Introduction to Project Management

Unit 7

Unit 7

Project HR and Communication Management

Structure 7.1 Introduction Objectives 7.2 Project Human Resource Management Role of Project Manager in HR and Communications Management 7.3 Human Resource Management Process Acquiring a Project Team Developing a Project Team Managing a Project Team 7.4 Tools and Techniques used for Project HR management 7.5 Communication Management Process Importance of Communication in Project Management Communication Plan 7.6 Summary 7.7 Terminal Questions 7.8 Answers 7.9 Case study 7.10 Glossary

7.1 Introduction
In this unit you will learn about how communication management provides a constant and effective communication link among stakeholders and project information in a timely manner. This unit introduces you to communication plans which are guidelines for project status meetings, team meetings and other information channels. Human Resource (HR) aspect to project management includes choosing members for a project and allotting roles and responsibilities. HR also deals with all performance and personnel aspects of team members in a project. The role of a project manager in dealing with HR and communications within projects are also discussed. The project team members also ref erred to as Project Staff, have predefined roles and responsibilities for fulfilling the project requirement. However, as the project develops, there could be frequent variations in the organisation of the project team.
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Early involvement and contribution of team members improves their skills during the process of planning and strengthens their commitment to the project. A HR plan is a systematic approach to ensure that organisations have the right people in the right jobs to effectively and efficiently perform their operations. Learning Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to: Define Project Human resource management. Describe the Human resource management process. List the various tools and techniques used for Project HR management. Explain the importance for communication in project management. Define Communication Plan Explain the communication management process. Describe the role of project manager in HR and communications management.

7.2 Project Human Resource Management

Project Human Resource Management is a subset of Project Management that includes various processes that are essential and are required for making the most effective use of the people involved with the project. 7.2.1 Role of Project Manager in HR and Communications Management A project manager is responsible for managing various tasks, activities and processes to ensure that the project is delivered in the defined time. He is responsible for defining the goals and objectives of the project and ensures that the resources that are required for the smooth working of the project are available. He also monitors and controls the project process to keep track of the status of the work. This ensures that the progress, schedule, procedures and the cost of the project are well monitored. Apart from monitoring and controlling the implementation and execution of the project, a project manager also plays a vital role in Human Resources and communications management such as: Assists in effective communications among the team members, Consistency in methodology, Consistency in process, documentation, procedure, Meet deadlines and commitments
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Facilitate formal metrics and reporting to upper management/project sponsors. Entrusted with the authority and accountability necessary to get the job done. Able to cope with conflicting scope, quality, schedule, risk, and other requirements. Single point of integration to meet customers needs. Held accountable for project failure. Maintain control over the project by measuring performance and correcting as necessary.

7.3 Human Resource Management Process

Human Resource Management includes various processes that are vital to make the most effective use of the people involved with a project. The main process involved with the HR Management process includes: Acquiring the project team. Developing the project team. Managing the project team. 7.3.1 Acquiring a Project Team The members who belong to different groups and functions and are allocated to the activities of the same project, form a project team. A team can be divided into sub-teams if required. Generally, the project teams are only used for a defined period of time. However, they are disbanded when the project is complete. Sometimes, due to the nature of the specific formation and disbandment, project teams are usually agile in organisations. Acquiring a project team is the process of acquiring the specific people needed to accomplish all phases of the given project. Ultimately the team members will bring all the specific qualifications and capabilities to the project team. However, the project management team has control over the selection process. Selection of team mates involves certain concerns which need to be evaluated.1 A number of factors are considered while deciding the team members. These factors include a series of environmental factors (such as work
1

A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide).Fourth Edition 2008 Project Management Institute. Newton Square USA.

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experience, availability, and cost), derivation of clear and concise project organisation charts, and formulation of a thorough staffing management plan. Once the team is properly staffed, the next steps (or outputs) of the process involve staffing out assignments to the team, determining availability of resources, and updating the staffing management plan. Important factors that are considered during the process of acquiring the team are: The project manager should efficiently discuss and induct others who are in a position to supply the required Human Resources in a project. Failure to obtain the essential Human Resources for the project will affect project agenda, budgets, consumer satisfaction and quality. It declines the probability of success and eventually results in project cancellation. The figure 7.1 depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of acquiring a project team.

