10.3 Monitor Communications

Description: it is the process of ensuring timely and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information. It identifies all aspects of effective communications (choice of technology, methods, techniques). Adjustments if methods and techniques to accommodate the changing needs of stakeholders and the project.

Techniques and considerations for effective communications management:

• Sender-receiver models. Incorporating feedback loops to provide opportunities for interaction/participation and remove barriers to effective communication.
• Choice of media. Decisions about application of communications artifacts to meet specific project needs, such as when to communicate in writing versus orally, when to prepare an informal memo versus a formal report, and when to use push/pull options and the choice of appropriate technology.
• Writing style. Appropriate use of active versus passive voice, sentence structure, and word choice.
• Meeting management. Preparing an agenda, inviting essential participants, and ensuring they attend. Dealing with conflicts within the meeting or resulting from inadequate follow-up of minutes and actions, or attendance of the wrong people.
• Presentations. Awareness of the impact of body language and design of visual aids.
• Facilitation. Building consensus and overcoming obstacles such as difficult group dynamics, and maintaining interest and enthusiasm among group members.
• Active listening. Listening actively involves acknowledging, clarifying and confirming, understanding, and removing barriers that adversely affect comprehension.

Process / Asset Group	Input	The process	Output	Process / Asset Group
Project Management Plan	Resource Management Plan	10.2 Manage Communications	Project Communications	Project Documents
	Communications management plan		Issue log	Project Management Plan
	Stakeholder engagement plan		Lesson learned register
Project Documents	Change log		Project schedule
	Issue log		Risk register
	Lesson learned register		Stakeholder register
	Quality report		Communications management plan	Project Management Plan
	Risk report		Stakeholder engagement plan	Enterprise / Organization
	Stakeholder register
4.5 Monitor and Control Project Work	Work performance reports
Enterprise / Organization	Enterprise environment factors
	Organizational process assets

Key benefit: it enables an efficient and effective information flow between the project team and the stakeholders.

Frequency: throughout the project.

10.2.1 Inputs

10.2.1.1 Project Management Plan

• Resource management plan. Describes the communications that are needed for management of team or physical resources.
• Communications management plan. How project communications will be planned, structured, monitored, and controlled.
• Stakeholder engagement plan. How stakeholders will be engaged through appropriate communication strategies.

10.2.1.2 Project Documents

• Change log. Used to communicate changes and approved, deferred, and rejected change requests to the impacted stakeholders.
• Issue log. Issues is communicated to impacted stakeholders.
• Lessons learned register.
• Quality report. It is forwarded to those who can take corrective actions in order to achieve the project quality expectations.
  • Quality issues,
  • Project and product improvements, and
  • Process improvements.
• Risk report. Information on sources of overall project risk, together with summary information on identified individual project risks. This information is communicated to risk owners and other impacted stakeholders.
• Stakeholder register. Identifies the individuals, groups, or organizations that will need various types of information.

10.2.1.3 Work Performance Reports

Status reports and progress reports.

10.2.1.4 Enterprise Environmental Factors

• Organizational culture, political climate, and governance framework;
• Personnel administration policies;
• Stakeholder risk thresholds;
• Established communication channels, tools, and systems;
• Global, regional, or local trends and practices or habits; and
• Geographic distribution of facilities and resources.

10.2.1.5 Organizational Process Assets

• Corporate policies and procedures for social media, ethics, and security;
• Corporate policies and procedures for issue, risk, change, and data management;
• Organizational communication requirements;
• Standardized guidelines for development, exchange, storage, and retrieval of information; and
• Historical information from previous projects, including the lessons learned repository.

10.2.2 Tools and Techniques

10.2.2.1 Communication Technology

Factors that influence the technology include :

• Whether the team is colocated,
• The confidentiality of any information that needs to be shared,
• Resources available to the team members, and
• how the organization's culture influences the way in which meetings and discussions are normally conducted.

10.2.2.2 Communication Method

10.2.2.3 Communication Skills

• Communication competence.
• Feedback. Feedback is information about reactions to communications, a deliverable, or a situation. Feedback supports interactive communication between the project manager, team and all other project stakeholders. Examples include coaching, mentoring, and negotiating.
• Nonverbal. Examples of nonverbal communication include appropriate body language to transmit meaning through gestures, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Mirroring and eye contact are also important techniques.
• Presentations. A presentation is the formal delivery of information and/or documentation:
  • Progress reports and information updates to stakeholders;
  • Background information to support decision making;
  • General information about the project and its objectives, for the purposes of raising the profile of the work of the project and the team;
  • Specific information aimed at increasing understanding and support of the work and objectives of the project.

10.2.2.4 Project Management Information System (PMIS)

• Electronic project management tools.
• Electronic communications management.
• Social media management.

10.2.2.5 Project Reporting

The act of collecting and distributing project information.

10.2.2.6 Interpersonal and Team Skills

• Active listening.
• Conflict management.
• Cultural awareness.
• Meeting management.
• Networking.
• Political awareness.

10.2.2.7 Meetings

10.2.3. Outputs

10.2.3.1 Project Communications

• Performance reports,
• Deliverable status,
• Schedule progress,
• Cost incurred, Presentations, and
• Other information required by stakeholders.

10.2.3.2 Project Management Plan Updates

• Communications management plan. Changes are made to the project communications approach.
• Stakeholder engagement plan. Updated stakeholder communication requirements and agreed-upon communications strategies.

10.2.3.3 Project Documents Updates

• Issue log.
• Lessons learned register. Approaches that worked well and what did not work well for managing communications.
• Project schedule.
• Risk register.
• Stakeholder register.

10.2.3.4 Organizational Process Assets Updates

• Project records such as correspondence, memos, meeting minutes and other documents used on the project; and
• Planned and ad hoc project reports and presentations.

Link to the original publication