Communication ranks high among the factors leading to the success of a project. Specifically, what is required is constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project.
Projects are made up of people getting things done. Getting the right things done in the right way requires communication among all the stakeholders. As project managers, we spend a great deal of our time communicating. This includes setting and gaining agreement on goals, coordinating people, discovering and solving problems, and managing expectations. (We've addressed these topics throughout this book.) What this means is that from the charter through risk management and detailed planning, every project management technique is a method of communicating.
This chapter presents several project‐oriented techniques for ensuring that the right people have the right information to make the necessary decisions and carry them out. You will recognize some of these techniques from previous chapters:
Communication is a vital skill for project managers. Project managers need to be able to write and speak well, lead meetings effectively, and resolve conflicts constructively. They also need to listen well, so that they really understand what's being said. Some of these topics are addressed in this chapter; others are addressed in Chapter 15; but to truly teach these essential communication skills is beyond the scope of this book. This chapter describes the communication responsibilities of a project manager without attempting to teach communication skills. In addition, a Kickoff Checklist, Communication Plan, Task Assignment sheet, Meeting Agenda template, sample Status Report, Control Checklist, and Closure Report available online emphasize that structuring our communication on projects leads to greater consistency and effectiveness.
A project manager is not merely a conduit for information distribution. Project managers are leaders. Remember that as we present all the communication mechanisms and responsibilities in this chapter. Every interaction with a stakeholder is an opportunity to set a tone, to manage expectations, to reinforce the strategy and direction, and to lead by example. You may use e‐mail to send task assignments and post status reports on websites, but your job is not to interact with a computer; it is to focus the energies of a group of people on a common goal and promote their efficient, coordinated action.
When you interact with your team, you are literally onstage. The energy, integrity, optimism, respect, and accountability that you demonstrate will be reflected in the work of the team. Your management and customers are relying on you for advice. They need you to stand up for the facts, particularly when the facts tell an unpleasant story.
From the moment you accepted the responsibility to define and plan the project, you have been in the role of leader. Now, as the project moves into execution, embrace that role anew. See yourself the way others see you. Be the leader your team, management, and customer are seeking.
An effective project manager makes other people more productive. Through agreements, plans, recommendations, status reports, and other means, a project manager coordinates and influences all the stakeholders while giving them the information they need to be more productive and realistic. But no matter what the task, every action of a project manager includes communication. Careful planning reduces the risk of a communication breakdown.
A communication plan is the written strategy for getting the right information to the right people at the right time. The stakeholders identified on the charter, the organization chart, and the responsibility matrix are the audience for most project communication. But on every project, stakeholders participate in different ways, so each has different requirements for information. Following are the key questions you need to ask, with tips for avoiding common pitfalls:
A common mistake is to include in the status report everything about the project that anyone might want to know. Instead of having the intended effect of informing everyone, these obese reports are overwhelming for a busy audience. When developing the report content, keep it practical. A department manager responsible for 250 projects made the point this way: “Some of our project leaders have 10 projects. If they have to spend two hours a week writing status updates, there won't be any time left for them to do work. They report to supervisors overseeing up to 80 projects. We need a way to identify and communicate the key information quickly so project leaders and supervisors can spend time solving problems and moving the projects ahead!”
For information to be useful, it has to be timely. As part of the communication plan, the project manager needs to decide how often to contact each stakeholder and with what information. In fact, stakeholder response to the communication plan is a way of discerning the involvement level of each stakeholder. For example, a sponsor who won't sign up for frequent status meetings or reports is signaling their intention to support this project from afar. Table 16.1 uses a matrix to map which information needs to be communicated to each stakeholder and how often. Notice that a time for response is designated in Table 16.1; unless the stakeholder agrees to respond within this required time, their commitment to the project remains in question.
It's best to have regularly scheduled progress meetings written into the communication plan. While everyone says they would rather be proactive than reactive, many sponsors or supporting managers want to have status meetings only as needed—meaning only when there is a big problem. They are willing to let the project manager handle everything as long as it is going smoothly (they call this type of uninvolvement “empowering the project manager”). In reality, when troubles occur, by the time these higher‐level managers become involved, it is often too late for them to help. This is why scheduled meetings are important. If things are going smoothly, the meetings won't take long, but if a problem does arise, these meetings will give management the background information they need to be effective.
There are now myriad ways to stay in constant communication. Internet and intranet technologies allow more people to share information simultaneously. Status reports are now posted on project websites, and videoconferencing enables project teams to be spread around the world and still meet face to face. But with all these options, the question still remains the same: What is the best way to deliver the information? One thing is certain: Technology doesn't have all the answers. Putting a project's status on a website, for instance, doesn't ensure that the right people will see it. You need to consider the audience and its specific communication needs. For example, because high‐level executives are usually very busy, trying to meet with them weekly or sending them a lengthy report may not be realistic.
