Many posts in this series have mentioned the triple constraint (aka project triangle) of scope, schedule, and budget. They are the most important aspects of a project, but apart from these it’s communication that drives every phase of a project.
Communication is the process of exchanging information with someone. In the context of a project, determining how, when, how often, and under what circumstances stakeholders should be communicated with is important to plan for and execute. Project managers are skilled at identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing stakeholders to plan for how communication with flow throughout the project. They are constantly trying to understand what communications are sufficient to manage stakeholder expectations. Various tools and communication channels will be adopted to execute the communication plan.
Depending on what the communication goal is, three types of communication can be considered:
- Push communication where information is sent one-way, such as in an email, memo, status report, or voicemail. You won’t get immediate feedback or be able to gauge reaction or asses understanding of the information.
- Pull communication where a stakeholder can autonomously use an intranet, internal repository, or online search to find information.
- Interactive communication where information is sent two-ways, such as face-to-face interactive meetings, chat, or phone conversations. Engagement is deeper with this type.
What is largely being communicated as the project moves along? Plans, progress, and projections.
Want to learn more about Project Management? See my Project MGMT publication for these 30 key PM topics:
Projects, lifecycle, management, manager, methodologies, the triangle, stakeholders, deliverable, team, charter, scope, budget, schedule, planning, baselining, milestones, dependencies, resources, risk, procurement, communication, ceremonies, integration, backlog, whiteboard, closure, software tools, office(r), code of ethics, body of knowledge
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