Published my book "Project Communication Management Summarized"

Today I published my book "Project Communication Management Summarized". I had promised my wife in July that I’ll work late nights if required to publish this book on her birthday, and I did accomplish what I said.

Cover pages of my book:

Here is the preface of my book:

The genesis of this book dates back to 2003. While working for a small startup, I was asked to help the executives create and execute the organizational growth plans. The executives wanted me to research tools and methodologies that would help them manage project efficiently.

Seeing the problems faced by project managers, I felt that software project management must be the toughest job on the earth. And managing the communication with various stakeholders like client, end-users, team, etc was toughest of all the activities.

Over the past 6 years, I have realized that the situation is not quite that hopeless. By using sound project communication management processes, project managers can successfully execute projects.

I have used my experience and knowledge of software project management to cull out and describe in this book the key project communication management practices that can be used to successfully execute project after project.

The beauty of these practices is that despite being highly effective, they are not complex; rather, they are grounded in common sense and are supported by simple measurements and analyses.

The book is written primarily for existing project managers so that they can improve their communication skills. This book is equally helpful for wannabe project managers, by using the methods described in this book they can systematically improve the communication management of their projects. PMP aspirants can also use this book to understand the art of project communication management in simplest way.

Many people helped to make this book a reality. I would like to express my gratitude to my present and past employers, where I earned my knowledge and experience to make this book possible. My sincere thanks to all the people who shared their experiences with me and inspired me to write this book. My special thanks to Anand Rajan for his guidance, insight, and common sense to project management.

Project Communications Planning

In order to successfully manage a project, the Project Manager must have in place all processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage and ultimate disposition of project information.

Communication management plan, which is created by the Project Manager, is an output of communication planning process. It determines the type and format of information and communication needs of all the stakeholders. It also defines the frequency/time, creator and recipients of the information.

As per A Guide to the PMBOK®, communications planning process determines the information and communications needs of the stakeholders; for example, who needs what information, when they will need it, how it will be given to them, and by whom. While all projects share the need to communicate project information, the informational needs and methods of distribution vary widely. Identifying the informational needs of the stakeholders and determining a suitable means of meeting those needs is an important factor for project success.

Note: Organizational structure has the greatest effect on the project's communication requirements.

Something that you planned for today might become obsolete in the future. It is good to review the communication plan periodically with the stakeholders.

Inputs to communications planning

1. Enterprise Environmental Factors
2. Organizational Process Assets
3. Project Scope Statement
4. Constraints and assumptions from the Project Management Plan

Tools and techniques for communications planning

1. Communications requirements analysis
2. Communications technology

Output of communications planning

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

Content of communications management plan

1. What information will be collected?
2. How the information will be collected
3. How and to whom the information will be distributed
4. When the information will be communicated
5. How to obtain information between regular communications
6. How the Communications Plan will be updated through the project

How a project manager can help in effective project team communications

1. Be an effective communicator
2. Be a communications expeditor
3. Avoid communications blockers
4. Use a tight matrix
5. Have a project war room
6. Make meetings effective

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

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.

 

Barriers to Communications

Barriers to Communications

1.     Physical – noise, distance, time, environment, physical medium

2.     Cultural - ethnic, religious, and social differences

3.     Perceptional - viewing what is said from your own mindset

4.     Words - we assign a meaning to a word often because of culture, experience, etc reasons which results in improper encoding of message

5.     Experiential - lack of similar experience

6.     Emotional - personal feelings at the moment or doing other things besides listening

7.     Linguistic - different languages or vocabulary

8.     Non-verbal - non-word messages

9.     Gestures - misunderstood gestures are a major barrier

10.  Variations in language - accent, dialect

 

Note: The most likely outcome of communication blocker and miscommunication are conflicts.

 

Any of the above barriers to communications can create interferences or disturbances and impact the effectiveness of the communication. Project Manager should look for such barriers and try to minimize (or better still, eliminate) the source/cause.

 

 

 

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

 

Understanding communication model and channels

Communication Model

In communication, there is always a sender and a receiver (maybe more than one in some cases). Both parties have their own experiences, their perceptions, their ideas, etc, hence they may experience, perceive, and interpret things differently. The same event will always be perceived a little different by each party.

A simple communication model in Figure 1 shows how the information travels from sender to receiver.

Figure 1

1.     Sender – Is an information source, who wants to initiate communication.

2.     Encode – Information is encoded into a message. Sender should make sure that he truly provides understandable information to another project team member. This means that sender must attempt to take the perspective and knowledge of the receiver into consideration and create and present a message that he or she is likely to interpret in the way intended.

3.     Medium – Messages may be sent using traditional mail, email, phone call, face-to-face or using gestures alone. Medium is the communication method used to transmit the message.

4.     Decode – Message is decoded to understand the information sent by sender. Sender uses his knowledge and understanding of the subject matter to decode this message, hence extra caution is required to interpret the message in right context (sender’s context).

5.     Receiver – The person to who the information is sent to.

6.     Feedback – Receiver sends a feedback to sender to acknowledge that the information is received and understood. Sender may have to act further to ensure that the receiver understood the message by eliciting feedback that helps sender to assess whether receiver interpreted the message as intended.

Sender may use symbols, signs, behavior, speech, writing, or signals to transfer the information in the message. The purpose is to ensure that both parties understand the perspective.

 

Communication channels

Communication will always involve more than one person. In the figure below, we can see the number of communication channels required to communicate with 5 team members in a team of 6.