If you want to communicate effectively, why not take a lesson from the folks on Madison Avenue? Whether they are running ad campaigns for cars or computers, movies, milk, or sunscreen, they use both repetition and multiple media channels. You can mimic this by providing hardcopy reports at status meetings and then following up with minutes of the meeting. In the case of a video‐ or teleconference, providing access to supporting materials becomes even more important.
While it is important to plan for communication, it is also true that some of the best communication takes place informally and unexpectedly. You can nurture the opportunities for informal communication. Be available. Get into the places where the work is being done or the team members are eating their lunch. Listen. Watch for the nonverbal, unofficial signs of excitement, confusion, accomplishment, or burnout.
Cross‐functional teams might park in the same office‐park garage but work on different floors, putting a damper on informal communication. Co‐locating means bringing a team into a common office space where they'll easily see and speak to each other. It builds relationship and makes quick collaboration easier, leading to greater trust, creativity, and productivity.
Our project team gets the work done. We include vendors and part‐time team members from supporting departments in the role of project team, as well as the usual full‐time people. The larger your project, the more likely you'll be including people from outside your immediate department, and possibly outside your company. As you plan communication, realize that they all share four major communication needs:
Each technique in this section addresses two or more of these communication needs.
Projects and project managers need clear direction if they are to succeed; this is why developing the charter is so worthwhile. Team members also need clear direction. Fortunately, all the work that's gone into project planning tells them just what they need to know. Every work package is like a mini‐project, with time lines, dependencies, and deliverables. Whether you are assigning work to an individual performer or to a vendor, these basic rules should be observed:
We can't overemphasize the importance of clear task assignments, but it doesn't have to be difficult. The Task Assignment form found online covers the basic information a team member needs.
Plan on spending time with every member of the team on a regular basis. Remember, your job is to make them more productive, and you can't do that if you don't understand what they're working on—and what problems they're struggling with. The project status meeting just doesn't allow for this level of interaction. The project manager must take responsibility for setting up these meetings. Even though a manager might say, “I have an open‐door policy; my team doesn't have to wait for a special meeting; they can find me anytime they want,” this would be true only if the manager was always at their desk. In reality, project managers spend a lot of time in meetings and can be difficult to find. If you make team members seek you out, they may wait until their problems have grown too big to solve easily; the same problems might have been nipped early on if a meeting had been held sooner.
Many project managers intend to spend a lot of time with team members, but as the project goes on they are just too busy. The best bet is to put time for every team member on your weekly calendar. That way you've planned in advance to be available.
In football, the kickoff represents a clear, decisive start. Everyone knows the game is under way. Projects can start the same way. The kickoff meeting brings all the stakeholders together to look each other in the eye and commit to reaching the goals.
A kickoff meeting usually marks the beginning of the execution phase of a project. By this time, the charter and project plan have been approved and the team is assembled. It's an opportunity to celebrate initiation of the project. Here's a format for a kickoff meeting:
On big projects there are usually too many team members to introduce at the kickoff meeting. So have kickoff meetings for teams within the project, too. The hour or two spent on each of these meetings is an investment in team cohesion and performance. It will pay off.
Keeping a project on track requires regularly scheduled meetings both to share information and to make decisions. A good project status meeting meets a lot of communication needs within the project team. Status meetings give the project manager an opportunity to:
Project status meetings rely on a participative management style. They build on the team's involvement in planning the project; the manager should encourage the same kind of involvement to keep it on track. This attitude is based on the philosophy that involvement leads to ownership, and ownership leads to greater commitment and accountability. In addition to the basic rules for running an effective meeting that were covered in Chapter 15, the following guidelines are useful for running a project status meeting:
When team members participate in managing the project, they are more likely to take responsibility for its success. This participation changes the project manager from an enforcer to an enabler, and the team from individual performers to team members. If a member is behind on their work, peer pressure is more effective at boosting this individual's output than management pressure. A project manager at one software company takes it one step further: “We rotate leadership of the weekly status meeting. Everyone has a sense of ownership over the project.”
TABLE 16.2 Open Task Report (OTR)
OTR for a 10/14 Status Meeting | ||||||
ID | TaskName | Responsibility | PlanStart | ActualStart | PlanFinish | ActualFinish |
7 | Task G | Lee | 10/5 | 10/5 | 10/12 | |
8 | Task H | Chris | 10/8 | 10/14 | ||
12 | Task I | Lee | 10/17 | 10/25 | ||
15 | Task O | Lee | 10/20 | 11/2 | ||
22 | Task V | Chris | 10/25 | 11/7 |
The OTR acts as an agenda for progress reporting and near‐term planning.
