A study from the Project Management Institute (PMI) reveals that 55% of project managers think that clear communication with all stakeholders is key to project management success. However, the challenge of achieving effective communication increases as more teams go global, whether due to business growth or the rising success of outsourcing.
Motivating teams and encouraging more effective communication can be daunting when team members perceive the computer screen as a barrier to team building, as they may feel isolated from their peers due to geographical distance and lack of face-to-face communication.
But this wall has to be breached, and this is where a project communication plan comes in.
What is a project communication plan?
According to ProjectExperts, a project communication plan consists of:
- Product information– contains the scope of the project, its quality standards, as well as its benefits and impact to stakeholders
- Process information– contains details such as costs, timeframe, internal risks and reviews, policies, and other pertinent information to successfully carry out the project
Communication channels
As per an article by Jason Charvat on Tech Republic, a project communication plan has three channels:
- Upward channel – communicating with senior executives and key stakeholders to highlight issues, exceptions and risks
- Lateral channel – negotiating with clients and vendors for budget, resource and time allocations
- Downward channel – communicating with the project team for directions, schedules, project status and general briefings
Why you need a project communication plan
A project communication plan sets the guidelines for facilitating effective communication, and this is especially helpful for trickier team building cases like geographically dispersed teams. Project communication creates a formula for:
- Directing teams to meet standard regulatory, industry and process requirements
- Motivating teams to create, execute tasks, resolve issues, prevent risks, stay on schedule, and meet project quality requirements
- Brainstorming ideas through constant exchange of information, constructive criticisms, and open dialogue in order to come up with mutually beneficial solutions to occurring or potential bottlenecks
- Gathering input on already finished or previously encountered projects for review and documentation
Technology, project management and communication
There are project management tools enhanced to make effective communication possible and convenient, thus helping managers foster global team collaboration. Below are three of them:
#1. Casual PM
If you’re a casual or non-professional project manager who wants to get things done without dealing with a complicated project management system, Casual is worth a look. It’s simple and easy to use, featuring a visual layout that lets you organize your tasks and projects like a mind map. Casual includes task comments and email notifications, keeping all communication related to specific tasks in one spot, which helps avoid the usual mess and confusion from long conversation threads.
#2. Comindware Project
If the project you’re handling is a complex or specialized one, an adaptive solution like Comindware Project can help with its broad range of solutions catering to various industry types – IT, human resources, and government. Built on top of Comindware Team Network, a social communication framework, Comindware Project readily integrates with SharePoint and Outlook, allowing you to breezily manage high-end operations that demand added functionalities and more custom options in a familiar interface.
#3. Atlassian Confluence
If you’ve ever been part of a wiki, scoured around Reddit, Stack Exchange or Quora to gather/share ideas and information, Atlassian Confluence may seem like a familiar space. Built especially for coordinating teams, Confluence functions as a single repository for all information, files, tasks, documents, pictures, links, and other relevant materials and updates. And with its even more familiar social media-like interface, finding your way through Atlassian Confluence won’t be too much of a problem.
Final word
For today’s global teams, cultivating an environment that promotes effective communication is critical. With the right skills and tools, all that’s left is ensure that stakeholders know what they need to know in a timely manner. When all communication spheres are flowing continuously and efficiently, and contributing towards better project execution, you most likely already have a winning project communication plan.
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