Planning Project Communication

In a project environment, communication means communicating with the project stakeholders. Plan Communication is the process of determining the information needs of the project stakeholders and accordingly designing the communication approach. To be specific, communication planning determines the following:

The communication and information needs of the program stakeholders
The four Ws: what information is needed, when it is needed, who needs it, and who will deliver it
How the information will be delivered— for example, by e-mail, phone call, skype, or presentation

Previously, you learned how to identify stakeholders. During the process of identifying stakeholders, you create the stakeholder register and develop the stakeholder management strategy. Both of these items are used in planning the project communication.

CAUTION Planning communication is the process of determining the information needs of the project stakeholders and accordingly the communication approach. Misplanning will produce undesired results, such as incorrect individuals getting sensitive information, necessary information not getting to the right stakeholders in time, wrong communication methods being used, and so on.

As mentioned earlier, the stakeholder register and stakeholder management strategy developed during the Identify Stakeholders process will be the major input into the Plan Communication process illustrated in Figure 4.11. Also, because communication is the common thread running through the whole project and because it must be adapted to the whole project environment, all the enterprise environmental factors and all the organizational process assets should be considered as input. Historical information and lessons learned are particularly important because they can be used for wisely planning the communication based on past experience.

figure 4.11.png

With these documents and past experience at hand, it’s important to use some tools and techniques to finalize the communication plan.

Tools and Techniques for Communication Planning

Recall that communication is transferring information from one point to another. It expends resources. To optimize the use of resources and the benefits of communication, you need to analyze the communication requirements and determine the communication technology to be used. These and other relevant tools and techniques are discussed in the following sections.

Communication Requirements Analysis
Communication requirements, needed for the communication planning process, must be analyzed. This analysis will generate the communication needs of the project stakeholders. For example, a communication requirement may specify the type of information and the format in which this information should be delivered. The analysis of this requirement will estimate the value of this communication requirement— for example, fulfillment of this requirement will significantly contribute to the success of the project, or the lack of it will result in the failure of the project or one of its components. So, one of the purposes of communication requirements analysis is to optimize the use of resources in communication.

TIP Communication requirements need to be analyzed to generate the communication needs of the project stakeholders. This is important for optimal use of the communication resources and for project success.

Following are some examples of what types of information you will need to analyze the communication requirements for your project:

Relationships. Organizational and stakeholder responsibility relationships. Organizational charts can be helpful to figure out some of this information.
Groups. Different groups, disciplines, departments, and specialties involved in this project— for example, marketing, sales, and engineering as departments and software engineering and testing as groups in the engineering department.
Logistics. How many individuals and groups will be involved in the project and where they are located. Obviously, this information is necessary to plan communication.
Information needs. Communication is performed to deliver or exchange some kind of information. So to plan communication effectively, it’s important to know the following information needs:

Information needs of the stakeholders
Internal information needs— for example, communication across the performing organization and communication within the project team
External information needs— for example, communicating with contractors, media, and the public

You can appreciate the complexity of communication by realizing that there are n(n– 1)/2 possible communication channels among n stakeholders, as discussed earlier. For example, if there are 20 stakeholders, the possible number of communication channels is 20×19/2=190.

Based on communication needs, you can determine which communication technology will be appropriate to meet these needs.

Communication Technology Determination
Depending on the communication needs and the nature of the information, a communication technology may vary from a conversation in a hallway to a sophisticated information system. The following factors can contribute to determining the communication technology to be used for your project:

Availability. If you are considering a number of options, obviously the technology that’s already in place is more likely to be chosen.
Project environment. The project environment can also affect the choice of communication technology. For example, the communication technology requirements for a project team that meets face to face will be different from that of a virtual team.
Project length. The length of the project affects communication technology requirements in the following ways:

Is it worth it to spend time on a technology for the given length of the project?
Will the technology under consideration change during the course of the project? If yes, that will mean extra cost for the new technology and for training the team members to use it.

Urgency of the information need. How frequently the information needs to be updated will also play a role in determining the communication technology. For example, information that does not need to change frequently can be delivered in written reports, whereas information that can change very frequently can be delivered through web pages.
Staffing preparation level. Another factor that can be considered in making the communication technology decision is the users’ (project team and other stakeholders) level of preparation for using a given technology. Are the users already fluent in this technology or will they need to be trained? Training and learning for the project staff could be the valid issues on the table.

NOTE: The factors that can contribute to determining the communication technology to be used include availability, project environment, project length, urgency of the information need, and preparation level.

Communication Models and Methods
If you have some experience in IT or in the field of communication, be aware that when PMI refers to communication models and methods, it has very specific things in mind. Although it’s a very broad topic, we will confine our discussion to what PMI means by communication models and methods, for the purpose of the exam.

Communication models. PMI’s basic communication model is illustrated in Figure 4.12, and its different components are explained in the following list:

Sender. The individual that initiates the communication by sending the original message.
Receiver. The individual that receives the original message sent by the sender.
Encode. To convert thoughts into a format that can be sent as a message to the receiver.
Message. Encoded piece of information that travels from one individual to another.
Feedback message. The response sent by the receiver to the sender. It may be a simple acknowledgment or it may be a full message that may require a response.
Decode. To convert the encoded message back into thoughts and ideas upon which one could act.
Medium. The means of communication used to send and receive the message. E-mail, telephone, and face-to-face conversation are some examples of media.
Noise. While the message travels through the medium, it can be interrupted and modified by some interfering entity called noise. Anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of the message is called noise. Some examples are distance, lack of background information or context in which the message is composed, and unfamiliar technology being used. For example, e-mailing and texting have their own lingo, acronyms, and symbols that can become noise for people who are new to these technologies.

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For the communication to work, both the senders and the receivers have some responsibilities. The responsibilities of the sender include ensuring that the message being sent conveys the complete information clearly and ensuring that the information is received correctly and understood properly by the receiver. The responsibilities of the receiver include ensuring that the information is received correctly and understood properly in its entirety and that it is acknowledged.

Communication methods. In its most basic form, communication is an exchange of information between two entities. Even communication among several entities is better handled by looking at it as a set of exchanges between two entities. For example, A communicating with B, C, and D is a set of exchanges between A and B, A and C, and A and D. In other words, exchange between two entities is the basic building block of communication. So we can always break down a communication as an exchange between a sender and a receiver.

From the perspective of how the sender and the receiver are involved with each other through the communication system, communication can be classified into the following two categories:

1. Interactive communication. In this type of communication, the receiver receives the message and sends a response to it. This way, the communicating entities keep switching the roles of sender and receiver. There are two kinds of interactive communication:

Asynchronous communication. A communication in which the two communicating entities do not have to be present on both ends of the communication line at the same time. E-mail is an example of asynchronous communication because when the sender of the e-mail pushes the send button, the intended recipient of the e-mail message does not have to be logged on to the e-mail server. The recipient can log on later, retrieve the message, and read it.
Synchronous communication. A communication in which the two communicating entities have to be present on both ends of the communication line at the same time. It’s a live, real-time communication— if you are not present when the sender is sending the message, you miss the message. Speaking with someone face to face and conversing with someone on the phone are two examples of synchronous communication.

2. One-way communication. There are two kinds of one-way communication:

Pull communication. In this kind of communication, the receiver pulls the information from a pool of information. Downloading from websites is an example of this communication.
Push communication. In this kind of communication, the sender broadcasts the information to a set of entities without waiting for the request of information and without the need to confirm that the information reached its destination. Marketing e-mails and letters are examples of push communication.

The pull and push methods can also be used in conjunction with each other. For example, the sender can also push the information to a pool, and the receivers can pull it from there at their own convenience.

Communication types discussed here are called communication methods in the PMI Standard. Depending on the purpose, the project manager can decide which of these communication methods to use. Quite often a hybrid approach is used in the real world— that is, a mix of more than one method.

You use these tools and techniques to generate the output of the communication planning process. Output of Communication Planning The major output of communication planning is the communication management plan. This and other output items are discussed in this section.

Communication Management Plan
This is the document that describes the communication expectations, needs, and plans for the project. It specifies what information will be communicated, when and how it will be communicated, and who will communicate it and to whom. It includes the following:

Communication requirements of the project stakeholders
Information to be communicated: content, format, and level of detail
Who will communicate the information, who will receive it, and why
The person responsible for authorizing the release of confidential information
Methods of communication that will be used, such as e-mail, presentation, and press release
The frequency of communication, such as daily or weekly
The method and procedure for escalating the issues that cannot be resolved at a lower staff level, such as project level
A glossary of common communication terminology
Methods and procedures for updating and refining the communication management plan if needed as the program progresses
Communication constraints

The communication management plan may also include the technology requirements plan. Executing a project in this information age, more likely than not, you will need multiple technologies for communication, such as e-mail, web calendars, and video conferencing. Therefore, it is important that you plan for the communication technology requirements. This planning has two components: the tools that are needed and the usage of those tools. To determine which tools are needed, ask questions such as the following:

How frequently do you need to update the information?
Will the team hold face-to-face or virtual meetings?