Figure 7.1: Acquiring a Project Team: Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output

The inputs for acquiring a project team are: Enterprise environmental factors: Team members are available from internal and external sources. When selecting the team members, it is important to evaluate the following factors: Availability Ability Experience Interests Costs

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Assets of organisational process: Assets of organisational process covers reviewing the documented policies, procedures, and guidelines governing staff assignments. Roles and responsibilities: The roles and responsibilities document should be assessed to determine a team members roles, responsibilities, skills, levels of authority, and competencies. Project organisation charts: The project organisation chart is an input/output device that serves a valuable role for the Project Management team and team leader in the process of keeping a thorough and careful organisational record of the projects processes. Staffing management plan: The staffing management plan with the project schedule is reviewed to ascertain when team members are needed. For successful completion of a project, it is always beneficial to gather the best team available. With the right team, one will have good foundation. The common tools and techniques utilised to ensure quality output from a good project team are:

Pre-assignment: Pre-assignment is commonly done when the project team positions are known in advance. This is usually completed when the project is dependent on the expertise of an individual. Negotiation: Negotiation is used when the project manager needs to assure that the project receives skilled staff within the required time frame. Another situation which calls for negotiation is when particular or scarce resources are needed to complete the project plan. Acquisition: When organisations do not have the in-house staff needed to complete the project, staff acquisitions is done to provide new resources, consultants, or subcontractors to the project. Virtual teams: Virtual teams are utilised in the following situations: The teams encompass individuals who are not located in the same region. The teams comprise employees who work from home. The teams consist of individuals working in different shifts. The teams consist of individuals with mobile handicaps.
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The results from the right project team are a good foundation to start a project when the project manager has negotiated and secured the services for successful completion of the project. The output of acquiring a project team process is: Assignments of project staff: Assignments of project staff illustrates who has been assigned to the project. These assignments should be documented in team directory, in project organisation charts and in schedules. Availability of resources: Availability of resources gives the time periods that each project team member can work on. Updates of staffing management plan: Changes in the staffing management plan is needed in order to update the plan with the real team. 7.3.2 Developing a Project Team Developing a project team is a process of enhancing interaction among the team members and also the project manager. The process refers to increasing competencies of individuals and building up team spirit, which finally leads to a quality project2. To achieve project success, there should be good communication among the team members. Project managers should administer the development of the project team. The project manager should create the relevant environment for teamwork, provide new goals for the team to compete and achieve. Project managers should encourage feedback from the team. The project manager should provide effective review and good support to the team staff. Open communication between the project manager and team reduces conflicts. The management should also support the project managers. The project stakeholders should provide the required support to the development of the project team. Projects are done in diversified environments. The project team may experience variance in language, industry and culture while at work. The project team should be dedicated to the project and the team members

A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide).Fourth Edition 2008 Project Management Institute. Newton Square USA.

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should work together, without losing their individuality. The goals for developing a project team are: To develop technical knowledge about the project, this leads to quality output and meeting delivery schedules with reduced cost. To enhance trust among team members, thus reducing conflicts. To develop cohesiveness in the project. To allow sharing knowledge among team members. The figure 7.2 depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of developing a project team.

Figure 7.2: Developing a Project Team: Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output

The inputs for developing a project team are: Project staff allocation: Project staff allocation deals with listing the members of the project team. Staffing management plan: Staffing management plan deals with staff attainment, guidance and release. The project staff should be recognised individually and also as a team. Resource availability: Resource availability deals with assigning the project team members according to the time available. The project team development requires a good knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the team members. Developing a synergistic project team means knowing the team members, helping them build upon their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses while promoting productive working relationships within the team. The following tools and techniques help to identify the team assets: Team management skills: The Project Management team should know the skills of each person to understand the individuals of the team. These skills improve a teams communication, creativity and performance. Team management skills unite a team amidst cultural differences.
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Team training: The project team should be trained in every technical aspect involved in the project. The training can be classroom training, online learning, on-the-job training and mentoring. The training should be planned according to the Human Resource plan. Team developing activity: The team developing activities are effective means for achieving team trust. The team should communicate effectively even if the team is placed in remote locations.

The first factor in team effectiveness is the diversity of skills and personalities, where different personality types balance and complement each other. The second critical element for a successful team is that all the team efforts are directed towards the teams goal. This relies heavily on good communication in the team and harmony among the members. The third factor involves resolving issues in project development. Even if the teams goals are clear and accepted by everyone, there may be issues due to lack of communication, differences in approach, limited resources, difference in personalities and interdependency. The project manager should consider these three factors and introduce team building activities accordingly. The five stages of team development are: Forming: Forming involves knowing every team member individually. The team members are inclined to work independently. They find out about each other and know whos who. Storming: Storming involves the actual Project Management process. This stage promises action. There is a struggle for project team control, and momentum builds as members have to lead the project team. During this phase, the team members figure out the hierarchy of the team and the informal roles of team members. Norming: Norming is working together, socialising, and providing constructive criticism. The team develops a strong commitment to the teams goal and work to achieve it. Performing: Performing means smooth movement of project development by a well-organised project team. The team members blend into their roles and focus on completing the project work as a team.
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Adjourning: Adjourning implies completion of the project so that the team is ready for a new one.

The various factors in project development team are listed below: Ground rules: Ground rules make certain clear expectations regarding appropriate team behaviour. The project team members should have a clear idea about these rules to decrease misunderstanding and increase productivity. Co-location: The team members should be placed in the same physical location to increase team building opportunities. Team staff rewards: The Project Management should recognise and reward the team members to improve project work. Empathy establishment: The project team should have an empathetic approach to each other. Developing a project team is a continuous process that needs to be assessed on an ongoing basis. When tools and techniques are used to develop the project team, the project manager or Project Management team needs to assess the team's improvement.

The output of developing a project team is: Team performance assessment: Developing strategies and working according to it increases the team performance. It enhances the teams chances of meeting the project objectives. The teams performance can be measured by the following factors: Performance of tasks assigned. Competencies to build a better team. Project cohesiveness. Rate of staff turnover. 7.3.3 Managing a Project Team Managing a project team is the process of delegating responsibilities and tasks, monitoring team performance, providing feedback, solving issues, and coordinating changes to enhance overall project performance. Managing the team is one of the most critical aspects of project management. The project manager should encourage building competencies among the team members and reward them accordingly.
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Key aspects of managing a project team are: Assigning work and observing the commitment level in each team member. Building co-operative working relationship and ensuring effective communication among all members of the project team. Monitoring team spirit. Providing effective performance review and appraisal to inspire the project team. The figure 7.3 depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of managing a project team.

Figure 7.3: Managing a Project Team: Inputs, Tools, Techniques and Output

The inputs for managing a project team are: Assets of organisational process: Assets of an organisational process include policies, procedures and systems which are used to reward the project team. Project staff allocations: Project staff allocations are the list of duties assigned to the members of the project team. Staff allocation documents are used during the monitoring and tracking process to evaluate individual team members. Team roles and responsibilities: The roles and responsibilities document include the tasks assigned to the project team members. Project organisational plan: Project organisational plan represents the reporting relationship among the project team. Staff management plan: The Staff management plan describes the team member requirement and list of training plans. Assessment of team performance: Team performance assessments are the documented formal or informal assessment of the project teams
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performance. The project manager should identify and solve problems, reduce conflicts and improve overall team work. Work performance: The team members performance is measured and documented as work performance documents. Project performance reports: Performance reports illustrate project performance information compared to the project plan. These reports provide a base for determining the actions needed for successful project delivery.

The tools and techniques used for managing a project team are: Inspection and discussion: The project manager monitors the progress toward project goals, interpersonal relationships, and work of every team member. Project performance reviews: Performance reviews are used to clarify team member responsibilities and to achieve future goals. Project performance reviews facilitate team members to receive feedback from supervisors. Managing conflicts: Managing conflicts reduces critical disagreements within the project team. The project manager uses informal and formal intrusions to resolve problems before the conflict damages the project. Issue log: An issue log is a list of action items and the names of the team members responsible for carrying them out. An issue log helps project managers to monitor outstanding items.

The output of managing a project team is: Requested changes: Requested changes are project staffing changes (either planned or unplanned) which affect the project plan. An integrated change control is processed in case of a disrupting change in project plan. Recommended corrective actions: Recommended corrective actions involve overcoming the addition or removal of a team mate, additional training, or actions relating to disciplinary processes. Recommended preventive actions: The recommended preventive actions are taken to reduce the impact of expected problems.

