12

Project Evalua.on,
Communica.on,
Implementa.on and
Closeout

Project Management 412

2014 Alan Brent

Adapted from Slides Compiled by:

John M Nicholas
Herman Steyn

Project Communica.ons
Reading
10%

Project Managers spend

roughly 75-90% of their
work >me
communica>ng

Writing
10%

Speaking
30%

75%

Other
5%

Listening
45%

Ones eec*veness is determined by ones

ability to reach others through the spoken or
wri<en word perhaps the most important of
skills.
- Peter Drucker

PMBOK: A Knowledge Area for Communica.on

Knowledge
Areas
Integration

Process Groups
Initiating
Project Charter
Prelim Scope Statement

Planning
Dev Proj Mgmt Plan

Executing
Direct & Manage Proj
Execution

Monitoring
&
Controlling

Closing

Monitor & Control Project

Work
Close Project
Integrated Change Control

Scope

Scope Planning
Scope Definition
Create WBS

Scope Verification
Scope Control

Time

Activity Definition
Act Sequencing
Act Resource Estimating
Act Duration Estimating
Schedule Development

Schedule Control

Cost

Cost Estimating
Cost Budgeting

Cost Control

Quality

Quality Planning

Perform Quality Assurance Perform Quality Control

HR

HR Planning

Acquire Project Team

Develop Project Team

Communication

Communications Planning Information Distribution

Performance Reporting
Manage Stakeholders

Risk

Risk Mgmt Planning

Risk Identification
Qualitative Risk Analysis
Quantitative Risk Analysis
Risk Response Planning

Risk Monitoring & Control

Procurement

Plan Purch & Acquisitions

Plan Contracting

Manage Project Team

Request Seller Responses

Contract Administration
Select Sellers

Contract Closure

Important

What Is Communica.on?
Communica>on stems from the La>n root word
communicare, which means to make common.
Communica>on is thus a process in which one person
or group aNempts to evoke an iden>cal meaning in a
second person or group.

The transfer and understanding of meaning.

Transfer means the message was received in a form
that can be interpreted by the receiver.
Understanding the message is not the same as the
receiver agreeing with the message.

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights

reserved.

Facets of Communica.on
Interpersonal Communica>on
Communica>on between two or more people

Organiza.onal Communica>on
All the paQerns, network, and systems of
communica>ons within an organiza>on

Four Func.ons of Communica.on

Control

Mo.va.on

Func.ons of
Communica.on

Informa.on

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Emo.onal
Expression

Important

Four Func.ons of Communica.on

Control

Control

Mo.va.on

Formal and informal communica>ons

act to control individuals behaviours in
organiza>ons.

Mo.va.on

Communica>ons clarify for employees

what is to be done, how well they have
done it, and what can be done to
improve performance.

Func.ons of
Communica.on

Emo.onal Expression
Informa.on

Emo.onal
Expression

Social interac>on in the form of work

group communica>ons provides a way
for employees to express themselves.

Informa.on

Individuals and work groups need

informa>on to make decisions or to do
their work.
2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Generic Communica.on Model

Noise

Noise

Speech

Digital
Encoding

GSM Network

Noise

Digital
Decoding

Speech

GSM Mobile Phone Example:

Speech is encoded into a digital signal
It is transmiNed over the GSM network
The digital signal is decoded into Speech
There is a feedback mechanism to control
this.
Noise distorts the process

Important

Interpersonal Communica.on
Message

Source: senders intended meaning

Encoding

The message converted to symbolic form

Channel

The medium through which the message travels

Decoding

The receivers retransla>on of the message

Noise

Disturbances that interfere with communica>ons

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All
rights reserved.

Important

The Interpersonal Communica.on

Process

Important

Distor.ons in Communica.ons
Message Encoding

The eect of the skills, a]tudes, and knowledge of the sender on the
process of encoding the message
The social-cultural system of the sender

The Message

Symbols used to convey the messages meaning

The content of the message itself
The choice of message format
Noise interfering with the message

The Channel

The senders choice of the appropriate channel or mul>ple channels for

conveying the message

Receiver

The eect of skills, a]tudes, and knowledge of the receiver on the

process of decoding the message
The social-cultural system of the receiver

Feedback Loop

Communica>on channel distor>ons aec>ng the return message from

receiver to sender
2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Interpersonal Communica.on
Methods / Channels

Face-to-face
Telephone
Group mee>ngs
Formal presenta>ons
Memos
Tradi>onal Mail
Fax machines
Employee publica>ons
Bulle>n boards
Audio- and videotapes
Tweets (TwiNer)
Chats (Google, AIM, Facebook etc)

Hotlines
E-mail
Computer conferencing
Voice mail
Teleconferences
Videoconferences

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Communica.on
Methods

Note: Ratings are on a 15 scale where 1 = high and 5 = low. Consumption time refers to who controls the reception of communication. S/R
means the sender and receiver share control.

