Chapter 10 Flashcards
what is the Project Communications Management process?
- processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval and disposition of project information
where do project managers spend the majority of their time?
- communicating with team members and other stakeholders (both internal and external)
what are the processes in Project Communications Management?
- 1 identify stakeholders
- 2 plan communications
- 3 distribute information
- 4 manage stakeholder expectations
- 5 report performance
what are some dimensions of communication activity?
- internal vs external
- formal vs informal
- vertical vs horizontal
- official vs unofficial
- written vs oral
- verbal vs non-verbal
what are some communication skills
- listening actively and effectively
- questioning, probing ideas and situations
- educating to increase team’s knowledge
- fact-finding to identify/confirm information
- setting & managing expectations
- persuading a person/organization to do something
- negotiating mutually acceptable agreements
- resolving conflict
- summarizing, recapping and identifying next steps
what is the Identify Stakeholders process?
- process of identifying all people or orgs impacted by the project and documenting relevant information about their interests, involvement and impact on project success
who are project stakeholders?
- people or orgs like customers, sponsors, performing org, the public who are actively involved in the project or whose interests may be +/- affected by the project
- may also exert influence over project and deliverables
how should stakeholders of a project be classified?
- according to their interest, influence and involvement in the project
what are the inputs into the Identify Stakeholders process?
- project charter
- procurement documents
- enterprise environmental factors
- organizational process assets
what are the tools and techniques for the Identify Stakeholders process?
- stakeholder analysis
2. expert judgement
what are teh outputs to the Identify Stakeholders process
- stakeholder register
2. stakeholder management strategy
how is the project charter an input to the Identify Stakeholders process
- provides information about internal and external parties involved and affected by the project
how are procurement documents an input to the Identify Stakeholders process
- parties in a contract are key stakeholders
- other relevant parties like suppliers should also be a part of the stakeholder list
what enterprise environmental factors can influence the Identify Stakeholders process
- organizational/company culture and structure
- government/industry standards
what organizational process assets can influence the Identify Stakeholders process
- stakeholder register templates
- lessons learned
- stakeholder registers from previous projects
what is stakeholder analysis?
- technique of systematically gathering and analyzing qualitative and quantitative information to determine whose interests should be taken into account throughout the project
- identifies interests, expectations, influence, and stakeholder relationships
what are the steps to a stakeholder analysis?
- identify all potential stakeholders and relevant information like roles, departments, interests, knowledge levels, expectations and influence levels
- - key stakeholders are usually obvious. other stakeholders can be identified by interviewing stakeholders - identify the potential impact/support each stakeholder could generate and classify them to define an approach strategy
- assess how key stakeholders are likely to react/respond in different situations to plan how to influence them
what are some stakeholder classification models?
- power/interest grid: groups stakeholders by level of authority (power) and level of concern (interest) with project outcomes
- power/influence grid: groups stakeholders by level of authority (power) and their active involvement (influence) in project
- influence/impact grid: group stakeholders based on active involvement (influene) and ability to effect changes to project planning/execution (impact)
- salience model: describing classes of stakeholders based on their power, urgency and legitimacy
how is expert judgment an input to the Identify Stakeholders process
- helps ensure a comprehensive list of stakeholders
talk to people such as
- senior management
- other units in the org
- key stakeholders
- PMs who have done projects in the same area
- subject matter experts (SMEs)
- industry groups & consultants
- professional and technical associations
what is a stakeholder register?
contains all details related to the identified stakeholders, including:
- identification information (name, org position, location, role, contact info)
- assessment info (major requirements, main expectations, potential influence, phase most interested in
- stakeholder classification (interna/external, supporter/neutral/resistor, etc)
what is a stakeholder management strategy?
- defines an approach to increase support and minimize negative impacts of stakeholders through the entire project life cycle
- includes info like:
- the key stakeholders
- level of participation desired for each stakeholder
- stakeholder groups and their management
- common way to represent the stakeholder management strategy is with a stakeholder analysis matrix
what is the Plan Communications process?
