Project information distribution
Project Communication management
Project management demands a free flow of communication with and among project team members, and internal and external project stakeholders. The project team needs frequent information from each of its team members to complete and improve the project and to understand the needs and expectations of the project's beneficiaries. Project Communication management is the systematic planning, implementing, monitoring, and revision of the exchnage of information amongst the project team and the project stakeholders . Project communication management aims at timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate disposition of project information and knowledge.
Communication among all project stakeholders is one of the main factors for the project success. It is a prerequisite of getting the things done in the right way and in the right time. Knowledge is power: sharing knowledge is reciprocal empowering amongst project stakeholders.
A good
Project
Plan has,
in the methodology section,
a sub-section dealing
with
communication management.
A good
project implementation
plan always contains a
communication plan; in any case
it is important to plan communication
at an early phase of project execution.
The communication plan describes how the information and communication needs of project stakeholders will be met: a communication manager will design, and implement such a plan; thereafter s/he will evaluate how efficient and efficacious communication has been as a support activity facilitating all other project tasks.
Never underestimate communication in project management. Communicate well, and the project will succeed. Communicate poorly, and even the most efficient efforts may be misperceived, misunderstood and poorly valued.
In the the project execution phase, communication management is the implementation of the plan and involves essentially two processes: preparing (producing) and sharing (distributing) information.
While executing the plan, the Project Manager must be aware of how the organization will use the information, and whether the plan is effective. He/she must be flexible and ready to modify the plan if portions of it are not working as expected or communications needs change within the Performing Organization. Of the many mechanisms available to the Project Manager, status reporting is particularly useful for communicating the performance of a project.
In order to prepare and distribute properly the right information to the right stakeholders, the communication manager needs to:
Information Distribution includes Project performance reporting, but is not limited to that: it entails also all tasks required to satisfy the information needs of all project stakeholders.
Types of Project Communication |
|
Proper information delivery to external stakeholders is essential for the following features of project execution.
As a project progresses, events may occur to alter the way information is
accessed or change communications requirements. During Project Execution, the
Project Manager and Project Team must again review whether the Communications plan is
still current and applicable to the present phase of the
project.
In addition to having a solid Communications Plan in place, it is the responsibility of members of the Project Team to exercise good communication skill . Communication skill is critical to keeping your stakeholders informed, supportive. Smart planning and consistent information delivery keeps your project on track and helps avoid confusion.
When composing correspondence, progress reports, meeting minutes, etc., and when speaking with individuals face to face, the team members are responsible for clear, unambiguous, and complete communication of information. The receiver, in turn, must be sure information is not only received correctly and completely, but that it is understood. During Project Execution, the Project Manager, Project Team, and Stakeholders will share information using a variety of communication mechanisms.
See Tasks, tools and elements of communication management
In the structure of the project, communication management is considered one of the facilitating processes (along with quality planning, staff acquisition, risk response planning, procurement planning, solicitation planning). "Facilitating" does not mean unessential or optional: it only means that it is a process that varies in the sequence, is performed in parallel with other activities, have a two-way feedback loop with many core processes. (core processes of project management instead are performed sequentially and are divided into three main phases, i.e. project planning, project execution, project closure).
Attention: There is an
important difference between Project communication and organizational communication
Project Team members must complete Progress Reports providing regular feedback to the Project Manager. These reports can serve a dual purpose – as a reporting mechanism to the Project Manager and also to the team member’s immediate supervisor. Progress Reports should document detailed descriptions of actual work accomplished and include Team members’ estimates of the effort they feel will be required to complete tasks. Progress Reports should also contain information regarding work to be done in upcoming weeks, and list any issues preventing completion of required tasks.
When correctly completed by the Project Team, the reports are very useful to the Project Manager for updating the Project Schedule, and for anticipating issues and proactively planning ways for their resolution. Using the Progress Reports prepared by the Project Team, the Project Manager should complete a Status Report to be presented to the Project Sponsor. In this report, the Project Manager measures the “health and progress” of the project against the Project Plan.
The Project Manager should periodically assemble the Project Team to review the
status of the project, discuss their accomplishments, and communicate any issues
or concerns in an open, honest, constructive forum. These meetings are ideal
opportunities for the Project Manager to gain insight into the day-to-day
activities of Project Team members, especially if the team is large and
individual interaction between the Project Manager and each team member is
infrequent.
During the meeting the Project Manager should review the Project Schedule with
the team and verify with each member the work that needs to be accomplished in
upcoming weeks. Part of the meeting should focus on the team’s Progress Reports,
to verify estimates to complete tasks and to discuss issues that may impact
estimates. The Project Manager can then use information communicated during the
Project Team meetings as input to the Status Report.
The regularly-scheduled Project Team meeting is also a good forum to recognize
individual accomplishments, and to reward team members for outstanding work.
Throughout the project, team members assess the project communication plan. The original plan provides adequate information to manage project communication. However, it is important to verify whether the project communication plan is effective.
