Online PMP Training Material for PMP Exam - Communications Management Knowledge Area

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Communications Management

Chapter 1090 % Time is spent here

by Project manager


Chapter 10Objectives

Understand the different Communications Management Processes

Their Inputs, Tools and Techniques, Outputs

This chapter entails one to understand the various Communication Management aspects required to ensure the desired information flows across the project team and stakeholders.

Driving the project towards the desired outcome while getting the project communications across to get the project work accomplished to make the project successful!


It includes the processes to ensure project team and the stakeholders are effectively engaging, interacting with the required information at right time intervals based on which suitable actions/decisions can be taken towards achieving project work deliverables.

Project Manager spends majority of the time in ensuring the communications are flowing in the right manner with right information across the project and rightly understood.

Knowledge Area: Communications Management

Talk, Listen, Understand, Ask!


There are 3 Communications Management processes, namely:

1. Plan Communications ManagementPlanning Effective Stakeholder and Team communications by identification of the communication needs and engaging them at the desired levels of communication

2. Manage CommunicationsManaging Communications to ensure the planned desired level of engagement and communication is in place.

3. Control CommunicationsControlling Communications across the project to ensure the stakeholders communication requirements are met with appropriate changes incase of deficit communication or cut down excess information flow.

Knowledge Area: Communications Management


10.1 Plan Communications Management

Inputs

•Project Management Plan

•Stakeholder Register•Enterprise Environmental Factors

•Organizational Process Assets

Tools & Techniques

•Communication Requirements Analysis

•Communication Technology

•Communication Models

•Communication Methods

•Meetings

Outputs

•Communications Management Plan

•Project Documents Updates

•Integration•Develop Project Management Plan

•Scope•Plan Scope Management•Collect Requirements•Define Scope•Create WBS

•Time•Plan Schedule Management•Define Activities•Sequence Activities•Estimate Activity Resources•Estimate Activity Duration•Develop Schedule

•Cost•Plan Cost Management•Estimate Costs•Determine Budget

•Quality•Plan Quality Management

•Human Resource•Plan HR Management

•Communications•Plan Communications Management

•Risk•Plan Risk Management•Identify Risks•Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis•Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis•Plan Risk Responses

•Procurement•Plan Procurement Management

•Stakeholder•Plan Stakeholder Management

Planning Process

This is the process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for communications across the team and stakeholder engagement with available organizational assets.

Benefits include the identification and approach to communicate most effectively and efficiently with stakeholders.

Consequences of the insufficient messaging or wrong interpretation of messages may lead to misleading decisions or wrongful actions, directing the project towards a failure.

This allows appropriate resources and information needs and methods of distribution accordingly to the intended audience.

Planning Communications needs to be revised over the duration of the project & need continuous asking of:

Who needs information?What exactly do they need?When and at what frequency do they need it?Why do they need it?What will it be used for?Who will be providing it?


Identifying the Communication requirements of the stakeholders and presenting the information to stakeholders is the process known as communication requirements analysis.

Project manager should be aware of the possible communication channels within the project.

Number of communication channels = = = 21Number of conversations each person can have at any given point in time = n-1 = 7-1 = 6

Communication Requirements Analysis

A B

D

E

F

G C

Web of People Communications


Aids in the information dissemination among project stakeholders.

Technology used to communicate differs widely based on various aspects:

Urgency of the need of the information.Availability of Technology. Ease of use.Project environment.Sensitivity and confidentiality of information.

Encode

Decode

Decode

Encode

NoiseTransmit

Acknowledge

Feedback

Sender Receiver

Communication Technology Communication ModelsEach project is unique and will need to adopt the communication model most suitable to the need. Although, the basic communication model remains the same as below.


Communication Methods again vary from project to project need. Although three possibilities of communication methods are:

InteractiveMost Effective Method of Multidirectional communication.Examples include Meetings, Phone Calls, Group Discussions, Instant chats, Video Conferencing

PushThis is widely used for communication to relevant stakeholders. However, the disadvantages include whether the information is received, understood and correctly interpreted at the receivers end.Advantage includes to reach the mass stakeholders at a go with communication.Examples include press release, memo’s, letters, emails, faxes etc.,

PullThis is used for large volumes of information for large volumes of audiences and intends to be pulled by the audiences at their discretion.Examples include websites, portals, knowledge repositories, databases and so on.