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Updating of organisational process asset: Updating of organisational process assets are either inputs to team members performance appraisals or lessons learned documentation. Staffing management plan updates: A staffing management plan is a supplementary plan of the project management plan. The staffing management plan updates approved staffing related change requests.

7.4 Tools and Techniques used for Project HR Management

The project team utilises various tools and techniques to guide the Human Resource planning process. Some of them include: Organisation charts and position description: Organisation charts and position description clarifies and communicates the roles and responsibilities of the team members and ensures that each work package is assigned accordingly. Organisation charts can have three formats such as : Hierarchical-type organisation chart Matrix-based responsibility chart Text-oriented format Hierarchical-type organisation chart: The structure of traditional organisation charts is used to show positions and relationships among team members in a graphic, top-down format. Matrix-based responsibility chart: Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) illustrates the connections between work packages or activities and project team members. Text-oriented format: The required detailed descriptions of the responsibilities of team members are specified in text-oriented formats. The documents generally provide information such as responsibilities, authority, competencies, and qualifications in outline form. Networking: Informal communication among co-workers in the organisation is to comprehend the political and interpersonal factors in a productive way that will affect the organisational relations. Organisational theory: Organisational theory depicts how people, teams, and organisational units behave.

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Stakeholder Analysis: Technique used to identify and assess the importance of key people, groups of people, or institutions that may significantly influence the success of your project. It is used to anticipate the kind of influence, positive or negative, groups will have on your project. It is a technique that can be used alone or with other team members.

The output of creating a Human Resource (HR) plan is: Roles and responsibilities: Explanation of roles and responsibilities gives project team members an idea of their own roles and the responsibilities in the project. Clarity is always a key constituent of project achievement. Project organisation charts: Organisation charts of a project are a diagram of the reporting relationships of project team members. Staffing management plan: It is an important output of the Human Resource planning process which establishes the timing and methods for meeting project Human Resource requirements. The components of the Staffing management plan are: Staff acquisition: Staff acquisition describes how the project will be staffed, where the team will be working and the level of expertise needed. Timetable: The Timetable shows the timeframes when resources are available for the project. Release criteria: A Release criterion lists the method and timing of releasing team member. Training needs: Training needs is a plan which explains how to train the project resources. Recognition and rewards: Recognition and rewards are the criteria for rewarding and promoting the desired team behaviours. Compliance: Compliance details the strategies for complying with regulations, contracts and Human Resources policies. Safety: Safety procedures are listed to protect the team members.

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Self Assessment Questions 1. _________________ describes how the project will be staffed, where the team will be working and the level of expertise needed. 2. Compliance details the strategies for complying with regulations, contracts and Human Resources policies (True/False) 3. Define the function of organisational theory. 4. Expand RAM. 5. _________________ is a technique that is used to identify and assess the importance of key people in the project. Activity 1: Visit a small company and find out the various tools and techniques that are used for the project Human Resources management.

7.5 Communication Management Process

Communication Management process provides a critical link between people, ideas, and information at all stages during the project life cycle. Apart from devoting time on project planning, execution and delivery, project manager should also value communication and communication management. Lack or excess of communication within a project team will eventually derail the project from its original course. The Communication Management processes are planning communication, distributing information, reporting performance and managing stakeholder expectations. Communication Management in a project is defined as the process of creating, gathering, distributing, storing, and retrieving the project information. The project managers systematically plan, implement and monitor the communication within the project team and with the project stakeholders. Communication Management process is a set of steps considered while communicating in a project team. A project team frequently communicates within the team, with the project manager and also with the project stakeholders. Communication Management process can make these communications, effective. It creates a link between different stakeholders engaged in the same project.
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7.5.1 Importance of Communication Management Effective Communication Management leads to a successful project. It is delivered on time, with minimal or no defects and within the budget. Such projects provide client satisfaction. In a properly structured project, project communication should be open, regular and accurate within the various levels i.e. stakeholders, project manager and project team members. Project staff or team should know its roles and responsibilities, which has to be efficiently communicated by the project manager. At the same time, right expectations with respect to budget, time constraints and quality should be set with the client and properly communicated so as to prevent any future uncertainty. Similarly, project staff should frequently update the project manager regarding the progress of the project. Such updates from the project team are essential for the project manager to closely monitor the project. Information needs to be communicated to a project team based on the rank within the organisation. The project team releases newsletters, articles and trends followed within the project on a regular basis, so that the team members and stakeholders would get adequate project information and can scale up accordingly. Critical project and organisation information can only be communicated to the board members of the organisation. The project functionality, deadlines and other project requirements can be communicated to the project team. Various types of communication in Project Management are: Internal and external: These are the communications done within the project team and with the stakeholders. Formal and informal: These include reports, logs, memos, emails, discussions and project meetings. Vertical or horizontal: The team members discuss project issues with the managers and the peers in the project. Official and unofficial: These include circulars, reports and also certain off-the- record conversations in a project.

