How to Create a Communications Plan

	Hi uday Send the right message - to the right people - at the right time. If you manage projects, then you will know that to succeed, you need to communicate clearly with all of your project stakeholders. Otherwise your staff will lack clear direction, team morale will be low and your project may deliver over schedule and exceed its budget. To make sure that your projects communicate effectively, we have described here... How to Create a Communications Plan Step 1: Situation Analysis The first step to take when creating a Communications Plan is to perform a Situation Analysis. This is a fancy term for researching your existing communications environment. Review the performance of all communications within your project and identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Then identify any lessons learned from past communications exercises, so that the same mistakes made in the past are not repeated here. Step 2: Communications Objectives Great. So you know what your communications strengths are and where you need to improve. You are now ready to set out your communications objectives. List the top three objectives that you want to achieve from your project communications. For instance, you might want to inform stakeholders of the project progress, boost management buy-in or improve your team productivity. Step 3: Communications Guidelines Then set out your communications guidelines for controlling communications within your project. For example, you may decide that: All messages will be distributed through pre-defined channels All critical communications will be pre-approved by management All communications will be tailored, based on stakeholder needs Step 4: Target Audience Now define exactly who it is that your team will formally communicate with. Remember, formal communications are a method for controlling the messages sent out by your team. They promote a single consistent view of your project to a specified audience so that "everyone has the same version of the truth". Step 5: Stakeholder Needs Each target audience group will have their own needs. These stakeholders will require information that is specific to their role in the project. For instance, a Project Sponsor will need to be informed of high priority risks and issues, whereas a Quality Reviewer might need to be notified of the current status of project deliverables. Step 6: Key Messages Then list the key messages that need to be sent to each Stakeholder. Key messages may include project status, project issues, project risks, project deliverables or project resources. The next step is to define how you will deliver each message to them, through a delivery channel. Step 7: Delivery Channels There are a huge variety of ways in which you can deliver your key messages to stakeholders (e.g. emails, newsletters, meetings, conferences). For each stakeholder, identify the channel that you will use to deliver your key messages. Step 8: Communications Schedule Now you are ready to create the schedule of communications events, activities and actions that are required to deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time throughout the project. Create a detailed schedule of events and for each item listed, specify the timeframes for completion and any dependencies on other events in the schedule. Step 9: Communications Events For each event listed in your schedule, describe it in depth. Make sure that you define the purpose of the event, how it will take place and when it should occur. Step 10: Communications Matrix And finally, once you have listed the events and described them in detail, you need to identify who will manage them and who will review their effectiveness. Create a Communications Matrix which lists for each event who is accountable for the event, who will take part and who will review its success. Once you have taken these 10 steps, it is up to you to get your Communications Plan approved by your manager and then execute it to deliver communications efficiently across your project. And just one last tip - to improve your communications you need honest feedback on your team's performance. Implement feedback measures such as questionnaires, feedback forms and surveys to learn how to continually improve communications within your project team. - Uday Mahajan

The Role of a Project Manager

The Role of a Project Manager

The role of a Project Manager is to "Deliver the project on time, within budget and to specification". So in other words, you need to specify clearly upfront what must be delivered by the project, and then you need to produce it within the schedule and budget assigned.

But it's not that simple. You might meet this objective but totally fail as a "top notch Project Manager". We believe your role is much more than that. It is also...

1: To recruit the best

Great projects are delivered by a great team. Your role is to recruit the best people you can find and make sure that their skill sets are perfectly complimentary so that you have all of the experience you need to deliver the project successfully.

You need to document a detailed Job Description for every person in your team so that they all know what is expected of them, at every step in the journey. Only with a great team and everyone knowing what is expected of them, will you deliver a great result.

2: To motivate and lead

You need to be the one "cracking the whip" so that everyone knows what is to be done and by when. You need to be strict and make sure that every task is done on time and doesn't slip. If it does slip, then you need to identify the slippage immediately and have contingency plans so you can get back on track.

As well as cracking the whip, you need to be positive and supportive towards your team so they know you also care. You need to lead by example and motivate others to do the same. If you want others to work hard, then you need to work harder than they do.

Lead by giving them direction, motivating them to work hard and showing you care along the way.

3: To manage the finances

Every project has a budget, whether it's clearly defined or not. You need to ensure that you don't spend more than you're entitled to, or your sponsor / client will be dissatisfied with the end result. Manage finances carefully by listing every expense and ensuring that they are budgeted upfront. If unbudgeted expenditure takes place, tell your client as soon as possible to avoid complications down the track. If you need more budget, then don't be afraid to ask for it!

4: To control change

You need to be the one who controls all change to the project scope, tightly. "Scope creep" kills projects. Define the scope of the project upfront and then review it each week to make sure that you're not doing un-authorized work at any time. Your customer will ask for change throughout the project. Don't always give in. Stay your ground and when this happens, ask for more time or budget to cater for it. Remember—no matter how many changes they ask you for, they will still beat you up if you’re late or over budget. So control change when you see it.

5: Communicate

It's your job as a Project Manager to communicate the status of the project regularly. If people know it's on track it will motivate them. If they know it's late it will motivate them even more. But they will only know if it's on time or late if you communicate this to them.

You need to communicate the project status to your team, project sponsor and client every week of the project life cycle. Never miss a week. Always document the status accurately. Never exaggerate. Communicate the right messages t the right people at the right time.

Uday Mahajan.