Activity : Complete the following individually and attach your

completed work to your workbook.

Answer each question in as much detail as possible, considering your

organizational requirement for each one.

1. Based upon the review and the lessons learned you completed
in activities 3B and 3 C, re-write your communication
management plan for project you have just completed including
all the modifications, changes and improvements you have
highlighted.
The goal of Project Communications Management is to ensure timely and
appropriate collection, storage, distribution and generation of project
information. Communication is so important on projects that it is an integral
part of a successful project . Every project should include a communication
management plan - a document that guides projects communications. This
plan should be part of overall project plan. The type of communication will vary
with the needs of the project.

An effective Project Manager spends most of her/his time in Communication.

According to the PMBOK guide, a Project Manager spends 70-90% of her/his
time in communication during a project. Communication Management needs
to be planned during the beginning of the project. Communication Planning
involves determining the information and communication needs of the
stakeholders;

 Who needs what information and when

 What type of information will they need and in what detail?

 What will your goal be when you communicate and how the information
be provided to them
 2. Identify the project management information system you used
during this project and suggest way it could be improved.
A lessons learned report is a vital piece of information to help to improve the
communications in future projects. Every strategy employed by the
communications team throughout to project should be evaluated, reported on
and fed back to project authorities or senior management within your
organisation at the end of the project. When reviewing the strategies, the
whole project should be considered in conjunction with the communications
input.

Record essential information

In order to put the communications strategies into context it is important to

record details of the project.

Essential information includes:

←  Project objectives

←  Project manager and leaders

←  Description of the client/customer/sponsor/investors –

understanding their needs and expectations in terms of communication
will have a bearing on the review

←  Dates of the project

←  Deliverables – certain communication methods for one

industry may not work for another.
 3. What alternative communication methods and media
applications could you have used during your project that you
did not? Why did you not use them?

Motivating and achieving buy-in from large numbers of individuals requires

strong communication skills.

This is not about repeating the same communication mantra-like over and over
again. It is about pro-actively engaging with people.

The first step is to introduce the project, explaining the context of the project
and the impact that this will have on the organisation. However, having done
that, it is vital that a project manager discusses how the requirements of the
project will impact the individuals that they are with.

This communication needs to be specific to the group that the PM is talking to.
Taking the time to discuss the impacts on, and concerns of, each the multiple
different stakeholders will deal with most of their concerns upfront and should
remove blocks to the project proceeding.

It will also allow the PM to build strong relationships and clear communication
lines with key stakeholders that will be very useful through out the project.
Activity : This is a major activity – your instructor will let you know
whether you will complete it during class or in your own time.

1. Which of your stakeholders provided the most useful

information for your communication management plan at the
start of the project and what was its impact on the project
objectives? What was the information and why was it so useful?
These are an increasingly important category of stakeholder. As more emphasis
is being placed on organisations ethical behaviour and social responsibility,
there is an increasing demand for projects to be performed ethically. One of
the ways this is done is by treating those who don't belong to the performing
organisation, or to the customer/client organisation, as project stakeholders.
Consideration of these stakeholders must go beyond communications, but
project communications constitute an important part of your ethical dealings
with them.

Most projects consist of a broad range of stakeholders all of whom may have
differing interests and influence on the project. As such, it is important for
project teams to determine the communication requirements of these
stakeholders in order to more effectively communicate project information.
There are a number of methods for determining stakeholder communication
requirements; however, it is imperative that they are completely understood in
order to effectively manage their interest, expectations, and influence and
ensure a successful project.

Which delegated authority had the most influence over the

communications plan and why?
Creating Responsibility and Accountability - The delegation process does
not end once powers are granted to the subordinates. They at the same
time have to be obligatory towards the duties assigned to them.
Responsibility is said to be the factor or obligation of an individual to carry
out his duties in best of his ability as per the directions of superior.
Responsibility is very important. Therefore, it is that which gives
 effectiveness to authority. At the same time, responsibility is absolute and
cannot be shifted. Accountability, on the others hand, is the obligation of
the individual to carry out his duties as per the standards of performance.
Therefore, it is said that authority is delegated, responsibility is created and
accountability is imposed. Accountability arises out of responsibility and
responsibility arises out of authority. Therefore, it becomes important that
with every authority position an equal and opposite responsibility should be
attached.

2. What aspects of the project did you use your project

management information system to manage?
Savvy project managers use a project-management information system (PMIS)
to keep their projects organized. A PMIS is a set of procedures, equipment, and
other resources for collecting, analyzing, storing, and reporting information
that describes project performance.

A PMIS contains the following three parts:

 Inputs: Raw data that describe selected aspects of project performance

 Processes: Analyses of the data to compare actual performance with

planned performance

 Outputs: Reports presenting the results of the analyses

In addition to requiring that you define the data, designing a PMIS also requires
that you specify how to collect the data, who collects it, when they collect it,
and how they enter the data into the system. All these factors can affect the
timeliness and accuracy of the data and, therefore, of your project
performance assessments.

