Ts/275 Project Management Plan
Communications Management Plan
Team One
Capella University
Project Management Fundamentals
TS5331
Professor Johnson
December 01, 2013
The impact of Organizational Influences, Cultures, and Styles on a Communication Plan
Many corporations stress on technical skills and experience when it comes to their resources and they overlook the real organizational influences like cultures, and communication. Organizational culture is a set of shared assumption, values, and behaviors that characterizes the functioning of an organization. Within an organization there could be several different cultures. For example, IT department may have a different culture than finance and so on. However the combination of these different cultures is so powerful that it can create issues for any organization and can affect organizations ability to manage projects. In most projects there are many stakeholders with different levels …show more content…
of involvement. It is important to identify the stakeholders early in a project and analyze their levels of interest, expectations, significance and influence. Unfortunately many projects team members rely only on existing communication channels to communicate with the stakeholders. Project success depends on good communication strategy during a project life cycle.
A successful project demands focusing on individual and group communication needs. That includes formal and informal method for communication. Informal conversation allows the project members to communicate freely and exchange important information in an effective and timely manner. Improving communication often requires culture change in an organization. For example, technical team may need coaching in order to communicate with non-technical team members. “Short face to face meetings are often more effective than electronic communications, particularly for sensitive information”. ( Schwalbe, K., 2014).
It is also important to acknowledge that there are more extrovert people than introverts in any organization and people prefer to have a two way conversation than formal report or email. “Many colleagues and managers want to know the people working on their projects and develop a trusting relationship with them.”(Schwalbe, K., 2014). Without analyzing project stakeholder’s need, assessing their culture and changing the culture as needed, it would be very difficult to have a good communication strategy and achieve a successful project outcome. The issue of communication and culture is more evident when an organization tries to do business within the global market. “Not understanding how to communicate effectively with people of other culture and diverse background hurts projects and businesses.”(Schwalbe, K., 2014).
Formal and Informal Communications Approaches with Project Stakeholders and Sponsors
Good communication with project stakeholders and sponsors is extremely vital. When communicating with project stakeholders and sponsors using a combination of informal and formal communication that are open and honest can be very effective and can contribute to the success of the project. Informal communication, such as, e-mail, short face-to-face meetings, and Web conferencing can be beneficial, especially when the project manager knows the preferred method of communication, for example, the project sponsor may prefer to be informed weekly via e-mail. “Informal communication allows the project sponsor to exercise a leadership role and provide insights and information that are critical to the success of the project and the organization as a whole.” (Schwalbe, K., 2014)
Formal communication, such as status reports and project meetings are beneficial as well. If there is any bad news to report with the project, a good project manager will be straightforward and create a plan to mitigate the risks. This will help build credibility. “Many IT professionals work on virtual projects in which they never meet their project sponsors, other team members, or other project stakeholders. In a virtual project environment it is crucial for project managers to develop clear communication procedures.” (Schwalbe, K., 2014) Developing a communication plan and keeping the project sponsor and stakeholders well informed will contribute to the success of the project. Develop a Communication Plan Appropriate to Stakeholder Requirements
Project communication plan varies with the need of the project and it should address the stakeholder’s communication requirements.
“Different people respond positively to different levels or types of communications”. (Schwalbe, K., 2014). What level of information each stakeholder needs and how often they need the information. Most communications are done face to face due to the soft skills needed to communicate properly with everyone and get a feel for what they are feeling. This is done in order to read other people’s reactions when bringing up different ideas. Doing most communication over a conference call or other online communications puts a barrier between people. Major meetings such as progress and status reports are to be done with various project managers in order to inform stakeholders of progress and changes that might need to be made. The reason for only having managers is so that there are not too many opinions during these meetings and not over complicating them with overly tech conversations that are meant to be high level
meetings.
Although formal meetings are the preferred communications method, informal meetings with team members will also be used in order to give clear direction and praise the introverted members who perhaps don’t want public attention. It is important to know what kind of information will be distributed to certain stakeholder. This would avoid wasting time and money with unnecessary information.
Depending on the nature of the project and the stakeholders, Face to face communications are important. It helps build stronger relationship among project team members and stakeholders. “Effective creation and distribution of information depends on project managers and project team members having a good communication skill” (Schwalbe, K., 2014). Identify Communication Methods Appropriate to Project Requirements. Communication Type Prepared By Sent By Reviewed By Frequency Delivery
Progress report Team One Team One Jenifer Beal Every month Face to face informal Status report Team One Team One Tom, Alice, John, Cheryl, Jason Every week Email
Risk report Team One Team One Cheryl Beal, Jason Gutierrez Every month Face to face
Training Cheryl Gladstone Cheryl Gladstone John Sachs January 19th Face to Face informal
Resource Team Grand Team One Jason Gutierrez, Jenifer Beal Every month Email
Go-live report Team Grand Team One Tom, Alice, John, Cheryl, Jenifer, Jason February 5th Face to face
Testing report Tech team Alice, Tom Jason Gutierrez, Jenifer Beal, Team Grand, January 31st. Email
References
Schwalbe, K. (2014). Information technology project management (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology.
