Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them. Albert Einstein |
A good communication plan helps project teams succeed. The main object of any communication plan is to enable project teams to communicate efficiently and effectively to a wide range of stakeholders. |
Unless everyone who needs to know does know, somebody, somewhere will foul up. Unknown |
Seven Key Steps to Develop a Communication Plan
(1) Determine the project stakeholders.
These should include both specific individuals and groups of people with similar communication needs, such as the sponsor, the project team, key management, supporting groups, affected departments, and external suppliers.
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(2) Determine the communication needs for each stakeholder.
These could include Mandatory, Enabling, Informational, or Marketing type information.
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(3) Determine how to fill the communication needs.
The project management methodology provides the base line of reports, meetings and other tools. The key is to identify the project specific receivers and adapt the to satisfy their unique information needs. Your plan should cover Strategic, Required, Routine, and Tactical communications
(4) Evaluate and optimize the communication activities.
The key is to find a communication form that adds high value with low effort from the project team. Standardization of form and content can help reduce time spent on developing the communications. Make sure you trace the stakeholder requirements to specific communication activities in the plan.
(5) Document your plan on a standard template appropriate for the scale of the project.
Your plan suould include project phase specific tactical communication plans.
(6) Put communication plan activities in the project work plan.
Put strategic communication plan elements into a tracking document, such as the project work plan, and follow-up to ensure the communications actually deliver the intended value.
(7) Check for surprises and make changes to improve the targeted communications.
Amid the wash of paper, a small number of documents become critical pivots around which every project’s management revolves. F. P. Brooks, Jr |
Use a Communication Plan template appropriate for your situation.
A simple matrix, A detailed plan, A very detailed plan
never use "as needed" -- identify the trigger for the communication
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