For the information that does not change often, the written reports will be sufficient, whereas the information that needs to be updated frequently and on a moment’s notice needs web communication tools. To plan effective usage of the tools, ask the following questions:

Are the tools (communication systems) already in place and ready to be used?
Will the available communication tools change before the program ends?
Are the team members familiar with the tools or do they need training to use them?

TIP: The communication management plan describes the communication expectations, needs, and plans for the project.

Updates to Project Documents
During communication planning, you might realize that you need to make some changes in the project schedule, stakeholder register, and stakeholder management strategy. Accordingly, you will need to change these documents.

TIP: While planning for communication (or doing anything, for that matter), pay attention to details, ask questions, and probe the situation to come to a better understanding. A well understood problem is already half solved. Be an active and effective listener.

The three most important takeaways from this section are as follows:

Various time management processes are used to produce schedule data— a list of schedule activities and attributes for each activity, such as required resources and the duration of the activity.
The schedule data is used to develop the project schedule, which is an iterative process due to the uncertainties in the schedule data and due to the changes during the project execution. Nevertheless, the approved version of the planned schedule is used as a baseline to track the project progress.
Communication is a common thread that runs through the project lifecycle. It’s important to develop a communication plan in order to ensure that the communication mantra is implemented: Deliver right information to the right people at the right time by using the right communication methods to produce the desired impact.

Summary

Project schedule development is a journey that begins with decomposing the work packages in the WBS to project activities and ends with an approved schedule for performing those activities. Schedule planning addresses some basic questions: What are the activities that need to be performed to complete the project, who is going to perform these activities, and when?

The Define Activities process is used to decompose the work packages in the WBS into schedule activities. The resulting activity list is used by the activity sequencing process to generate network diagrams, which display the dependencies among the activities. The commonly used method to construct network diagrams is the precedence diagramming method (PDM). The activity list and attributes are also used to determine the resource requirements for the project. Given the available resource, you can estimate the activity duration— that is, the time it will take to perform the activity.

By using various time-management processes discussed in this chapter, you identify schedule activities, arrange them in proper sequence, determine resource requirements for them, and estimate their durations. All these tasks and accomplishments are a means to an end called the Develop Schedule process. You typically use the critical path method to develop the project schedule from a network diagram. After you have a schedule, you can use schedule compression methods, such as fast tracking and crashing, to accommodate hard deadlines. Schedule development is an iterative process that can continue well into the project execution due to approved changes and risk occurrences. However, the approved planned project schedule is used as a baseline to track the project progress.

Communication, the lifeline of the project, is a common thread that runs through the whole lifecycle of the project. Therefore it’s crucial to plan for communication management as early as possible. The output of the Plan Communication process is the communication management plan that describes the communication needs and expectations of the project and how to meet them.

So, now that you have a project schedule and you have planned communication, are you ready to execute the project? Well, not really. You need resources, such as human resources that will do the project work and funding to get the human resources. You need to plan for these resources. This is the topic of the next section.

Make sure you understand the following for the CAPM exam:

The major task of the Define Activities process is to generate the activity list (output) by decomposing (or arranging) the work packages of the WBS (input) into activities.
The major task of the Sequence Activities process is to determine the dependencies among the activities in the activity list (input) and display those dependencies in the network diagrams (output).
After the activity resource requirements have been determined, the duration for an activity can be estimated for a given resource.
Network diagrams with activity durations assigned to each activity can be used to develop the schedule. The approved project schedule acts as a baseline against which the project progress is tracked.
The Plan Communication process is used to develop the communication management plan.
Activity duration is estimated for a given resource committed to the activity. Changing the quantity of the resource will change the duration estimate.
Activity duration measured in work periods does not include holidays, whereas duration measured in calendar units does. For example, the activity duration from Friday to the following Tuesday is three days when measured in work units and five days when measured in calendar units, given that no work is done on Saturday and Sunday.
Each activity on a critical path has zero float time and thus poses a schedule risk. Therefore, you must monitor the activities on all critical paths very closely during the execution of the project.