Team One
Capella University
Project Management Fundamentals
TS5331
Professor Johnson
December 01, 2013
The impact of Organizational Influences, Cultures, and Styles on a Communication Plan
Many corporations stress on technical skills and experience when it comes to their resources and they overlook the real organizational influences like cultures, and communication. Organizational culture is a set of shared assumption, values, and behaviors that characterizes the functioning of an organization. Within an organization there could be several different cultures. For example, IT department may have a different culture than finance and so on. However the combination of these different cultures is so powerful that it can create issues for any organization and can affect organizations ability to manage projects. In most projects there are many stakeholders with different levels …show more content…
of involvement. It is important to identify the stakeholders early in a project and analyze their levels of interest, expectations, significance and influence. Unfortunately many projects team members rely only on existing communication channels to communicate with the stakeholders. Project success depends on good communication strategy during a project life cycle.
A successful project demands focusing on individual and group communication needs. That includes formal and informal method for communication. Informal conversation allows the project members to communicate freely and exchange important information in an effective and timely manner. Improving communication often requires culture change in an organization. For example, technical team may need coaching in order to communicate with non-technical team members. “Short face to face meetings are often more effective than electronic communications, particularly for sensitive information”. ( Schwalbe, K., 2014).
It is also important to acknowledge that there are more extrovert people than introverts in any organization and people prefer to have a two way conversation than formal report or email. “Many colleagues and managers want to know the people working on their projects and develop a trusting relationship with them.”(Schwalbe, K., 2014). Without analyzing project stakeholder’s need, assessing their culture and changing the culture as needed, it would be very difficult to have a good communication strategy and achieve a successful project outcome. The issue of communication and culture is more evident when an organization tries to do business within the global market. “Not understanding how to communicate effectively with people of other culture and diverse background hurts projects and businesses.”(Schwalbe, K., 2014).
Formal and Informal Communications Approaches with Project Stakeholders and Sponsors
Good communication with project stakeholders and sponsors is extremely vital. When communicating with project stakeholders and sponsors using a combination of informal and formal communication that are open and honest can be very effective and can contribute to the success of the project. Informal communication, such as, e-mail, short face-to-face meetings, and Web conferencing can be beneficial, especially when the project manager knows the preferred method of communication, for example, the project sponsor may prefer to be informed weekly via e-mail. “Informal communication allows the project sponsor to exercise a leadership role and provide insights and information that are critical to the success of the project and the organization as a whole.” (Schwalbe, K., 2014)
Formal communication, such as status reports and project meetings are beneficial as well. If there is any bad news to report with the project, a good project manager will be straightforward and create a plan to mitigate the risks. This will help build credibility. “Many IT professionals work on virtual projects in which they never meet their project sponsors, other team members, or other project stakeholders. In a virtual project environment it is crucial for project managers to develop clear communication procedures.” (Schwalbe, K., 2014) Developing a communication plan and keeping the project sponsor and stakeholders well informed will contribute to the success of the project. Develop a Communication Plan Appropriate to Stakeholder Requirements
Project communication plan varies with the need of the project and it should address the stakeholder’s communication requirements.
“Different people respond positively to different levels or types of communications”. (Schwalbe, K., 2014). What level of information each stakeholder needs and how often they need the information. Most communications are done face to face due to the soft skills needed to communicate properly with everyone and get a feel for what they are feeling. This is done in order to read other people’s reactions when bringing up different ideas. Doing most communication over a conference call or other online communications puts a barrier between people. Major meetings such as progress and status reports are to be done with various project managers in order to inform stakeholders of progress and changes that might need to be made. The reason for only having managers is so that there are not too many opinions during these meetings and not over complicating them with overly tech conversations that are meant to be high level
meetings.
Although formal meetings are the preferred communications method, informal meetings with team members will also be used in order to give clear direction and praise the introverted members who perhaps don’t want public attention. It is important to know what kind of information will be distributed to certain stakeholder. This would avoid wasting time and money with unnecessary information.
Depending on the nature of the project and the stakeholders, Face to face communications are important. It helps build stronger relationship among project team members and stakeholders. “Effective creation and distribution of information depends on project managers and project team members having a good communication skill” (Schwalbe, K., 2014). Identify Communication Methods Appropriate to Project Requirements. Communication Type Prepared By Sent By Reviewed By Frequency Delivery
Progress report Team One Team One Jenifer Beal Every month Face to face informal Status report Team One Team One Tom, Alice, John, Cheryl, Jason Every week Email
Risk report Team One Team One Cheryl Beal, Jason Gutierrez Every month Face to face
Training Cheryl Gladstone Cheryl Gladstone John Sachs January 19th Face to Face informal
Resource Team Grand Team One Jason Gutierrez, Jenifer Beal Every month Email
Go-live report Team Grand Team One Tom, Alice, John, Cheryl, Jenifer, Jason February 5th Face to face
Testing report Tech team Alice, Tom Jason Gutierrez, Jenifer Beal, Team Grand, January 31st. Email
References
Schwalbe, K. (2014). Information technology project management (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology.