Project Communications

Importance of a Communication Plan

y Project planning is meaningless if

plans are not communicated to the right people at the right time
y Perceived success of a project is

often based on how well stakeholders have been communicated with.

y Our plan covers formal, informal,

written and oral communication

Barriers to Communication
y Communication skills y Listening skills y Preconceived ideas y Evaluation skills y Lack of feedback y Stereotyping y Partial transmission of data y Mixed messages

Factors That Affect the Communication Process

y Business environment y Political environment y Power games y Restriction of data y Technological environment y Indirect communications y Memo management

Aspects of the Communication Plan

y Meetings y E-mail Messages y Status Reports y Company Newsletters y Network Folder y Communications with External

Partners

Meetings
y Weekly Team Meetings y Key Stakeholders Meeting every 2 y y y y

weeks Change Control Board Meeting as needed Implementation Coordination Meeting frequency TBD Agendas Minutes

Email Messages
y Email will be used as a key means of y

y y y y

distributing information Thus, each team member will be required to check email throughout each working day Email etiquette Send email to only the right people Review critical emails before sending Email is not a substitute for meeting

Status Reports
y Team members must submit a weekly Status

Report to the Customer Project Manager

y y y y Upcoming deliverables Tasks accomplished Upcoming tasks Critical issues and risks

y The PM compiles into a consolidated weekly

report, distributed to Key Stakeholders

y PM also authors a semi-monthly Project

Status Report for the Project Board.

Project Newsletter
y In order to keep all employees

informed of project progress and status, we will create a Project Newsletter

y Team members will be asked to

contribute articles

Network Folder
y Project deliverables and meeting

minutes will be posted on the project network folder

y This folder will be accessible to

project stakeholders
y Project Manager will own a separate

network folder for works in progress, accessible to IT

Project Web Site

y If supported by the Vendor (and

simple to create and administer) we will create a project web site

y Selected project documents and

deliverables will be posted on that Intranet site

Communication Matrix
of Communication Meeting Email Meeting Email Meeting Email Meeting Email Status Report Status Report Project Network Folder Project Web Site Project Newsletter D cri tion n r Craig Swanson Craig Swanson Craig Swanson Craig Swanson Meeting Leader Meeting Leader Craig Swanson Craig Swanson Team Members, and Craig Swanson Craig Swanson Craig Swanson TBD Craig Swanson Fr Weekly Weekly Every 2 weeks Every 2 weeks As needed As needed As needed As needed Weekly Every 2 weeks Periodically Periodically Monthly u nc Regular team meeting Regular team meeting agendas and minutes Key stakeholder meeting Key stakeholder meeting agendas and minutes Project Issue meeting Project Issue meeting agendas and minutes Change Control Board meeting Change Control Board agenda and minutes Weekly Status Report Project Board Update Report Deliverables and minutes posted Project information posted Monthly Project Update to all stakeholders

External Communication
y The project will require close interaction with a

number of external stakeholders: y List external stakeholders y Early, often, and documented!

Communication through Deliverables

y Use document templates

whenever possible
y Consistent look and feel y Prompt, clear, complete, and

accurate
y Should include formal signoff

Deliverables
y Project Charter y Project Budget y Communication Plan y Control Processes y Gap Analysis and Requirements Specification y System Specifications y Training Plan y Test Plan y Conversion Plan y Implementation Plan

Project Charter
y This formal blueprint for the project y Authorizes the Project Manager to

lead the project

y Details project characteristics: y Scope y Constraints y Assumptions

Project Budget
y Itemizes expected development

costs
y Based on the scope defined in the

Project Charter
y Estimates direct labor as well as

capital expenditures
y Itemizes expenses over time

Communication Plan
y Provides a clear plan of action for

communicating to project stakeholders

y Project progress y Issues

Control Processes
y Provides a clear plan of action for

controlling the process of the project. It includes descriptions of:

y Risk Control Process y Change Control Process y Action Items List

Risk Control Process

y Considers both threats and

opportunities
y Defines mitigation strategies and

contingency plans
y Risks are identified and acted on

throughout the entire project

Will be discussed in depth in a separate class

Change Control Process

y Provides a mechanism to keep the

scope of the project from spinning out of control

y Includes a simple process that requires

formal approval of changes

y Changes impact time, budget, and/or

quality
Will be discussed in depth in a separate class

Gap Analysis and Requirements Specification

y This specification is a formal

response to the business needs

y It specifies the requirements for the

project
y All project activity aims to implement

project requirements

System Specifications
y Defines how the requirements will be

realized in the software

y Blueprint for developers y Authored by the Vendor

Training Plan
y Defines how training is to be

designed, developed, implemented and evaluated

y Training is based on customer

needs and expectations

y Considers both user and IS training

Test Plan
y Identifies the the scope of testing y Random testing vs. structured

testing
y Test Schedule
y y y y y Unit Testing Scenario Testing Interface and Conversion Testing Verification Testing Parallel Processing

Conversion Plan
y Defines the process by which

legacy system data will be converted into the new system

y Mapping of legacy data to new

data files
y Authored by the Vendor, with

significant customer input

Implementation Plan
y Reflects the strategy and detailed

plans to implement the software in conformance with the documented specifications

y Specifies tasks, responsibilities,

and schedule
y Authored by the Vendor, with

significant customer input

Final communication Tool: Action Items List

y An electronic to do list y Used to track resolution of all

substantive open issues

y Identifies owner, due date, and status

Project WBS
y Work Breakdown Structure, held

in MS Project
y Itemizes all tasks, and the

relationships between them

y Owned by the Project Manager(s) y The key practical tool for

controlling the project

y More detail in the PM Session

Conclusion
y Effective communication is

critical to project success

y Multiple methods of

communication
y Project deliverables are a key

means of communication
y Communication must be prompt,

clear, complete, and accurate