Communication Methods


Most Optimal Communication MethodMethod of Communication Purpose

Formal Written

• Detailed Explanations• Non Face to Face

Communications

Formal Verbal• Conferences• Meetings

Informal Written• Quick Delegations• Actions and Steps

Informal Verbal

• Coffee Meetings• Lunch Setups• Team Building


Communication Management Plan includes details about how the communications will be planned, structured, monitored and controlled. It may include the following:

Stakeholder communication requirements /needsMessage, format, language and so onIntent of the message, Delivery time, type and frequencyInvolved persons, intended persons, approving authorityMethods of communication and technologies adopted to convey the informationResources allocated to communication activities including time and budgetEscalation processes identifying timeframe and management chain for escalation of issuesCommon terminology & definitions used in communicationsFlow charts of the information flow in the project, workflows with possible sequence of authorization, list of reports and meeting plansCommunication constraints like organization policies, regulations, voluntary disclosures, technologies adopted and so on.

Communication Management Plan


10.2 Manage Communications

Inputs

•Communications Management Plan

•Work Performance Reports•Enterprise Environmental Factors

•Organizational Process Assets

Tools & Techniques

•Communication Technology•Communication Models•Communication Methods•Information Management Systems

•Performance Reporting

Outputs

•Project Communications•Project Management Plan Updates

•Project Document Updates•Organizational Process Assets Updates

•Integration•Direct and Manage Project Work

•Scope•Time•Cost•Quality•Perform Quality Assurance

•Human Resource•Acquire Project Team•Develop Project Team•Manage Project Team

•Communications•Manage Communications

•Risk•Procurement•Conduct Procurements

•Stakeholder•Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Executing Process It is the process of managing the project team communications based on the information which include create, publish, distribute, engage, record, retrieve, and finally purge.

Key benefit of this process is how, why, when, who, which communication has to happen between project team and stakeholders is arrived.

Suitable techniques are employed to make communications effective as:

Sender-Receiver ModelsChoice of MediaWriting Style & FormatsMeeting ManagementEvent OrganizingPresentation TechniquesFacilitation & SupportingAttentive ListeningCommunication ChannelsEstablished Escalation Paths


Information in the project may be in various formats and representations. It may be communication in various styles and approaches.

Variety of tools which are used to deliver such information and enable communication are:

Information Management Systems

• Manuals, Letters, Memos, Journals, Reports, Press releases

Physical Documentation(Hard Copies)

• Web Portals, Email, Faxes, Voice Mail, Conferencing, Online Journals, E-News

Electronic Documentation(Soft Copies)

• Web based interactive tools, Standalone Project Management applications, Collaborative work interaction tools

ElectronicProject

Management Tools


Managing project is all about right communication with right audience at the right time.

Predominantly project managers spend majority of their time ensuring the communications are correct and correctly understood by the team and the stakeholders.

Communications itself vary based on various parameters such as the need for information:

who is requestingwho has to knowwhy is it neededwhen do they need and importantly how it has to be communicated so that it is understood in entirety and context by receiver.

Project Communications

Communicate

Thinking

Listening

Speaking

Non-Verbal


10.3 Control Communications

Inputs

•Project Management Plan•Project Communications•Issue Log•Work Performance Data•Organizational Process Assets

Tools & Techniques

•Information Management Systems

•Expert Judgment•Meetings

Outputs

•Work Performance Information

•Change Requests•Project Management Plan Updates

•Project Document Updates•Organizational Process Assets Updates

•Integration•Monitor and Control Project Work•Perform Integrated Change Control

•Scope•Validate Scope•Control Scope

•Time•Control Schedule

•Cost•Control Costs

•Quality•Control Quality

•Human Resource•Communications•Control Communications

•Risk•Monitor & Control Risks

•Procurement•Control Procurements

•Stakeholder•Control Stakeholder Management

Monitoring & Controlling Process

It is the process of controlling communications across project to ensure all project stakeholders and team are met on continuous mode.

Key benefit includes the effective communications between the project team and stakeholders. To engage with each other and to understand the required information, process it and get the desired results towards the project objectives.

This process ensures the right message is delivered to the right audience at right time and understood to be processed in desired manner.


Chapter 10 - Debrief


THIS BRINGS TO “COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT” COMPLETION.

From what we have understood so far is:

3 Communications Management Knowledge Area Processes

Identified their Inputs, Tools & Techniques, Outputs

Chapter 10


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Online PMP Training Material for PMP Exam - Communications Management Knowledge Area