- process of determining the project stakeholder information needs and defining a communication approach
- responds to the information and communications needs of the stakeholders
- tightly linked with enterprise environmental factors
what is the problem with improper communication planning?
- leads to problems like delay in message delivery, communicating sensitive information to the wrong audience, or lack of communication with required stakeholders
what is effective communication?
- information is provided in the right format at the right time with the right impact
- providing only information that’s needed
when is communications planning done?
- early in the project to allow appropriate resources like time and budget to be allocated to communication activities
what are the inputs to the Plan Communications process
- stakeholder register
- stakeholder management strategy
- enterprise environmental factors
- organizational process assets
what are the tools & techniques to the Plan Communications process
- communication requirements analysis
- communication technology
- communication models
- communication methods
what are the outputs to the Plan Communications process
- communications management plan
2. project document updates
what enterprise environmental factors are used as inputs to the Plan Communications process?
- all of them since communication must be adapted to the project environment
what organizational process assets are used as inputs to the Plan Communications process
- all of them
- lessons learned and historical info are particularly important
what is communications requirement analysis?
- determines the information needs of the project stakeholders
- requirements are defined by combining the type and format of information needed with an analysis of the value of that information
- expend project resources only on communication information that contributes to success or where lack of communication can lead to failure
how to determine the total number of potential communication channels
n (n-1) / 2
- number of potential communication channels is an indicator of the complexity of the project’s communications
information used ti determine project communication requirements
- org charts
- project organization and stakeholder responsibility relationships
- disciplines, departments and specialties involved in the project
- logistics of # of ppl involved and their locations
- internal information needs
- external information needs
- stakeholder information from the stakeholder register and the stakeholder management strategy
what factors affect communication technology?
- urgency of the need for information
- availability of technology
- expected project staffing (experience and expertise)
- duration of the project
- project environment
what is the basic model of communication?
- demonstrates how information is sent and received between two parties
what is encode?
- translate thoughts/ideas into a language understood by others
what is message and feedback-message?
- output of encoding
what is medium
- method used to convey the message
what is noise?
- anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of hte message
what is decode?
- translate message back into meaningful thoughts/ideas
what is acknowledgement?
- receivers signals receipt of the message, but doesn’t necessarily agree with the message
what is a response to a message?
- signals that the receiver has decoded, understands and is replying to the message
what is the sender responsible for in the communications model?
- sender is responsible for making the information clear and complete so the receiver can receive it correctly, and for confirming that it is properly understood
what is the receiver responsible for in the communications model?
- making sure the information is received in its entirety, understood correctly, and acknowledged
what are the classifications of communication methods?
- interactive communication
- push communication
- pull communication
what is interactive communication?
- communication between 2 or more parties performing a multidirectional exchange of information
- most efficient way to ensure common understanding by all participants
- ex. meetings, phone calls, video conferencing
what is push communication?
- sent to specific recipients who need to know the info
- doesn’t certify that it actually reached or was understood by the intended audience
- ex. letters, memos, reports, emails, faxes
what is pull communication?
- used for large volumes of information or for large audiences, and requires recipients access the communication content at their own discretion
- ex. intranets, e-learning, knowledge repositories
what is the communications management plan?
- part of the project management plan
usually involves
- stakeholder communication requirements
- information to be communicated, including language, format, content and level of detail
- reason for distributing that information
- time frame and frequency for the distribution of the information
- person responsible for communicating the information
- person responsible for authorizing release of confidential information
- person/groups who will receive the information
- methods or technologies used to convey the information
- resources allocated for communication
- escalation process
- method for updating and refining the communications management plan
- glossary of common terms
- flow chart of information flow in the project
- communication constraints
- guidelines and templates
what project document updates may be made after the Plan Communications process
updates to the
- project schedule
- stakeholder register
- stakeholder management strategy
what is the Distribute Information process?
