Chapter 23: Communications Management During Project Execution

Aim: To understand the following two Communication Management related processes
• Distribute information
• Manage stakeholder expectations

Communicating with the project team, and with any other stakeholders, is one of the project manager’s most important tasks. In fact, a project manager spends the majority of his time communicating. Some say as much as 90% of a project manager’s time is spent communicating. Exchanging information is the only way a project manager can know how the project is progressing. The distribute information process keeps stakeholders informed. This includes communication outlined in the communication plan as well as responding to ad-hoc requests. The communication must be both timely and accurate.

The table below shows the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs for the distribute information process.

Distribute Information
Inputs	Tools & Techniques	Outputs
Project management plan Performance reports Organizational process assets	Communication methods Information distribution tools	Organizational process assets updates

Communication management is a crucial topic due to both its importance to the smooth operation of the project team and its complexity.

Communication Channels

Based on the number of people in a team, the number of communication channels would vary. The total number of channels increases exponentially as the number of individuals in the team increases. The number of channels can be calculated as:

No. of Channels = N * (N – 1) / 2

Where N is the number of people in the team.

For ex:
For 3 people = 3 * (2) / 2 = 3
For 4 people = 4 * (3) / 2 = 6
For 5 people = 5 * (4) / 2 = 10
For 6 people = 6 * (5) / 2 = 15

As you can see, when the team doubled in size from 3 to 6, the number of channels went up 5 times from 3 to 15.

Exam Watch:

You must be able to calculate the number of communication channels given the number of team members. Don’t be in a hurry to use the formula. Sometimes, the question maybe like: “Team A had 3 members last week and 3 more people joined this week. How many new communication channels were created?”. If you use the formula in a hurry you will end up with 15 as the answer and unfortunately it will be a choice as well. But the question isnt about the total number of channels but the new channels. So, the answer will be 12 (the increased number). Be careful while answering such questions.

Tools and Techniques for Distributing Information

Did you see “Communication Methods” and “Information Distribution Tools” in the Tools & Techniques section of the previous table? If not, I suggest you go back and scan through the table before proceeding further.

Both Communication Method and Information distribution tools are used in the Distribute Information process.

Communication Methods

Communication methods are a part of general management skills. Communication is comprised of a sender, a receiver, and the communication channel. The sender is responsible for making the message clear and accurate. The receiver is responsible for understanding the message. Communication can include the following:

• Written and oral
• Listening and speaking
• Internal and external
• Formal and informal
• Vertical and horizontal

Issues can result if communications are not managed effectively on the project. For example, because email cannot easily convey emotions, an email could be sent with a comment meant to be sarcastic, but the receiver doesn’t understand that and is upset based on the content of the email. The project manager should plan out communications to avoid these types of issues, including the best method for delivering messages based on the audience and content.

Information Distribution Tools

The project manager must ensure that information is effectively collected and distributed to project stakeholders. There are a number of tools to accomplish this:

• Face-to-face project meetings
• Virtual meetings using conference bridges, web conferencing, or video conferencing
• Distribution and filing of printed documents
• Shared access to electronically filed documents and document repository tools
• Email and fax
• Telephone and voice mail
• Access to project scheduling and other project management tools

To know more about the Distribute Information process Click Here

Manage Stakeholder Expectations

A good project manager must do more than just send out timely status updates. In addition to keeping the team informed and ensuring all stakeholders have the necessary information, the project manager must also manage the impact of the information. It is important that the stakeholders remain committed to the project. One of the project manager’s jobs is to recognize and shift in stakeholder commitment and react in an effective manner. The manage stakeholder expectations process addresses exactly that.

The table below shows the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs for the manage stakeholder expectations process.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations
Inputs	Tools & Techniques	Outputs
Stakeholder register Stakeholder management strategy Project management plan Issue log Change log Organizational process assets updates	Communication methods Interpersonal skills Management skills	Organizational process updates Change requests Project management plan updates Project document updates

Notice that the tools and techniques exclusively address the issues of interacting with other people. That’s what managing stakeholders is all about. It is the job of the project manager to ensure all of the stakeholders continue to contribute in a material manner to the success of the project.

To know more about the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process Click Here

Prev: Chapter 22

Next: Chapter 24

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