The OTR includes tasks that are incomplete but scheduled for completion and tasks in the next two reporting periods.
As collaboration and communication technology advance and team members are increasingly not working side by side, it may seem old‐fashioned to bring people together around a conference table every week. Indeed, it becomes easier every day to share information, so why fight busy schedules and insist on a face‐to‐face discussion? Don't be fooled: Humans are complex animals, and communication happens in many ways. For example, reluctant bearers of bad news may first use their body language to report their feelings; a discouraged demeanor by several team members should be a signal for the project manager to probe deeper. In addition, problem‐solving and team building become more natural when people can look each other in the eye or slap each other on the back.
Project teams that are geographically dispersed don't get the benefit of informal communication of the kind that happens in the break room or hallway. Conference calls and videoconferencing bring people together, but they need an additional level of formality to make sure all the issues are raised and everyone is heard. The open task report provides the structure for keeping all parties on track and ensuring that all the details are discussed.
The Scrum practices described in Chapter 11 are well‐designed for project team communication:
Teams that follow the Scrum approach don't have to reinvent their communication practices on every project. It's more like pickup basketball, where even strangers know how to play by the same rules.
By going to www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM, you'll find some basic downloadable templates for planning a meeting and reporting status. In addition, you could use the basic action plan found at the end of Chapter 10 for communication on small projects.
A lot of teams are no longer working side by side, seeing each other every day on the elevator and in the break room. Teams can be geographically separated across cities, time zones, and continents. Working from a home office may be a necessity or a choice. It can be seen as a benefit by some employees who are able to live in small towns and collaborate with colleagues in urban cores. Multinational corporations place offices around the world to be close to customers. Startups save money on office space.
These geographically distributed teams may not share an elevator or lunchroom, but they are still real teams. The term virtual team is commonplace, but the only thing virtual about them is their office or meeting room. After all, they don't produce virtual deliverables and they won't work for virtual money.
The first rule of leading geographically dispersed teams is that they need every one of the success factors described in both this chapter and Chapter 15, but it will take more intentional leadership to build the team. Read the profile of an internationally distributed team at the end of this chapter for an example of intentional leadership.
Tuckman's Stages of Team Development, described in Chapter 2, remains a meaningful framework. Teams will Form and Storm before they Norm. The team will benefit from a directing leadership style deeper into the project schedule.
People regularly maintain positive personal relationships over distances. In 2020, millions of people rapidly transitioned to online meeting technology that leveraged cameras on phones and computers. Social and business meetings weren't quite the same, but we all adjusted to seeing friends and colleagues on our screens instead of across the table. The transition was easier because personal relationships were in place.
Starting a new team with everyone in separate locations isn't as easy as switching to online meeting technology because a key team development step is building relationships. Even co‐located teams don't start with relationships; they have to build them.
The fastest way for our new team to begin Forming, Storming, and Norming, is to meet in person and focus on team building. The direct expense associated with a face‐to‐face kickoff will be paid back many times by the quality and speed of the team's decisions and productivity. A well‐organized, facilitated kickoff meeting can cover a lot of ground in a matter of hours or days, depending upon the size of the team and project. Shift between activities that build relationships, build collaboration skills, build culture, and produce project definition and planning deliverables. It's a perfect venue to review the charter and involve the team in risk, resource, and schedule planning.
When circumstances don't allow for the whole team to meet, the second‐best approach is having the project manager rotate locations early in the project. Face‐time builds relationships. If all the team‐building work must be done over Internet connections, it will take more time and creativity. Consider hiring a facilitator who specializes in this challenge to lead these sessions. We want the team to move through Forming and Storming quickly, and poorly executed remote team building could lead to a team getting stuck in the Storming stage.
Our distributed teams need more norms to be explicitly stated. We do that by building team ground rules together.
Every team is different, so there are no one‐size‐fits‐all answers. Instead, develop the most appropriate team behavior expectations using a risk management process. During the team kickoff, we ask our team to brainstorm, “What threats to team communication do we face?” Or “How is being geographically distributed a threat to productivity?” Or “How might our different cultures create obstacles?” When the team works together to identify these threats and devise solutions, they will take more ownership over the team norms. We might also look for opportunities by asking, “How will our separation make us stronger and more productive?”
Remember that continuous improvement is a team success factor. Investing in team process assessments (Chapter 15) and Scrum retrospectives (Chapter 11) early and often will identify which team habits are working well and which can be improved. When that happens, update the stated ground rules. As a leader, it helps for you to reinforce these ground rules by pointing out when they are effectively used or when following ground rules would have avoided a problem.
