Properly executed project management is essential in every industry – it leads to quicker delivery times, lower budget variances, and higher stakeholder satisfaction. So why is it that in the web development community and tech industry, where 70% of projects fail, that proper project management is often an afterthought instead of a guiding principle?
The term “project management” is often thrown around quite loosely, and without much thought on what it actually means. One might think that project management is simply a combination of budgets and Gantt charts, but in fact it is actually a very complex process made up of 8 separate management functions and control systems.
All 8 functions are integral to the successful execution of any project plan, but today I want to discuss what I believe is the most important of all the functions – communication. Communication is the foundation on which the other seven areas must rely on, and without proper communication channels and expectations, a project is doomed before it even gets out of the gate.
Communication Channels
A project is made up of a variety of stakeholders with different interests and needs, and therefore – different communication requirements. Also, as the amount of stakeholders involved in a project grows, the amount of communication channels grow. To determine the amount of communication channels in a project, follow this simple formula:
where n = number of stakeholders
For example – a small project team may consist of:
- 2 Developers
- 1 Designer
- 1 Account Rep/Project Manager
- 1 Project Sponsor (the client)
There are a total of five project stakeholders, which equals ten separate communication channels. You can see as the size of the team expands, the amount of channels start to become frighteningly large.
Yeah, I get it – more people, more channels. What’s your point?
As the channel count grows, the level of complexity in which communication happens increases as well – and as complexity increases, so does the room for miscommunication. A successful project will rely on the proper management of communication.
Communication Plan
The foundation for communication lays with the Communication Plan. Depending on the size of the project, or the project team, the size and formality of the communication plan may differ, but the general purpose remains the same.
Who, What, When and How? A Quick Introduction to a Communication Schedule
A strong plan starts with identifying all the key groups or individuals that need to be included in the communication process. Then determine what types of information each party needs. For example, the project sponsor should be aware of budget concerns, but might not be interested in the technical details of the project. The project manager also needs to determine at the forefront of the project how often each party should be contacted. Quite often weekly updates are more than substantial for the majority of projects. However, these communication schedules do not have to be set in stone and may need to be flexible as crunch-time approaches. When it comes time to actually update a party, a good project manager should be able to determine the best medium to do so. Some people live and die by their email, where others avoid it like the plague – so it important to communicate with all individuals in a way that they are comfortable with and in a manner that allows them to give the information their full attention.
A well defined communication schedule is just one step in the a fully fledged out communication plan – and a communication plan is just one drop in the larger project-management pool. Never forget that successful project management is built on seven other pillars of knowledge areas in addition to communication – and I encourage you to find out more about each and every one of them!