Figure 2

The formula to calculate the total number of communication channels is: (n2- n)/2 or n (n-1)/2

n = total number of team members

Lets calculate the total number of communication channels for the figure above,

n = 6

6 (6 – 1)/2

6 (5)/2

30/2

Hence, there shall be 15 communication channels on this project of 6 people.

 

Methods of communication

1. Formal written - Project Plan, Project charter, Specifications, Reports, Metrics
2. Formal verbal - Presentation, speeches
3. Informal written - Memos, Email, Notes
4. Informal verbal - Meetings, Conversations

 

Note: Project Management Plan is the best type of communication method to use when there are cultural differences and distance between team members.

 

Nonverbal Messages:

1.     Accounts for about 55% of what is perceived and understood by others.

2.     Are conveyed through our facial expressions as well as our postures and gestures.

Para-verbal Messages:

1.     Account for about 38% of what is perceived and understood by others.

2.     Include the tone, pitch, and pacing of our voice

 

It is not possible for Project Manager to control all the communication in the project by stakeholders (management, client, teams, etc), however he should try to control it to minimize miscommunication. Project Manager must choose the most effective method for communicating the information.

Effective communication is a two-way process which involves active listening and reflects the accountability of speaker and listener. It utilizes feedback to confirm understanding which makes it free of stress.

 

 

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

Characteristics of communication

• Communication is a process – it is continuous, ongoing, and dynamic
• Communication has information (message/content)
• Communication requires a sender and a receiver
• Communication requires a medium (symbols, signs, behavior, speech, writing, or signals)
• Communication requires shared understanding – all parties understanding the same things the same way
• Communication is transactional and irreversible

 

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

Project Communication Management

Projects are executed by humans. And humans must interact. There is no doubt that communicating frequently and often is necessary throughout the life of any project. Good communication skills of the team ensure success for projects.

Communication is the most important skill for a Project Manager.  Project Managers spend 90% of their time communicating.

 

Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I'll remember. Involve me and I'll understand. - Author unknown Note: The best way to communicate in the teams is to involve team members in all activities. Project manager along with team members is responsible for managing communication on project.

 

Communication may be done using symbols, signs, behavior, speech, writing, or signals, as well as through project charters, project plan, project scope statement and status reports. The list of ways a Project Manager communicates is longer and you will get familiarize with it as you read this book, for now, this small list is an indication of the significance of communication to a Project Manager.

 

Note: Lack of communication is one of the primary reasons why projects fail.

 

Projects fail when expectations are not aligned with results. Timely and effective communication can bridge this gap to avoid surprises at the end. Expectations, goals, and priorities of the project stakeholders should be well documented and communicated to the stakeholders.

Proactive Project Managers know that communication is an ongoing process throughout the life of the project. They set proper expectations for all the stakeholders by determining the information and communications needs of each stakeholder.

Communication by definition is the process of conveying information from a sender to a receiver with the use of a medium in which the communicated information is understood the same way by both sender and receiver.

 

Communications management employs the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval and ultimate disposition of project information.

—A Guide to the PMBOK®

 

 

Management lessons from the movie "Armageddon" (1998)

 

I watched Armageddon and liked it a lot for various reasons. To start with, it is a Sci-Fi Thriller with my perceived management lessons.

 

The story follows a group of oil drillers sent by NASA to stop an asteroid that will strike the world in eighteen days. The drillers are taught and trained to become astronauts (in a very comedic scene) and then sent to the asteroid to drop the nukes and blow it up. After that, a whole lot goes wrong.

 

Trust and team work: Bruce Willis is an oil driller named Harry Stamper. NASA knows that he is the only man to save the world. When approached by NASA, he tells them that "you may have heard good things about me, but I am nothing without my team" (or something like that). He has his group of drillers and geologists who he leads and he gives them their share of name and fame. This relationship of trust and team work is what every manager needs to get the best out of his team. Involving them in planning and decision taking increases the chances of success of the undertaken project.

 

You gotta have some kind of backup plan: NASA sends out the team in two different space ships loaded with tools and resources. There was a spcific mention about having a contingency plan for taking care of the unknown (risk). This is something that every manager needs to learn and practice.

 

Hiring plan: Best works with the best. One of the craziest team member tells about his brain power and says "I won the Westinghouse prize when I was 12, big deal. Published at 19, so what. I got a double doctorate from MIT at 22, Chemistry and Geology. I taught at Princeton for two and a half years.". Personally, I feel that the manager is supposed to groom his team well, so that he can take higher responsibilities.

 

Never lose your sense of humor - "You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder.". Humor promotes the confidence and probability of success.

 

MS Project - Saving a Project Baseline

One of the PM at my organization asked me about the project baseline in MPP. It seems most of the project managers who use MPP use it as an excel workbook, one copy per project to maintain all the task and their status. If something changes, the plan changes and we save it as a copy of original (something like versioning). What is funnier is that people try to “diff” using CVS tools to find the changes in schedules.

One thing is sure, people use very limited features of MS MPP. I’ll try to educate them by “how to” on MPP. Here is one on saving a project baseline:

What is project baseline: Baseline is the term used for original (or approved updates) of the project plan. Baseline values are used to track progress against the plan.

How to save baseline in MS MPP:

1. On the project guide toolbar, click the “Track” button.

2. On the Track pane, click the save a baseline plan to compare with later versions link.

3. Click the save baseline button. MPP will save the baseline.

How to use the saved baseline in MS MPP:

On the view menu, click Table: Summary, and choose Variance to see the comparison with baseline. There is limit to number of baselines in one project file, however you may not require to compare more than 2-3 baselines at given point of time.