Show and Tell

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Agile   Communications Management  

We’ve all heard people say something like “I’m a visual learner,” meaning they find it easier to see something drawn out than to have to listen to a words-only explanation. The truth is, I suspect the vast majority of us will find a process flow diagram, chart, infographic or similar easier to digest than simply a spoken or written description.

At the very least, the graphical representation becomes a tool to support understanding of the more complete description. There is a reason why meeting rooms, offices and cubicles the world over are festooned with whiteboards and markers—because drawing something out makes it easier to understand.

So let’s apply that logic to projects. There is no doubt project stakeholders like graphical representations of what is happening on a project—just think of the popularity of “traffic light” status reports, where even a simple red, yellow or green dot evokes significant reaction and discussion. Even Gantt charts are embraced in at least a summary form that isn’t too onerous to consume.

So why don’t project teams make more use of graphical representations of their progress? I don’t have a good answer, and I think it would help with effective communications…so I have a few ideas to share in this article.

The options for graphical communication
Visual …

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