7.5.2 Communication Plan Planning communication is the process of ascertaining the information and communication needs of the project stakeholders.
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Communication plan helps to communicate the right information, to the right people at the right time. It is a schedule of communication events used to make sure that the project stakeholders are kept properly informed. The various factors such as the time, effort and resources that are required to perform these planned communication activities are the part of the Project Management. The communication goals, strategies and stakeholders are described in the communication plan. The best time for planning communication is at the start up phase of the project life cycle. It ensures that the plan includes the tasks needed to communicate effectively throughout the project cycle. The key features influencing the communication plan includes Project Management team structure, scope of the project and feedback from the stakeholders. There are two ways of planning communication: Constant communication: Constant or regular communication involves communicating to the project team, managers and project stakeholders on a regular basis. These types of communication include regular status reports, project team meetings and monthly status updates about the project. The constant communication also includes the regular stakeholder report updates. Event driven communication: The event driven or one-time communication includes sessions discussing critical issues, stakeholder meetings, training schedules and wrap up sessions. The advantages of planning communication are: It facilitates team development. It makes it easier to update stakeholders. It saves creation of additional project documentations. Incorrect planning of communication leads to problems such as hindrance in message delivery, providing sensitive data to the wrong audience or lack of communication to certain stakeholders. The inputs for planning communication are: Stakeholder register: Stakeholder records consist of stakeholder identification, assessment and classification documents. Stakeholder management strategy: Stakeholder management strategy describes the method to gain support and reduce dissatisfaction from the stakeholders throughout the entire project life cycle.
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Enterprise environmental factors: All environmental factors such as organisational culture, industry standards are considered as inputs for the planning communication process. Organisational process aspects: All organisational process assets are applied while planning communications. The lessons learned and documented information is important as it gives an idea about the issues resolved.

The tools and techniques for planning communication are: Communication requirement analysis: Communication requirement analysis determines the required information for the project stakeholders. These requirements are formed according to the disciplines of project management process. Communication technology: Communication technology describes the methods used to exchange information between the project team and the stakeholders. Communication models: Communication models are the different models to transfer information between a sender and a receiver. The sender and the receiver can be the project team members, manger, or the stakeholders. The basic communication model is done according to the following steps. Encode the data, so that no external entity can comprehend it. Use feedback messages to acknowledge the reception of data. Use secure medium for the data transfer. Any interference to the data transfer should be prevented. Decode the data from its encoded form.

Communication methods The project manager decides the techniques of communication. There are mainly three types of communication techniques among project stakeholders, they are: Interactive communication: Interactive communication involves multiple parties interacting in multidirectional mode. Push communication: Push communication indicates information transfer to the specific recipient without any acknowledgment from the recipient.
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Pull communication: Pull communication is a process were the recipients use intranet or e-learning to access the bulk amount of information.

The output from planning communication is: Communication management plan: The communication management plan is formed as the result of applying the tools and techniques to the planning communication process. A communications management plan includes the following information, depending on the project requirements: Stakeholder requirements for communication. Information to be communicated including formats and levels of detail. Reason for disseminating information. Time frame and frequency of communications. The person responsible for communication of information. The person responsible for authorising release of confidential information. Methods used for communication (example, email, meetings). Resources allocated for communicating information including time expectations and budget. Method for updating and refining the communication management plan. Flow charts depicting information flow in the project. Communication constraints according to company policies. Project document updates: It is the process of updating project stakeholder schedules, records and stakeholder management strategy. Self Assessment Questions 6. _________________ is the process of updating the project stakeholder schedules, records and other project documents. 7. _________________ indicates Information transfer to the specific recipient without any acknowledgment from the recipient. 8. Define Pull Communication. 9. Communication technology does not include the methods used to exchange information between the project team and the stakeholders. (True/False) 10. What does stakeholder records consist of?