Source: P. G. Clampitt, Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991), p. 136.

Interpersonal Communica.on
Nonverbal Communica>on

Communica>on that is transmiNed without words.

Sounds with specic meanings or warnings
Images that control or encourage behaviours
Situa.onal behaviours that convey meanings
Clothing and physical surroundings that imply status

Body language: gestures, facial expressions, and other

body movements that convey meaning.
Verbal intona.on: emphasis that a speaker gives to
certain words or phrases that conveys meaning.

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Interpersonal Communica.on
Barriers
Na.onal
Culture

Language

Filtering
Emo.ons

Interpersonal
Communica.on

Informa.on
Overload

Defensiveness
2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Important

Barriers to Eec.ve Interpersonal

Communica.on
Filtering

The deliberate manipula>on of informa>on to make it

appear more favourable to the receiver.

Emo>ons

Disregarding ra>onal and objec>ve thinking processes

and subs>tu>ng emo>onal judgments when
interpre>ng messages.

Informa>on Overload

Being confronted with a

quan>ty of informa>on that
exceeds an individuals
capacity to process it.

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Na.onal
Culture

Language

Filtering
Emo.ons

Interpersonal
Communica.on

Defensiveness

Informa.on
Overload

Important

Barriers to Eec.ve Interpersonal

Communica.on (contd)
Defensiveness

When threatened, reac>ng in a way that reduces the

ability to achieve mutual understanding.

Language

The dierent meanings of and specialized ways

(jargon) in which senders use words can cause
receivers to misinterpret their messages.

Na>onal Culture

Culture inuences the form,

formality, openness, paNerns
and use of informa>on in
communica>ons.

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Na.onal
Culture

Language

Filtering
Emo.ons

Interpersonal
Communica.on

Defensiveness

Informa.on
Overload

Types of Organiza.onal
Communica.on

Formal Communica>on
Communica>on that:

Follows the ocial chain of command or

is part of the communica>on required to do ones job or
expected in the communica>on plan.

Informal Communica>on

Communica>on that is not dened by the

organiza>ons hierarchy.

Permits employees to sa>sfy their need for social interac>on.

Can not be controlled
Can improve an organiza>ons performance by crea>ng faster
and more eec>ve channels of communica>on.
Oce Layout can some>mes be used to encourage this.
If it aects the scope, budget or >ming of a project, it must be
backed up with formal communica>on.
2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Communica.on Flows

U
p
w
a
r
d

Lateral

D
o
w
n
w
a
r
d

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Direc.on of Communica.on Flow

Downward

Communica>ons that ow from managers to employees to

inform, direct, coordinate, and evaluate employees.

Upward

Communica>ons that ow from employees up to managers to

keep them aware of employee needs and how things can be
improved to create a climate of trust and respect.

Lateral (Horizontal) Communica>on

Communica>on that takes place among employees on the same

level in the organiza>on to save >me and facilitate coordina>on.

Diagonal Communica>on

Communica>on that cuts across both work areas and

organiza>onal levels in the interest of eciency
and speed.

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Communica.on
Networks
Chain Network

Communica>on ows according to the formal chain of

command, both upward and downward.

Wheel Network

All communica>on ows in and out through the group

leader (hub) to others in the group.

All-Channel Network

Communica>on ow freely among all members of the

work team.

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Three Common Organiza.onal Communica.on

Networks and How They Rate on Eec.veness
Criteria

What is appropriate in a Project?

2007 Pren>ce Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

Communica.on Plan
Addresses all project communica>onformal
and informal, verbal and wriNen
Includes tenta>ve schedule for formal design and
management reviews, milestone mee>ngs, etc.
describes mee>ng formats, i>neraries, prepara>ons,
aNendance, and leader.

