Contents for a Project Communications Management Plan

 

A communications management plan that is in place:

• Builds confidence in communication, particularly among project team members.
• Sets the pace for interaction among all stakeholders.
• Evolves the culture & posture for the project.
• Eliminates surprises through considerate feedback-channels and constructive dissemination of information.
• Resolves communication based disputes.

Without elaborating, a project-suitable communications management plan can & will facilitate getting project deliverables to the customer effectively & efficiently. Through building better relationships, understanding & acceptance of each other on good communication terms.
 

Typical Contents

The communications management plan generally define:

• What information to communicate; this include the format, details, and to what extend communication is pursued.
• Who is responsible for the information and communication i.e ownership; this include resources allocated for project communication.
• How information is communicated i.e. medium, and the flow of communication e.g. matrix or sifted through the project manager.
• When communication will occur, and its frequency. This may include e.g. if meeting face-to-face is required, where to meet and which party will bear the cost of meeting if any.
• When to revise and how changes to -the communications management plan if any, is managed.
   

My Emphasized Contents

When drafting a communications plan I find it useful to present my thoughts firstly in an informal approach, then follow-up with a formal meeting to discuss the needs for a plan. Every project & customer will have their own style & approach to communication. And to be successful, we should consider adjusting & framing project communications to the customer's preference. The outcome of the discussion may be a formal plan, an informal plan, or just an understanding on how project constituents should & will interact.

Tip! — Always commit the outcome of any discourse to some form of records. A simple approach is to follow-up quickly with an email after a meeting, stating pertinent discourse & decision options. Keep the email thread.

In my opinion, a project communications management plan whether formal or informal should examine minimally the following:

1. Decision making — Define clearly the decision structure & process for the project, based on the approved RACI matrix. This may include e.g. who is authorized to sign-off on official correspondence, speak publicly, or append their signature on project documents.

2. Medium for interaction & exchange of information — Specify acceptable communication methods e.g. using WhatsApp for messaging, restrictions on emails such as attachment sizes, sharing passwords of drop-boxes, permissible locations for business meetings, etc.

3. Policy & Procedures for interaction — this may include document retention & referencing policies, separate channels for different grade of information e.g. 'sensitive' versus confidential information, and management of communication related impediments & conflicts.

4. Teaming project stakeholders — people gravitate naturally into communities e.g. programmer analysts, deployment teams, project administrators. In addition to official project teams, recognize the subtleties of influence, power, and affect/impact of governed & ungoverned communications within & outside the project. This is one important aspect for review as a project progresses.

5. Information radiation — Identify the goal of communication for your project e.g. one of my projects emphasized communicating QA while another simply focused on getting the right message across (right instead of correct .. for another debate). Other aspects to consider include the target audience, timeliness and frequency.
    

Reminder — Avoid getting drawn into planning too much for project communications. Start with a brief base plan. Let communications evolve, but nail down what works best for the project/teams, and plan on improving interactions & sharing of information as to whatever else is important for your project.
 

References

For a quick start on crafting a communications management plan- think foremost about which communications aspect you would want to highlight. Trawl the web for suitable templates & examples; then read further on the topic, and adapt what you find to cater to your project communication needs.

• Rajkumar, S. (2010).Art of communication in project management. Paper presented at PMI® Research Conference: Defining the Future of Project Management, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.