3. Which members or the term did you make responsible for the
following information processes and why?
Membership of the committee will depend on the size and complexity of your
agency. Senior representation is required from all information, data and
records stakeholders.

Membership of the committee may consist of the following:

 Chair: Senior executive responsible for information management, that is

Chief Information Officer or equivalent responsible for information and
data management

 Chief technology officer

 Senior legal officer

 Freedom of information manager

 Security advisor

 Senior representatives from business areas responsible for valuable

information assets

 Senior corporate governance representative

4. What methods did you use for the validation of data and how
effective were they?
There are essentially two parts to data validation, data screening and data
verification. ·
 Data Screening: The first part uses a series of validation routines or
algorithms to screen all the data for suspect (questionable and
erroneous) values. A suspect value deserves scrutiny but is not
necessarily erroneous. For example, an unusually high hourly wind speed
caused by a locally severe thunderstorm may appear on an otherwise
average windy day. The result of this part is a data validation report (a
printout) that lists the suspect values and which validation routine each
value failed. ·
 Data Verification: The second part requires a case-by-case decision on
what to do with the suspect values æ retain them as valid, reject them as
invalid, or replace them with redundant, valid values (if available). This
 part is where personal judgment by a qualified person familiar with the
monitoring equipment and local meteorology is needed.

Before proceeding to the following sections, you should first understand the
limitations of data validation. There are many possible causes of erroneous
data: faulty or damaged sensors, loose wire connections, broken wires,
damaged mounting hardware, data logger malfunctions, static discharges,
sensor calibration drift, and icing conditions, among others. The goal of data
validation is to detect as many significant errors from as many causes as
possible. Catching all the subtle ones is impossible

5. What communication network did you implement and what

methods of communication did you use with each one?

The communication method will also depend on the structure through

which information will be shared:

• There may be a strict hierarchy in which information can only flow up and
down through one route - for example information to trustees can only be
sent through the chief executive. You must ensure that those elsewhere in
the route who are critical for passing on your message understand your
message, do pass it on to the next stage in the communications route and
pass on the correct message

• You may sit at the centre of a hub of communication networks from which
you can directly communicate to each stakeholder in a targeted way

• You may have the mix of the two where you feed messages into different
chains of communication for those within those chains to then pass your
message along

6. What communication issue did you identify during the project

and how did you resolve them?
Communication affects performance. Therefore, if you want high-performance
teams working on a project, you need effective communications entrenched to
make sure you get these kinds of results. Without well-established channels, it
is likely that the project will fail. Successful project managers typically have
good communications skills that include being able to effectively present the
issues, listen and act on feedback, and foster harmony among team members.

Reinforcing project communications

An effective communications plan will:

 Facilitate team development: Proper communication actually provides

the basis for the project team to work together and understand
objectives and tasks to be completed. Better communication means
better performance.

 Be used throughout the software development process: From defining

the user requirements to implementing the product, a proper
communication plan aids in informing all project stakeholders what
communication channels will be used on the project, who will report to
whom, and the frequency, type, and format of project meetings.

 Make it easier to update stakeholders: Frequent communications keep

stakeholders in the loop.

 Save on creating additional project documentation: By taking effective

communication steps from the day the project starts, you may see a
reduction in project documentation.

7. How did you determine the ownership of project information

records?
The audience for this piece of guidance will vary depending on the drivers for
performing the

investigation. For digital continuity, the primary audience will be the Senior
Responsible

Owner (SRO) and whoever the SRO has assigned to be responsible for
completing Stage 2 of the process. If the driver is to perform an impact study
for a potential change, then it may be a change or project manager using this
guidance. Regardless of their role, the person leading the process will likely
have to consult other members of the organisation who may also find it useful
to read this piece to understand the background – for example business
continuity managers, Information Asset Owners, IT professionals and business
analysts.

8. What was your most successful communication strategy in term

of impact on project objectives and why?
A good communications plan defines how the strategy will be expressed
through practical public relations activities. It brings together in one
document all of the fundamental ideas that should be driving
communications, including objectives, audiences, messages, and an
overview of how your goals will be achieved. It sets a clear framework for
PR activities and allocates roles, tasks and goals to individual members of
the team.

Following are the key ingredients for a communication plan:

1. Strategic overview 2. Situation analysis
3. Audiences 4. Objectives
5. Messages 6. Tactics
7. Media 8. Timeline 9. Responsibilities

9. What was the most important lesson learned from the project
in term of communication strategy and why?
Statement of purpose

It is useful to say up front why you have developed a communications

strategy and what you hope to achieve with it. This does not need to be
very detailed, it acts as a reference and reminder for those using it in their
work. For example:

"This communications strategy shows how effective communications can:

 Help us achieve our overall organisational objectives

 Engage effectively with stakeholders

 Demonstrate the success of our work

 Ensure people understand what we do

 Change behaviour and perceptions where necessary."