The communication management plan may also include the technology requirements plan. With all the available technical advancements, it is important that you plan for the communication technology requirements. This planning has two components: the tools that are needed and the usage of those tools. To determine which tools are needed, ask questions such as the following:

• How frequently do you need to update the information?
• Will the team hold face-to-face or virtual meetings?

For the information that does not change often, the written reports will be sufficient, whereas the information that needs to be updated frequently and on a moment’s notice needs web communication tools. To plan effective usage of the tools, ask the following questions:

• Are the tools (communication systems) already in place and ready to be used?
• Will the available communication tools change before the program ends?
• Are the team members familiar with the tools or do they need training to use them?

Updates to Project Documents

During communication planning, you might realize that you need to make some changes in the project schedule, stakeholder register, and stakeholder management strategy. Accordingly, you will need to change these documents.

Trivia:
While planning for communication (or doing anything, for that matter), pay attention to details, ask questions, and probe the situation to come to a better understanding. A well understood problem is already half solved. Be an active and effective listener.

Prev: Project Communication

Next: Summary

Chapter 39: Project Communication

Now that the project schedule is ready, the next step is to manage project communication. Every stakeholder of the project needs to be aware of what is happening in the project on a regular basis. As the project manager, it is our responsibility to do that. This is exactly what we are going to learn in this chapter.

So, lets get started!!!

Project Communication:

There is a common thread that runs through almost all activities and processes in project management, and that is communication. The project and its activities will fail without effective communication. Communication is an exchange of information among persons and groups by using an effectively common system of signs, symbols, and behavior. I used the term “effectively common” to take into account the fact that even if two communicating entities are using two different systems, the “translators” between the communicating entities produce the results as if the two entities were using a common system. For example, I might be using a Windows computer and you might be using a Macintosh, but we can exchange e-mails without having to deal with the differences between the two machines.

Trivia:
Communication is a common thread that runs through almost all activities and processes in project management. At no stage in the project life cycle should we stop communicating.

The importance of communication in project management cannot be overemphasized. Even a well-scheduled and well-funded project can fail in the hands of a hardworking team of experts due to the lack of proper communication. As a project manager, you may be dealing with a wide functional variety of individuals, ranging from executives, to marketing personnel, to sales folks, to technologists. You should be able to wear different communication hats depending upon who you are communicating with. For example, you will not be talking in terms of technical jargon with executives or marketing folks, and you will not speak marketing lingo to software developers. You will be speaking to different stakeholders in their language, while filling the language gap between different functional groups and eliminating misunderstandings due to miscommunication. (Remember the term Translator in the previous paragraph? You will be the Translator for the project)

The key point is that you put on the appropriate communication hat depending on which individual you are communicating with. Be able to switch communication hats quickly and avoid technical jargon and acronyms that are not understood by the person or the group you are communicating with. The goal is the clarity of the language to convey the message accurately.

In a project, you will be communicating with project stakeholders. The different components of project communication management are shown below in the image:

The major goal of communication management is to deliver the right information to the right stakeholders at the right time by using the right communication means to produce the desired impact. You, the project manager are responsible for doing that. You are in the middle of all the activities taken up by your project and you must ensure that everyone knows what he/she needs to know about the project.

Prev: Developing the Project Schedule

Next: Planning Project Communication