- process of making relevant information available to project stakeholders
- performed through the entire project life cycle and in all management processes
what are some techniques to effective information distribution?
- sender-receiver models: feedback loops and barriers to communication
- choice of media: writing vs. oral, formal vs non-formal, email vs face to face
- writing style: active vs passive, sentence structure, word choice
- meeting management techniques: preparing an agenda and dealing with conflicts
- presentation techniques: body language and design of visual aids
- facilitation techniques: building consensus and overcoming obstacles
what are the inputs to the Distribute Information process
- project management plan
- performance reports
- organizational process assets
what are the tools & techniques to the Distribute Information process
- communication methods
2. information distribution tools
what are the outputs to the Distribute Information process
- organizational process assets updates
what are performance reports and how are they an input to the Distribute Information process
- used to distribute project performance and status information
what are forecasts?
- information about the project’s past performance and how it could impact the project in the future
- generated using earned value methods, analogy with past projects, re-estimating remaining work, inclusion of impact of external events on the schedule, etc.
- should be available with performance information and other information distributed for decision-making
what organizational process assets can influence the Distribute Information process
- policies, procedures and guidelines about distributing information
- templates
- historical information and lessons learned
what are comunication methods?
- individual & group meetings, video & audio conferences, computer chats, etc.
what are examples of information distribution tools?
- hardcopy document distribution, manual filing systems, press releases, databases
- electronic communication & conferening tools like email, fax, phone, video, web
- electronic tools for project management like scheduling software, portals, and collaborative work management tools
what organizational process asset updates might take place after the Distribute Information process
- stakeholder notification: information provided to stakeholders about resolved issues, approved changes and general project status
- project reports: formal & informal reports describing project status, lessons learned, issues log, project closure reports, etc.
- project presentations
- project records: correspondence, memos, meeting minutes, etc.
- feedback from stakeholders
- lessons learned documentation: cause of issues, reasoning behind corrective action, etc.
what is the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process?
- process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs and addressing issues as they occur
- involves communication activities directed towards stakeholders to influence their expectations, address concerns and resolve issues
what is the benefit of the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- helps increase the probability of project success by ensuring stakeholders understand the project benefits and risks
- enables stakeholders to be active supporters of the project and helps with risk assessment of project choices
- limits disruptions during the project
what are the inputs to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- stakeholder register
- stakeholder management strategy
- project management plan
- issue log
- change log
- organizational process assets
what are the tools & techniques to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- communication methods
- interpersonal skills
- management skills
what are the outputs of the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- organizational process asset updates
- change requests
- project management plan updates
- project document updates
how is the stakeholder register an input to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- ensures all stakeholders are included in project communications
how is the stakeholder management strategy an input to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- understanding stakeholder goals and objectives can help determine a strategy to management stakeholder expectations
how is the project management plan an input to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- contains the communications management plan which identifies stakeholder goals, objectives and level of communication required during the project
how is an issue log an input to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- can faciltate communication and ensure a common understanding of issues
- isues are clearly stated and categorized by urgency and potential impact, an owner is assigned and a target date is established
how is a change log an input to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- documents changes that occur during a project. these changes and their impact need to be communicated to the appropriate stakeholders
what organizational process assets influence the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process?
- organizational communication requirements
- issue management procedures
- change control procedures
- historical information about previous projects
how are communications methods tools and techniques to the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- methods of communication identified for each stakeholder in the communications management plan is used during stakeholder management
how are interpersonal skills used in the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
used to
- build trust
- resolve conflicts
- active listening
- overcoming resistance to change
what are management skills?
- management is the act of directing and controlling a group of people for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing the group towards accomplishing a goal beyond the scope of individual effort
- ex. presentation skills, negotiating, writing skills, public speaking
what organizational process assets updates are made after the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- causes of issues
- reasoning behind corrective actions chosen
- lessons learned from managing stakeholder expectations
what project management updates may be made after the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process
- updates to the communications management plan to identify new or changed communication requirements
what project document updates may be made after the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process?
