Communication Channels

Contents 1 Examples    1.1 2 people    1.2 4 people    1.3 6 people 2 Calculation

When planning communications management, the project manager should consider the number of potential communications channels/paths as an indicator of the complexity of project communications.

Communication channels are the possibilities of communication between the parties involved in the project.

The more the project structure grows, the more the project manager must improve or reorganize their communication channels.

Examples

2 people

If in a project there were only 2 people, there would be only one communication channel:

• A«=»B

4 people

If 4 people were part of the project, there would be 6 communication channels:

• A«=»B
• A«=»C
• A«=»D
• B«=»C
• B«=»D
• C«=»D

6 people

If 6 people were part of the project, there would be 15 communication channels:

• A«=»B
• A«=»C
• A«=»D
• A«=»E
• A«=»F
• B«=»C
• B«=»D
• B«=»E
• B«=»F
• C«=»D
• C«=»E
• C«=»F
• D«=»E
• D«=»F
• E«=»F

Calculation

The number of communication channels can be calculated by the formula (N = number of participants):

Channels = N x (N-1) / 2

In a team of 5 people I have 10 communication channels:

• 5 x (5-1)/2 = 10