Points of contact: customer, contractor, vendors,

subcontractors, supporters, others.
Kind of communica>on needed for each (next slide)

Project Communica.on Plan

The Communica>on Plan is a matrix that details the type of project communica>ons, who receives,
and how ojen.
1) Iden>fy par>es and roles who require project communica>on.
2) In the 1st column, list par>es by role, by group name, or name.
3) Iden>fy types of communica>on needed.
4) List communica>on types across the top row.
5) Complete the grid by placing an X in the intersec>ng rows and columns.
6) Replace the role descrip>on with a persons name. In the (freq) sec>on, indicate how ojen the
communica>ons take place.
The par(es and types of communica(on listed here are for example only. (Next Slide)
Project Managers should create a communica(on plan specic to each project.

Project Informa>on
Project Name

Ini>al Release Date

Project Number

Last Revised Date

Project Manager
Client
Author

Other

Detailed
Technical
Design

System
Architecture

Use Case
Analysis

Business
Study

Problems
and Issues

Project Plan

Business Brief

Technical
Feasibility

EDARB
Request

Business
Feasibility

Status
Mee.ng
Minutes

Mee>ngs/
Reports

Status
Mee.ng

Role/type
Client

Rela>onship
Manager

Business Analyst

Project Manager

Client Project Team

IT Project Team

Client Director

IT Director

Project Sponsor

IT VP

X
X

X
X

Security/Audit

Internet Opera>ons

Intranet Opera>ons

Other

Architect

Legal/Corp. Comm.

Project Review Mee.ngs

Purpose
Communicate and assess project
evalua>ve informa>on

Iden>fy and quickly correct devia>ons
from project plan

Project Review Mee.ngs

Informal Reviews (Peer Reviews )
Held frequently and regularly
Involve members of the project team
Focus on project status, special problems,
emerging issues, and project performance
Par>cipa>on depends on project phase and
issues at hand

Project Review Mee.ngs

Daily Standup Mee*ng
Held at the start of each day
Short (15 minutes) and to-the-point
An update on status
team members give a quick run-though of
yesterdays progress and todays next steps

Note: This is an important technique in

Agile Project Management methods.

Project Review Mee.ngs

Formal Reviews
Scheduled at milestones or cri>cal project stages; e.g.,
Preliminary review

Assess how well the func>onal design

specica>ons t the basic opera>onal
requirements

Cri>cal review

Check design for conformance to the preliminary

design specica>ons

In phased project planning approach, decision to

con>nue project based upon results of the review
Project audit
Review ini>ated by customer to assess project progress

Project Review Mee.ngs

Ac*on Plan
Created for each iden(ed problem
Might include (see next slide)

statement of the problem

objec(ves in resolving it
the required course of ac(on
target date
person responsible

Each mee>ng starts with a status review of

items on the ac>on plan.

Sample Ac.on Plan

Fig 12-2

Status Review Mee.ngs

Subjects for Discussion
Accomplishments since last mee>ng
Cost, schedule, and work:

Scope
Status
Trends
Forecasts
Variances

Correc>ve ac>ons
Opportuni>es for improvement
Ac>on item assignment

Example Project Status Review Mee.ng Agenda

2006 Thomson South-Western

Example Ac.on Item List

2006 Thomson South-Western

Eec.ve Mee.ngs
Before the Mee.ng
Determine:
whether a mee>ng is really necessary.
the purpose of the mee>ng.
who needs to par>cipate in the mee>ng.
Distribute an agenda.
Prepare visual aids or handouts.
Make room & visual aid arrangements.

Eec.ve Mee.ngs
During the Mee.ng

Start the mee>ng on >me.

Designate a note-taker.
Review the purpose and the agenda.
Facilitatedont dominate.
Summarize the results at the end.
Do not overrun the scheduled mee>ng >me.
Evaluate the mee>ng process.

Team Mee.ng Code of Conduct

2006 Thomson South-Western

Eec.ve Mee.ngs
Acer the Mee.ng
Publish the mee>ng results (minutes) within 24
hours ajer the mee>ng.
The summary document should be concise.
It should conrm decisions that were made and
list the ac>on items.

Mee.ng Eec.veness Checklist

2006 Thomson South-Western

Feedback
and
Ques.ons?