- stakeholder management strategy: updated as a result of addressing concerns and resolving issues
- stakeholder register: updated as info on stakeholders change, when new stakeholders are identified or if stakeholders are no longer involved/impacted by project
- issue log: updated as new issues are identified and current issues resolved
what is the Report Performance process?
- process of collecting and distributing performance information (ex. status reports, progress measurements & forecasts)
- involves periodic collection and analysis of baseline vs actual data to understand and communicate progress and performance as well as forecast project results
what are some information that may be included in performance reports?
- % complete
- status dashboard re: scope, schedule, cost and quality
- analysis of past performance
- current status of risks and issues
- work completed during the period
- work to be completed next
- summary of changes approved in the period
- forecasted project completion
what are the inputs to the Report Performance process
- project management plan
- work performance information
- work performance measurements
- budget forecasts
- organizational process assets
what are the tools and techniques in the Report Performance process
1 variance analysis
- forecasting methods
- communication methods
- reporting systems
what are the outputs of the Report Performance process
- performance reports
- organizational process assets updates
- change requests
how is the project management plan an input to the Report Performance process?
- provides information on project baseline
what is the performance measurement baseline?
- an approved plan for the project work to which project execution is compared and deviations are measured for management control
- integrates scope, schedule and cost paramaters, sometimes includes technical and quality parameters
what work performance information is an input to the Report Performance process?
- deliverables status
- schedule progress
- costs incurred
what work performance information serves as inputs to the Report Performance process?
- work performance information generates project activity metrics to evaluate actual vs planned progress
includes
- planned vs actual schedule performance
- planned vs actual cost performance
- planned vs actual technical performance
how are budget forecasts an input to the Report Performance process?
- budget forecast information provide info on additional funds that are expected to be required for the remaining work and estimates for the completion of the total project work
what organizational process assets serves as inputs to the Report Performance process?
- report templates
- policies and procedures that define measures and indicators used
- organizationally defined variance limits
what is variance analysis?
- look at what caused a difference between the baseline and actual performance
steps include
- verify the quality of info to ensure it is complete, consistent with past data, and credible
- determine variances, noting all differences both favorable and unfavorable (earned value management uses specific equations to quantify variances
- determine impact of variances on project cost, schedule and other areas
- analyze trend of variances
what are forecasting methods and what are the different categories of forecasting methods?
- forecasting predicts future project performance based on actual performance to date
- classified into
- – time series methods
- – causal/econometric methods
- – judgmental methods
- – other methods (simulation, probabilistic forecasting, ensemble forecasting)
what are time series methods?
- forecasting method that uses historical data as the basis for estimating future outcomes (ex. earned value, moving average, extrapolation, linear prediction, trend estimation, growth curve)
what are causal/econometric methods?
- forecasting methods that use the assumption that it is possible to identify the underlying factors that might influence the variable being forecasted
- projections of influencing variables used in the forecast
- ex. regression analysis, autoregressive moving average (ARMA), econometrics
what are judgmental methods?
- forecasting methods that incorporate intuitive judgments, opinions and probability estimates
ex. composite forecasts, surveys, Delphi method, scenario building, technology forecasting, forecast by analogy
what communication methods are used during the Report Performance process?
0 status review meetings used to exchange and analyze information
- usually use a push communication technique
how are reporting systems used in the Report Performance process?
- standard tool for the PM to capture, store and distribute information to stakeholders about project cost, schedule progress and performance
- allows PM to conslidate reports and facilitate report distribution
what are performance reports?
- reports that organize and summarize the information gathered and presents the results as compared to the performance measurement baseline
- provides status and progress information as documented in the communications management plan
what organizational process assets updates may be made after the Report Performance process?
- updates to report formats and lessons learned
what change requests may result from the Report Performance process?
- change requests are processed through the Perform Integrated Change Control process
- can include recommendation for corrective actions or preventive actions
