Project Communications - Manage Stakeholders

A stakeholder is anyone whose interests may be positively or negatively impacted by the project. Stakeholder management is the process of controlling communications to adjust as per the needs of the stakeholders.

 

Inputs to manage stakeholders

1.    Communications management plan (part of project management plan)

2.     Organizational process assets

 

Tools and techniques for manage stakeholders

1.    Communications methods

2.     Issue logs

 

Output of manage stakeholders

1.    Resolved issues

2.     Approved change request

3.     Approved corrective action

4.     Organizational process assets (updates)

5.     Project management plan (updates)

 

Exam spotlight

 

• Most important characteristic for a project manager is ability to work well with others.
• Major cause of conflict with functional managers is schedules.
• Most difficult conflict to deal with is personality conflicts.
• Face-to-face meetings are the most effective means for communicating and resolving issues.

 

 

 

Note: This is an extract from my book “Project Communication Management Summarized”, you may read the book for complete context and content.

 

Project Communications - Performance Reporting

The project may be doing great or maybe it is already screwed-up, the only way to find out is by looking at the baseline data of scope, efforts, cost, quality, etc and then matching it with the actual to find out the progress made.  Stakeholders look for such information, hence it is project managers duty to do performance reporting as per the information needs documented in the communication plan.

 

Inputs to performance reporting

1.    Work performance information

2.     Performance measurements

3.     Forecasted completion

4.     Quality control measurements

5.     Project management plan

6.     Approved change request

7.     Deliverables

 

Tools and techniques for performance reporting

1.    Information presentation tool

2.     Performance information gathering and compilation

3.     Status review meetings

4.     Time reporting system

5.     Cost reporting system

 

Output of performance reporting

1.    Performance reports

2.     Forecasts

3.     Requested changes

4.     Recommended corrective action

5.     Organizational process assets (updates)

 

Exam spotlight

 

Variance analysis

Comparing actual project results to planned or expected results in terms of cost, schedule, scope, quality, and risk.

Project war room

A single location for the team to get together for any purpose.  It provides a repository for project artifacts, records, and up-to-date schedules and status reports.  It gives an identity to the project team.

 

 

 

Note: This is an extract from my book “Project Communication Management Summarized”, you may read the book for complete context and content.

 

Project Communications - Information Distribution

Everything you do, you do for a reason, and communicating should be no different. We need to share the project information with the stakeholders in a timely manner to be able to utilize the information. Information distribution is the execution of communication management plan plus handling ad-hoc information needs.

Inputs to information distribution

1.    Communications management plan (part of project management plan)

 

Tools and techniques for information distribution

1.    Communications skills

2.     Information gathering and retrieval system

3.     Information distribution methods

4.     Lessons learned process

 

Output of information distribution

1.    Organizational process assets (updates)

2.     Requested changes

 

 

 

Note: This is an extract from my book “Project Communication Management Summarized”, you may read the book for complete context and content.