Memorize the following:

The communication management plan, generated as an output of the Plan Communication process, becomes a component of the project management plan.
The approved project schedule, called the schedule baseline, becomes part of the project management plan.
In PDM, finish to start is the most commonly used dependency relationship, whereas start to finish is the least used.
Fast tracking compresses the schedule by performing activities simultaneously that would otherwise be performed in sequence, whereas crashing compresses the schedule by assigning more resources.

Key Terms and Definitions

activity. A component of project work. activity definition. The process of identifying the specific schedule activities that need to be performed to produce the project deliverables.
activity duration. The time measured in calendar units between the start and finish of a schedule activity.
activity duration estimating. The process of estimating the time in work periods individually for each schedule activity required for its completion. A work period is a measurement of time when the work is in progress; it is measured in hours, days, or months depending upon the size of the activity.
activity resource estimating. The process of estimating the types and amounts of resources that will be required to perform each schedule activity.
activity sequencing. The process of identifying and documenting the dependencies among schedule activities. analogous estimating. A technique used to estimate the duration of an activity based on the duration of a similar activity in a previous project.
communication management plan. A document that describes the communications needs and expectations of the project and how these needs and expectations will be met.
crashing. A project schedule compression technique used to decrease the project duration with minimal additional cost. A number of alternatives are analyzed, including the assignment of additional resources.
critical path. The longest path (sequence of activities) in a project schedule network diagram. Because it is the longest path, it determines the duration of the project. critical path method (CPM). A schedule network analysis technique used to identify the schedule flexibility and the critical path of the project schedule network diagram. decode. To convert the received message from the media back into useful ideas and thoughts.
encode. To convert thoughts and idea into a message that could be transmitted through the media. fast tracking. A project schedule compression technique used to decrease the project duration by performing project phases or some schedule activities within a phase simultaneously, when they would normally be performed in sequence.
float time. The positive difference between the late start date and the early start date of a schedule activity.
lag. A technique to modify a dependency relationship by delaying the successor activity. For example, a lag of five days in a finish-to-start relationship means the successor activity cannot start until five days after the predecessor activity has ended.
lead. A technique to modify a dependency relationship by accelerating the successor activity. For example, a lead of five days in a finish-to-start relationship means the successor activity can start up until five days before the finish date of the predecessor activity.
logical relationship. A dependency between two project schedule activities or between a schedule activity and a schedule milestone. milestone. A significant point (or event) in the life of a project.
parametric estimating. A quantitative technique used to calculate the activity duration when the productivity rate of the resource performing the activity is available.
planning component. A WBS component at the bottom level of a branch of the WBS hierarchy for which some planning can be performed.
precedence diagramming method (PDM). A technique used to construct a project schedule network diagram in which a node (a box) represents an activity and an arrow represents the dependency relationship.
project calendar. A calendar of working days or shifts used to establish when a schedule activity can be performed. A calendar typically specifies holidays and weekends when a schedule activity cannot be performed.
project schedule. A schedule that consists of planned dates for performing schedule activities and meeting schedule milestones.
project schedule network diagram. A schematic display of logical relationships among the project schedule activities. The time flow in these diagrams is from left to right.
resource breakdown structure (RBS). A hierarchical structure of resource types required to complete the schedule activities of a project.
role. A defined function that contains a set of responsibilities to be performed by a team member, such as a programmer or a tester.
rolling wave planning. A technique used to plan the project work at various levels of detail, depending upon the availability of information. Work to be performed in the near future is planned at a low level of the WBS, whereas work to be performed far into the future is planned at a relatively high level of the WBS.
schedule activity. A scheduled task (component of work) performed during the lifecycle of a project.
schedule baseline. A specific version of the project schedule that is approved by the project management team as a baseline against which the progress of the project will be measured. This version of the schedule is developed from the schedule network analysis of the schedule model data.
schedule development. The process of creating the project schedule by analyzing schedule activity sequences, schedule activity durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints.
schedule milestone. A significant event in the project schedule, such as the completion of a major deliverable.
schedule network analysis. A technique used to generate a project schedule by identifying the early and late start and finish dates for the project.