Plan Communications Management

00:00 Hello and welcome.

00:02 This module will focus on the planned communications management process and the PMBOK guide. It's got a medium difficulty because you may not have done a communications plan before and for memorization and exam importance, it's also rated as medium level.

00:21 The particular domain task that plane communications management will help us understand better is the Planning Task six, which says develop the communications management plan based on the project organization, structure and stakeholder requirements in order to define and manage the flow of project information.

00:47 The project organization structure is important to the development of a communications management plan because whether or not you've got a functional organization, a weak, balanced or strong form of Matrix organization or project host organization will affect the way in which you communicate.

01:08 The key themes of the plan communications management process are the project management is all about communication, communication, communication, and it's the project manager's most important skill and that's what we're going to develop a plan about because 90 per cent of project managers time is spent communicating and 50 per cent of that time is spent communicating with the team.

01:34 That's why we need an effective and robust communications management plan, and the research and the project management community clearly tells us that Project Communications effective project communications can greatly enhance the chances of project success, and poor communications can greatly enhance the chances of project failure. So let's develop a robust communications management plan.

02:04 To help us have a successful project, the particular inputs that we will find useful in the development of a communications management plan include our project management plan and all the relevant subsidiary plans, documents and baselines.

02:21 Because project management is about communications management.

02:25 We'll also want our stakeholder register now, the stakeholder register, remember, as an output from identify stakeholders process.

02:35 And the reason we need it for the development of our communications management plan is it identifies the individual stakeholders in our project.

02:43 And with this, we're able to determine what their particular communications needs are. Don't assume that all stakeholders want to be communicated to in the same way or even receive the same information. I recall a project I worked on once, where only some stakeholders were interested in project information about time and cost.

03:07 The majority of my stakeholders didn't care about that at all.

03:11 So take great care with your stakeholder, register to talk with your stakeholders and analyze their communication needs and communicate to them appropriately. The other inputs you may want to take into account are enterprise, environmental factors, regulations and industry standards about the types of communications, the format of communication and the content of communication.

03:37 We may also want to take into account relevant organizational process assets, such as our project management methodology, particularly the parts that deal with effective project communication, such as perhaps a blank communications register or plan ready to be filled out.

03:55 The particular tools and techniques that we may find useful to apply to our inputs are a communications requirements analysis, and this is simply taking a look at the different communications needs of all our different stakeholders. Some people will want regular written reports that are very in-depth. Others will want summary written reports.

04:17 Some people will want face to face meetings.

04:20 Some people just may want newspaper ads.

04:23 But the important thing is you do a requirements analysis of all of their communications needs in order to identify the best way to communicate with them. Again, don't assume that all of your stakeholders have the same communications requirements.

04:40 Make sure you understand what these are.

04:42 So, for example, within your project, senior management will probably want summary information while your project team members will probably want detailed information.

04:55 If you get a question in the exam that asks you about the preferred requirements of those particular stakeholders, keep that in mind.

05:04 We'll also want to look at communications technology, particularly the most appropriate technology to use.

05:11 Are we going to use E-Mails or tics or phone calls or Audio calls or video calls? Are we going to use airplanes in the sky writing letters behind them? The important thing is, choose the technology that works best to get the message across to the right person in the right way, so they understand that message. We'll show you some or a particular communications model to help you understand some of the issues that can occur with project communications that get in the way of your best intentions.

05:47 And we'll also have a closer look at particular communications methods, are you going to use verbal or written formal or informal Push-Pull or interactive methods of communication? Whichever one you choose, remember needs to be appropriate.

06:03 One of the greatest mistakes a project manager can make is to assume that everybody wants to be communicated in the same way that you prefer to be communicated to.

06:13 And finally, meetings as an effective tool and technique, getting your stakeholders together and helping to put together your communications management plan with their input.

06:25 First and foremost, you get their very valuable technical input, but you also create buy into the plan and get support for the plan as well. So hold good meetings, effective meetings.

06:40 Make sure there's a clear agenda and set roles and set times and action points and minutes.

06:48 So let's take a closer look at some of these tools and techniques.

06:52 The first being communications requirements analysis, and I've already said that each stakeholder will have different communications needs and preferences.

07:03 If you've got hundreds of stakeholders, you've potentially got hundreds of different communications needs and preferences, but you need to identify them all.

07:14 And you should develop a communications register that documents the best way to communicate with each stakeholder.

07:22 Outline what format, what content, what frequency works for each stakeholder as part of your requirements analysis.

07:31 Communications technology as a tool is important to keep in mind, because the particular type of communications technology you choose to use will have an impact on how stakeholders receive and understand the message.

07:45 So choose your technology wisely.