Periodically, the project manager asks the project stakeholders if the project communication is sufficient to suit their needs. In some cases, project stakeholders may need greater detail or more frequent delivery. In other cases, certain stakeholders may need summary information, or may request notification only if problems arise.
|
Step |
Action |
|
1 |
Review the project communication plan. |
|
2 |
Solicit feedback from the project stakeholders, verbally or in writing, as to whether the current information or communication method is adequate, based on the following criteria: Type of information Frequency of information Depth/detail of information Format of information Method of transmittal |
|
3 |
Discuss the stakeholder feedback with the Project team. |
|
4 |
Update the project communication plan if needed. |
Guidelines
Why do organisations need to plan and manage their communication?
Guideline: How team members can improve overall project communication
Templates:
Project Status Report Template 1 - Prokject Status report template 2
Excel project communication Template 1 -
See also: T
See also Communicationg with the team in the section on Manage the Project Team
Annual Reports and other Financial Documents
and
Other resources
cosa è un rapporto e perchè farlo
|
|
4 Small
project team; no significant organizational boundries or cultural differences; previous
working relationships. |
3 Medium
size project team; some organizational diversity; unfamiliar working contacts;
geographical separations. |
2 Large
project team; diverse organizations and cultures; differing contractual relationships. |
1 Very
large project teams, numerous organizations and interfaces; diverse cultures; numerous
geographic locations. |
|
Project
Documentation and Records |
Produce
and package project working papers in project notebooks; plan early to produce complete
beneficiary support documentation; document project lessons learned. |
Use
documentation to establish baseline and communications in the project team; design tasks
with deliverables in mind; identify design data needed for support documentation; define
document set needed at finish. |
Define
requirements for project library, deliverables, support documentation, and historical
record; budget and staff a data management function. |
Establish
comprehensive definition of documentation requirements; distribute standard report
formats; track data production and approvals; establish project data library structure. |
1. Managing Information Flow
Systems must be in place to manage, control, and coordinate all the information that is available, decide which information should not be released, and which can or should be released.
Once it has been determined that information is to be released, the next
question is: To whom should it be released?
This is followed by: How should it be released?
Knowledge, Data, and Information
Before we talk about managing information flow, let’s talk about
the differences between data, information, and knowledge. They are not the same
thing, even though some people use these terms almost interchangeably.
Data: Here are some data, a collection of
random facts and observations: three inches of rain, 527,942 widgets, purple, last month,
Tuesday, nine, 27 percent, Human Resources, shirt, 87, €79.57, Max, 14 percent,
reams, green tie, Friday.
Information: Once you put data into some
sort of context, you have information. There was three inches of rain last night. There
are 527,942 widgets sitting in the warehouse, each with a retail value of €79.57.
There is a 27 percent profit on each widget sold. Max wore a green tie with a purple shirt
Friday. Nine people were sick Tuesday. Human resources used 87 reams of paper last month,
14 percent more than the previous month.
Knowledge: This is valuable data and
information. It comes from finding value in what we have observed, collected, and
assembled over time, thanks to experience, training, communication, or inference—or
any combination of them.
These distinctions are important because you have to decide what it is you are managing, and what to do with it once you have it. At times, data and information are knowledge. At other times they are not. When you are managing information, however, you are also managing data and knowledge. Each has potential value. That value is established by your organization, your department, your job; by what your organization can do with it, and by what others outside of your organization could do with it if they had it.
Information Flow Systems
Information
flow is simply the movement of information from one point to another, over time. One
way to think of it is as an assembly line. Raw material enters the system, usually as
data. It is assembled into information and, at times knowledge, and is then moved
to a storage facility, like a warehouse.
Dissemination storage and facilities:
Information is a commodity, and as such you have to keep track of it. Think of it in terms
of an information inventory. Where is it kept? Where is the information coming from? Who
has access to it? How is it actually moved out? Who is responsible for moving it? What
records—more information—are to be kept about information that has been
released?
Dissemination procedures: Unless
you decide to supply any information asked for to anyone who asks for it, and allow
everyone in the organization to do the same, there are two basic approaches to controlling
the flow: centralized management, with one person or department in charge, or distributed
management, which means any number of people or departments can hand out information.
A third alternative, combined dissemination, combines the two.
Centralized Dissemination: With one department in charge of handing out all information you have:
Advantages: consistency of style, direct control, more accuracy, efficient use of personnel and resources, reduced risk, less need for training, and a greater sense of the “big picture.”
Distributed Dissemination: Information can be released by whichever department, division, or section, has it. This too has:
Advantages: Spreads the workload, more responsive, more flexibility, more accurate and current, individual departments “control” their own information.
Disadvantages: Less efficient, less consistent, requires regular and effective liaison with other departments handing out information to prevent problems and conflicts, has less sense of the “big picture.”
Combined Dissemination: In a combined system under one overall management team, a organization can decide for itself which information should come from which sources, who has the final say, and who has overall control. Once such a system is in place, it is easier to make necessary changes than it would be to switch from either centralized to distributed or distributed to centralized. Combined systems have a built-in flexibility that allows them to adapt more quickly to changing needs or goals.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
See also :
Blocking The Flow of information