INT. J. NEW. INN.

, 2012, 1(1), 196-202

ISSN:2277-4459

COMMUNICATION AS A KEY CONTRIBUTORIN IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Baljit Singh Sidhu1
1

Research Scholar, Singhania University,Rajasthan

ABSTRACT
Several studies have indicated the significance of communication in project management. Those tracking project management trends point out that an IT Project Manager spends 90% of this time in communication while managing a particular project. It is a known fact that despite advances in modern project management practices we still havent been able to improve the success rate of projects which is languishing at well below 35%. Through case studies of three organisations this paper describes how key IT Projects fared in terms of value to the organisations and the influence of communication on their outcome. Through this the author has attempted to establish prominent role communication plays in the success of IT Projects. The survey conducted was based primarily on the parameters of Communications component defined by Luftman in his famous SAMM model, apart from references drawn from PMBOK Guide by PMI.

KEYWORDS: IT Project Manager, Communication, success rate, Luftman, SAMM, PMBOK

1. INTRODUCTION
Communication as a trait refers to the repertoire of behaviours that serve to convey information to a person or group of individuals. Communication is the foremost trait in all living beings. We humans have taken it to a different level through constant evolution through the ages. And perhaps it is this refined level of communication that distinguishes us from animals. But within us humans too there are varying degrees of efficiencies in communication, not just in social interactions but also in professional environment. Success on both fronts requires high level of communication skills. Communication is a highly valued skill at workplace these days and many a career has flourished owing to sharp communication. We often see experts conducting workshops and seminars based on communication skills. Several organisations are routinely engaging trainers to conduct communication sessions to help their work force in enhancing productivity. In a Project environment as per PMBOK (Third Edition) [2] a project manager spent 90% of his project time in communication. Therefore one can assume that the success of a project heavily hinges on how effectively the project team

Communicates. The Fig. 1 illustrates how communication affects the output of a project. [7] Apart from PMI various governance models such as COBIT and ITIL have accorded prominence to communication as a key aspect in success of an IT initiative. Luftman [1] while defining his Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM) to assess organisational alignment maturity has considered Communications as an important criterion as figure 2 depicts. The Standish Group's report, "CHAOS Summary 2009," [5] mentioned that only 32% of all projects succeed. The same Standish Group in their 1995 study had discovered that the success of an IT project is related to three key factors: user participation, management support, requirement clarity. These factors clearly depend on effective communication. One can safely assume that one of the primary causes of the project failure is indeed the lack of communication.

1.1. Literature Review

The role of communication has been recognized by many researchers and social scientists over the years. Its a highly sought after skill both in social as well as professional environments. Project Management literature has repeatedly emphasized on the International Journal of New Innovations

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