What it
is: Manage Communications
Description
Managing communications makes sure that everyone
involved and interested in the project is kept informed.
Information is made available to appropriate audiences
at the appropriate time as defined in the Communication
Plan developed in the Planning Stage.
Key Project communications include:
- Project Team progress reports to the project manager
describing project accomplishments and revised estimates
of work to be completed.
- Project Status Reports to the project sponsor and other
relevant audiences to measure the health and progress
of the project against the project plan.
Rationale/Reason
Communication is a fundamental way to manage stakeholder
expectations about how the project is progressing and to
communicate who needs to be doing what to the project team.
Who is Involved
Project Manager
Project Team
Project Sponsor
Project Stakeholders
Result
Communications Plan is applied, monitored and
updated
Project Status Reports
How to: Manage
Communications
Recommended actions and strategies
The table below lists several guidelines and tips
to effectively manage project communications.
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What to do
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How to do
it
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1
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Follow your documented Communication Plan
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Refer back to the methods and time frame in your
Communication Plan from the Planning Stage.
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2
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Be clear, unambiguous, and complete in communicating
with the project team
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Develop a mental picture of what good communication
skills look like and try to use them.
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3
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Recognize that communications are bi-directional
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Provide information to the project team and project
stakeholders on a timely basis. Project team and
stakeholders must also provide required information
to the project manager.
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4
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Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your
communication plan and how the organization is using
the information
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How do you know if your plan is working?
- Use formal and informal evaluation measures
to determine if the communication plan is effective.
- Example: Use a Meeting Evaluation form
after a meeting.
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5
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Adjust your communication plan to make sure it
remains current and effective
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Make sure the Communication Plan reflects changes
in the project and feedback from the evaluation methods.
Example: Project status reports may be more
frequent as the project nears completion or may require
varying levels of detail based on the needs of the
recipient.
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Templates/Examples: Manage Communications
The table below provides several templates you can use
to help manage communications.
