Education Edge - Communication Knowledge Area

Knowledge Area #7 – Communication

Critical Highlights:

• Assure the timely collection, generation, distribution, storage, retrieval and ultimate disposition of project information

• Very important to the ultimate success of the project

• Message transmission: 7% in word, 38% in vocal pitch, 55% in body language (Albert Mehrabian)

• Don’t wait to communication good/bad news – BE TRANSPARENT AND OPEN

• The sender has the responsibility to ensure the receiver correctly understand the message

• If part of the project is procured, more formal written communication will be expected

 

Processes (3)

1. Plan Communications Management

2.  Manage Communications

3.  Control Communications

 

1. Plan Communications Management

• identify the needs for stakeholder communication

• the who, what, when (frequency), why, where and how of communications needs and the persons responsible

• time and budget for the resources, escalation path, flow charts, constraints, guideline and templates

• Communication Methods

o interactive (multidirectional communication, most effective)

o push (active, messages sent without validation of receipt)

o pull (passive, access directly by stakeholders)

• low context vs high context (japan, more polite)

• may need to limit who can communicate with whom and who will receive what information

• (Shannon-Weaver model)Sender-Receiver Model: i) encoded idea, ii) message and feedback, iii) medium, iv) noise level, v) the decoded idea. The sender to ensure info is clear, complete and the recipient correct understands. The recipient to ensure complete message is received (to acknowledge) and provide feedback/response.

• Effective Listening: feedback, active listening and paralingual (voice expression, nonverbal elements)

• Communication channels: N (N -1) / 2      // N is the number of team members

• meetings should facilitate problem solving

• PM spends 90% of their time on COMMUNICATION activities, 50% of the time is spent on communicating with the team

• efficient communication: only the required messages

• effective communication: right timing, right format, right medium

 

2. Manage Communications

• create, collect, distribute, store, retrieve and dispose project information according to the Communication Management Plan

• ensures good communications, noises managed, stakeholders may feedback on how to improve

• Communication Barriers vs Communication Enhancers

• 55% message thru body language, 38% through Para lingual, 7% thru words used

• Types of Communications: Formal Written, Formal Verbal, Information Written, Informal Verbal

• Performance Reporting: status, progress, variance, trend, earned value reports and forecasts, summary of changes, risks and issues

• PM Plan Update to show the latest performance (against Performance Measurement Baseline)

• Feedback from stakeholders are to be stored in OPA

 

3. Control Communications

• to ensure optimal information flow for effective stakeholder expectation management

• issue log is to document the issues and monitor its resolutions (with person responsible)