07:48 So, for example, perhaps don't use the internet for elderly stakeholders, but choose the type of technology you are going to use wisely.

07:57 Understanding that what works well for one stakeholder may not work for another stakeholder and be prepared to adjust your choice of communications technology to suit.

08:10 Here's another formula you need to know, and there's almost certainly a question in the exam that expects you to know this one.

08:18 And this is the formula to calculate the number of communications channels that exist in your project.

08:24 The formula is in being the number of people or number of stakeholders multiplied by N minus one divided by two. So let's look at an example.

08:36 If you have 12 people in the project, including yourself in equals 12.

08:43 So the formula is 12 times 12 minus one divided by two. So that's 12 times 11 divide by two or one hundred and 32.

08:55 Divide by two, which gives us a total number of 66 communications channels that could possibly exist.

09:05 There's always an exam question on this topic.

09:08 Sometimes the exam question will present you with a number of communications channel and ask you to figure out how many people are involved.

09:17 So look out for this, and as part of your brain dump, when you go into the exam and you've got those few minutes to write down your notes, put this formula down.

09:28 Here's how it works.

09:30 If we have four people on our project, we have six communications channels. But if we have five, all of a sudden we're up to 10 communications channels.

09:43 The numbers increase exponentially.

09:46 Now, the project manager doesn't need to be in control of all the communications, but they need to set the tone of communication and the Standard of communication on the project.

09:57 Now, let's take a close look at a particular model for explaining communications.

10:02 There are many models to explain communications between individuals or groups in the exam.

10:08 This is the one that you're most likely to be asked to show that you understand.

10:13 So you you're the sender of a message over there on the left hand side. You have decided you want to get a message across.

10:23 You then encode that message according to your particular preferences and biases. You put it into a particular medium.

10:31 You put the content in that's called encoding.

10:35 You send that message through a particular medium.

10:40 If it's an email, the medium is electronic E-Mail on a computer, screen or smartphone. There is a presentation.

10:48 The medium is talking in front of people and using hand gestures and voice tone. There are many mediums, but whatever medium you choose, there's always noise.

10:59 Now noise can sometimes actually mean physical noise.

11:04 But in its widest definition, it means anything that interrupts the message going through that medium.

11:11 So if you choose to encode a message and email format and send it to somebody, the medium is email noise could be they don't read it carefully or they only skim the subject line.

11:24 If you're giving a presentation, the medium is well presentation and standing in front of a group of people.

11:30 Noise can be your accent the way you addressed the energy levels of the people receiving the message.

11:37 If you're sending out a message in the form of a formal report, noise can be whether you use text or pictures.

11:47 So take care when encoding your message and choosing the medium because you will encounter noise, which distorts the message.

11:54 But then the message is received, and the first thing the receiver does is decode that message according to their preferences and biases.

12:04 And I'm sure we've all come across a situation where we're absolutely positive.

12:08 We've said one thing and somebody says, but I thought you meant this.

12:13 That's an example of the receiver hearing what they want to hear and listening to only those things they want to listen to.

12:21 So as a one way stream, you can see how sending a message meets all sorts of obstacles, and the chances are that the message you send is not what the receiver gets.

12:34 But then if they pass that message on, it goes through the same system again.

12:40 And one of the things you can do is ask them to pass that message on back to you in the form of feedback.

12:46 But even if they do, you will notice the first thing they do is encode it according to their preferences and biases.

12:54 Send it back through a medium where it encounters noise, and then it's decoded again, according to the sender's preferences and biases.

13:02 I guess the big message here with this model is don't assume that the message you're sending is the message that's being received.

13:11 But with an awareness of these potential problems, you can make an effort to ensure greater understanding of your actual message.

13:23 The outputs of the plane communications management process include, well, first and foremost, the Communications Management Plan and Remember Plan do check act cycle.

13:34 The first step plan and that's what our communications management plan does. It's going to provide guidance for the other two communications management processes. It's going to tell us how we're going to communicate the frequency, the format, develop that communications register for us, which puts together our stakeholders needs after our requirements analysis, the frequency, the type, who's going to do it? All of these things are part of our communications management plan.

14:06 We may also choose to update relevant project documents like our lessons learned or historical information, as well as part of our own commitment to continuous improvement in project communications.

14:21 So the communications management plan is all about focusing on how often and in what format communications will be distributed and updated.

14:32 What information and key messages will be included as part of our communications and which stakeholders will receive them? So in summary, the plan communications management process has all been about development of the communications management plan.

14:52 And just like all the other plans we've done, it provides guidance on completing all of the work we're going to do in this case.

15:00 Project communications work.

15:04 So thank you. This has been an overview and an introduction to the planned communications management process in the blockade.