Keeping a keen eye on all aspects of the project management process is necessary, but out of them the most critical aspect of project management is effective communication.
Why is it so critical? Well, communication among the different stakeholders related to the project development process is very important as all of the discussions and decisions regarding the project are performed via that communication, and if that communication channel doesn’t exist, you’re done!
But even before that communication starts, you need to have a plan. A Communication Plan to be exact.
This plan will contain all of the ways and strategies in which you have to structure your communication channels so that your project development process doesn’t have any communication gaps, and everyone knows what they have to do to make the project a definite success.
In this article, we are going to talk about the Project Management Communication Plan, what is it, why is it important, what are the different methods included in it, and how to write an effective communication plan that will suit your needs and requirements.
What is a Project Management Communication Plan?
A Project Management Communication Plan is an incredible tool that helps the managers establish better communication channels between themselves and the client, team, and the other stakeholders associated with the project development process.
This plan consists of clear-cut instructions or guidelines on how you can share the information related to the project, with the rest of the people associated with the project, as well as appointing the right people to perform the right tasks.
What are the Different Project Team Communication Methods?
Here are all of the project team communication methods that you can use to improve collaboration amongst the team members and make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding information and there are no empty spaces among the troops.
1. Meetings
Meetings are the best method to convey the information related to the project, to the people that are related to the project development process or are involved in the overall project workings.
You can have many different types of meetings such as
in-person meetings that are perfect for a staff that works in the same workspace, phone meetings which can be used for many different types of staff that may or may not reside in the same workspace, and lastly, video-chats can also be used for remote meetings.
2. Status reports
Status reports are used to convey information related to the progress of the project development process. They are compiled to let the development staff about the progress they have done at any given time related to the project development process.
3. To-do lists
To-do lists are amazing little tools that can be used to convey information to the development staff about what they have to do on any given day or week.
4. Email
Emails are the king of communication when it comes to improving professional communication between the different team members, stakeholders, and other personnel, with the manager.
5. Discussion boards
Discussion boards are used to convey information about the different discussions that happen in the company regarding the project on a specific day or in a week or so.
6. Collaboration apps
Collaboration applications are the best tool to improve communication among the troops. These apps are specifically designed to keep everyone in constant communication with each other so that there are no empty spaces later in the project development process.
7. Surveys
Surveys are also important documents that are used to get to know the opinion of the staff or the clients about a specific element related to the project, or on the overall project development process. It is not that obvious but is still an effective method to improve communication.
What is the Importance of a Project Management Communication Plan?
Here is a list of roles that an effective communication plan plays in every project.
- Setting clear expectations for how and when updates will be shared so that everyone knows what they can expect
- Providing opportunities for feedback to be shared
- Ensuring that the project continues to align with the goals that were set at the beginning of the project development process
- Creating written documentation everyone can turn to
- Increasing visibility of the project and status
- Boosting the productivity of team meetings
How to Write an Effective Project Management Communication Plan?
Here is a list of steps that you can use to write an effective Project Management Communication Plan.
- The first thing that you have to is to make sure that you have a list of all of the needs of your project’s communication in one place.
You have to do this because every project that you work on is going to be different, and if you don’t have the size of the project mapped out, the nature of the work being done in the project development process tracked and even consider the unique requests of the client, you are not going to make any progress in improving the communication. - The next thing is to define the purpose of the plan that you are trying to develop. This is an important step in the whole process because if you don’t have a proper purpose attached to any plan that you create for the betterment of your project development process, you are not going to make any progress.
- The next step is to select the specific communication method that you want your team to follow. This communication method is dependent on the needs and requirements of the team, and when you have mapped out the needs, you can choose from the method list that we have mentioned above and improve communication.
- The last step is to identify the owner and stakeholders associated with the project development process. This declaration of ownership creates an accountability factor that drips down to the employee level and lets everyone know who they have to report to, and who they have to communicate with, to make sure that the project achieves success and improves communication among the troops.
When developing your project management communication plan, make sure to include:
- The communication plan’s purpose or goals
- Details on stakeholders and their roles
- The information that had to be shared with stakeholders
- The methods of communication
- The frequency with which each stakeholder wishes to receive information
What is the significance of a project management communication plan?
Poor communication contributes to project failure, which can result in massive financial losses for the company. High-performing businesses, on the other hand, communicate more frequently and more effectively than their low-performing counterparts.
A communication plan for project management will keep your project on track because it:
- Produces written documentation for the team’s use.
- Determines when stakeholders will receive updates.
- Increases stakeholders’ visibility into the project and its status Allows stakeholders to provide feedback, which can assist the team in detecting issues early on and reducing wasted work
- Increases meeting productivity or eliminate them entirely
So, if you want to complete your project successfully and on time, make sure you understand how to create an effective communication plan.
Conclusion
This was a short guide to creating an effective project management communication plan. If you think that we missed something or we mentioned something incorrectly, contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
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