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Activity 2: List out the benefits of communicating information effectively. Find out, what would happen if a communication plan is not charted well?

7.6 Summary
Human Resource Management is a process to effectively organise, manage and lead a project team. This implies that each member of the project team has predefined roles and responsibilities in the accomplishment of the project. Human Resource planning is an organised way to ensure that organisations employ the right people. Human Resource planning is the staffing management plan which illustrates how and when the team members are added/removed from the team. The four elements that constitute the Human Resource management process are creating a Human Resource (HR) plan, acquiring a project team, developing a project team and managing a project team. Communication Management process includes all those processes that are required to ensure that the information pertaining to a project is generated, collected, disseminated, stored and ultimately, disposed of, in a timely and appropriate manner. The four elements that constitute the communication management process are planning communication, distribution of information, managing stakeholder expectations and performance reporting.

7.7 Terminal Questions

1. Elucidate the importance of communication in Project Management. 2. Explain the various tools and techniques uses for Project HR Management. 3. What are the various factors to be considered while acquiring a project team? 4. What do you understand by the term Communication Plan? 5. Illustrate the role of project manager in HR and communications management.

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7.8 Answers
Answers to Self Assessment Questions 1. Staff Acquisition 2. True 3. Organisational theory depicts how people, teams, and organisational units behave. 4. Responsibility assignment matrix 5. Stakeholder Analysis 6. Project document updates 7. Push Communication 8. Pull communication is a process were the recipients use intranet or elearning to access the bulk amount of information 9. False 10. Stakeholder records consist of stakeholder identification, assessment and classification documents. Answers to Terminal Questions 1. Refer section 7.5 2. Refer section 7.4 3. Refer section 7.3 4. Refer section 7.5 5. Refer section 7.2

7.9 Case Study

Organisation: Cruise Software Services Pvt Ltd The company Cruise Software Services Pvt Ltd lacked a well developed and efficient communications plan during the implementation of a software product. This arose conflicts between the stakeholders and the management. Thus, the lack of understanding among the top level executives regarding the organisational change management resulted in the increase of resistance among the users. Thus, the decision regarding the implementation of the software and the appointment of a new venture manager as leader of the project was formally announced by the CEO of
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the company. Although a project champion was allotted at the start of the project, the appointment was not announced officially. Furthermore, the person in the role of the champion changed overtime due to many instances of company .Hence, there was no formal recognition of the champion role throughout the lifetime of the project. During the reengineering and design phase, the senior executives at all workplaces around the country delivered presentations about the objectives, deliverables, project life cycle etc. Though the project had the full support of the top management, the way in which the presentations were carried out, was extremely remote. Steps to encourage employee involvement were not taken in the sense that there were no workshops or seminars held to cater to the concerns of the employees who were to use the system. No open days were held to encourage the employees to share their ideas and contribute to the project. Thus, the roles and responsibilities of all the people responsible for and involved in the project were not well defined. The action plan contained broad milestones and schedules, which were unfortunately not strictly adhered to. Thus, in order to find a solution to the problem, the steering committee that was responsible for driving the project met with the teams every week to provide guidance and to monitor the progress. Problem discussion days were also held. This helped the teams to brainstorm and evaluate the short listed solutions to the anticipated problems. Representatives from the parent company also visited the site frequently and imparted learning, gained from similar experiences in other subsidiaries of the company. Questions: 1. List out the benefits of effective communication among the project team? 2. How did efficient communication help the company to resolve various conflicts?

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7.10 Glossary
Term Brain Storming Description It is a technique that is designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem concerned with the group creativity. It is a method of solving any problem collectively shared in which all members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas. It indicates Information transfer to the specific recipient without any acknowledgment from the recipient. It is a process where the recipients use intranet or elearning to access the bulk amount of information. It is a list of action items and the names of the team members responsible for carrying them out. An issue log helps project managers to monitor outstanding items.

Push Communication

Pull Communication Issue Log

References 1. A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Fourth Edition 2008 Project Management Institute. Newton Square USA. 2. http://managementhelp.org 3. http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_05_herzberg.html

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