General summary

Communication is the most critical aspect of project management and is a critical success factor. It is expected that a project manager spends as much as 90% of time in communication as communication is pervasive and permeates all the processes. Project communication is key to managing stakeholder expectations and involves both soft skills and the hard skills. The communication management knowledge area of PMBoK deals with the hard skill part of project communication.

A PM has to analyse the communication needs of the stakeholders and plan the communication format, method and medium / technology and accordingly keep sending project communications (status reports). A PM must also monitor and control communication by keeping an eye on the issue log and stakeholder engagement status. The PM monitors and controls the communication throughout the project so that the stakeholder needs are always met.

Important ITTOs

10.1 Plan Communication management

Inputs

Project management plan

Stakeholder register

 

Tools and Techniques

Communication requirement analysis

The maximum possible number of communication channels is n (n-1)/2 where n is the number of stakeholders

Communication technology

Email, Internal project management software, websites, video conferencing are all examples of communication technology

Communication models

The sender receiver model – Encode-Transmit-Decode-Acknowledge-Feedback/Response. This is also called the basic communication model.

Communication methods

Interactive, push and pull

Output

Communication management plan

The communications management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, structured, monitored, and controlled.

10.2 Manage communications

Input

None

Tools and Techniques

Communication technology

Email, Internal project management software, websites, video conferencing are all examples of communication technology

Communication models

The sender receiver model – Encode-Transmit-Decode-Acknowledge-Feedback/Response. This is also called the basic communication model.

Communication methods

Interactive, push and pull

Information management systems

Performance reporting

Performance reporting is the act of collecting and distributing performance information, including status reports, progress measurements, and forecasts. Performance reporting involves the periodic collection and analysis of baseline versus actual data to understand and communicate the project progress and performance as well as to forecast the project results.

 

Output

 

Project communications

The work performance reports are distributed to the stakeholders using the communication methods in this process. The Manage Communications process involves the activities that are required for information to be created, distributed, received, acknowledged, and understood.

 

10.3 Control communications

Input

Project communications

Issue log

Tools and Techniques

None

Output

Change requests

Important summary

Notes

  • It is important to differentiate between communication method, communication model and communication technology and remember them
    • Model – Sender Receiver model
    • Method – Push, Pull, Interactive
    • Technology – Paper, Emails, Intranet applications
  • It is important to memorize the sequence of sender receiver model properly – Encode-Transmit-Decode-Acknowledge-Feedback/Response. This is also called the basic communication model
  • The formula for determining maximum communication channels is
    n (n-1) /2, where n is the number of stakeholders

Dependencies

  • Hard dependencies
    • None
  • Soft dependencies
    • Between communication and stakeholder management (Control stakeholder engagement process)

Process flow

  • Output of control communication – work performance information goes as an input to 4.4 Monitor and Control Project Work

 

 

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