The quality and availability of team communication technology is partly responsible for the growth of geographically separated teams. As the technology proliferated, more teams spread out. The question is not which particular tool to purchase, but whether a team can agree to consistent habits for the technology they select. Here are some key team communication activities that benefit from ground rules.
Meetings. It is widely accepted yet reluctantly admitted that people will multitask during remote meetings where they only participate via voice. Whether participants are answering e‐mail, reading online news, or driving, they are not adding to the meeting. Video webcams and online meeting applications are abundantly available and completely change the dynamic. Every project team can and should choose to share an agenda, share documents, and see each other during the meeting. Use the same meeting management guidelines that make face‐to‐face meetings effective.
Structured communication. Software teams use applications that are specifically designed to manage information about use cases, bugs, schedules, and other communication that is predictably necessary. These applications are designed to categorize information, so people know where to post it and where to find it. Whether a team is co‐located or global, categorizing predictable information adds productivity and the benefit is magnified for geographically separated teams. Tools also exist that are not specific to software development or any other kind of project. The difference is that a project team will configure the application themselves, making it fit the types of information they use regularly.
Informal collaboration. Probably the biggest disadvantage of distributed teams is the opportunity to engage a teammate on the spur of the moment. As distance grows and time zones separate, that's an even bigger challenge. Voice and video meeting tools collapse the space between us so opt for live conversations rather than lengthy e‐mail or chat exchanges. Ground rules help the spontaneity we want to preserve. Use your e‐mail or instant messaging or chat application to ask for a quick conversation but expect it won't be quite like putting your head in their office where you can get instant access. Instead, set your team ground rules that requests like this will get a response within a set period, such as 30 minutes, an hour, or whatever makes sense for your team.
Every guideline for building a positive team culture applies to geographically distributed teams, but the challenge is greater. Project leaders must remember that safety precedes trust. Choose to invest more energy into long‐distance relationships.
The team's collaborative capability rests on their culture, their skills, and the technology. The leader can model the team norms designed to overcome the distance. Demonstrate a continuous improvement mind‐set to show the team that it takes effort, flexibility, and a positive attitude to create productive team habits.
The most neglected project management activity is closing out the project. The reporting and accounting tasks associated with the closeout just aren't as exciting as developing the product, and on many projects they are completely ignored. This is unfortunate, because these activities can bring a very high return to the project manager's firm. A simple, downloadable project closure form is included in the Fast Foundation in Project Management downloadable forms.
The end of a project may coincide with delivery of a final product or may simply be the end of a product development phase. In either case, the deliverables from project closeout serve two purposes: They finalize the project in the eyes of the stakeholders, and they present a learning opportunity. The customer's formal acceptance of the product, the reconciling of project accounts, closing out the change logs and issues logs—all these things bring the project to crisp completion. In addition, producing a lessons‐learned report and organizing the project documentation present opportunities for process improvement or, in the case of the project manager, personal improvement.
The real proof that the project is finished comes from the customer. Formal acceptance of the finished product, or acknowledgment of phase completion, signifies that the work is complete. The project manager must plan for customer acceptance from the beginning. You need to be clear what form it will take and the work required to get it. The acceptance process may be lengthy, including extensive testing and evaluation that begin long before the final signature is given. To ensure that it goes smoothly, the customer's acceptance process should be on your work breakdown structure and in the project plan.
Some closeout activities may be classified as transition tasks. These include:
Finally, take the opportunity for organizational and personal improvement. Poll project participants—team, customers, vendors, management—on the effectiveness of the project management process. What was done well? What should be done differently next time? How could you improve communication, estimating, risk management, or change control?
When you document the results, be sure to both distribute them and store a copy where it can easily be found when you start your next project.
It's no mystery that good communication is cited as a factor common to all successful projects. When people work together to accomplish a unique goal, they need to coordinate their activities, agree on responsibilities, and reevaluate the cost‐schedule‐scope equilibrium. Put the project on a strong foundation by consciously setting up the mechanisms that enable communication, such as regular meetings, reports, and a plan for change management. The Control Checklist found on the website is an aid for keeping track of the many responsibilities of a project manager.
Along with the structures to enable communication, a project manager needs strong communication skills. Negotiating, listening, conflict resolution, writing, and many more skills affect our ability to work with the many people we encounter on every project. Even though these skills are not specifically addressed in this book (because they are not unique to project management), they are essential skills for project managers.
Communication is the core of a project manager's role. The downloadable templates and checklists described below add to your toolbox for proactively engaging your team, management, customers, and other stakeholders.
Download these documents at www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM. Use them as the foundation of your own project management standards.
Answers to these questions can be found at www.VersatileCompany.com/FastForwardPM.
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