The Cost of Quality Stakeholder Communication

  PM Network  

Twentieth-century management consultant Jospeh Juran defined “quality” as “fit for purpose.” This elegant definition applies equally to the quality of your management processes and information as it does to your production processes and project deliverables. How does the cost of quality in your management work affect the relationships with your key stakeholders, managers and customers?

Fit-for-purpose project communications provide each stakeholder with the information he or she needs. The consequences of failing to provide quality information can be significant:

• A lack of confidence in your leadership, which leads to a lack of trust
• Requirements to generate an ever-increasing number of reports, extra layers of management, reviews and interference
• Senior management failing to heed your advice
• In extreme cases, projects being canceled for the wrong reasons

There are two sources of cost associated with quality in communication and stakeholder management. The first are losses experienced because of poor quality, or failure costs. These include lost revenues, lost production time caused by lack of information or stakeholder support, additional reporting, and the like.

The second are investments made to improve quality, or prevention costs. These include tools, process improvements, and employing the right people, …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.