CH-12 Project Communication and Documentation – Successful Project Management : Chapter Notes

CHAPTER 12: Project Communication and Documentation Chapter Concepts This chapter discusses an element vital to the effective performance of a project: communication. Communication takes place between the project team and the customer or sponsor, among the project team members, and between the project team and its organization’s upper management. Communication may involve two people or a group of people. It can be verbal or written. It can be face-to-face or involve some medium, such as telephones, voice mail, e-mail, text messages, letters, memos, videoconferencing, document development systems, or shared Web 2.0 tools. It can be formal, such as a report or a presentation at a meeting, or informal, such as a hallway conversation or a text message. This chapter covers various types of communication used during the project. Based upon this chapter, students will become familiar with • Suggestions for enhancing personal communication, such as face-to-face discussions and written communications • Effective listening • Various types of project meetings and suggestions for effective meetings • Formal project presentations and suggestions for effective presentations • Project reports and suggestions for preparing useful reports • Controlling changes to project documents • A project communication plan • Communicating with stakeholders • Collaborative communication tools Learning Outcomes After studying this chapter, the learner should be able to: • Discuss and apply techniques to enhance personal verbal and written communication • Describe four barriers to effective listening and apply techniques to improve listening and understanding • Prepare for and facilitate effective project meetings • Prepare for and make informative and interesting presentations • Prepare useful, readable, and understandable reports • Explain how to control changes to project documents • Create a project communication plan • Communicate effectively with project stakeholders • Describe collaborative tools used to enhance communication on projects Project Management Knowledge Areas from PMBOK® Guide Concepts in this chapter support the following Project Management Knowledge Areas of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide): • Project Communications Management • Project Integration Management • Project Human Resource Management Teaching Strategies 1. The two vignettes reinforce the skills necessary for communicating with the project team and with stakeholders. The first vignette contains suggestions from the military on the importance and lessons learned from using knowledge management systems to communicate. The second describes the outcomes of two studies that were completed to examine project communications and project success. Project success is related to communication. 2. Meeting time is an expense. Have students calculate the cost per hour of members of a project team meeting and identify the problems of the meeting starting late. Ask them to describe techniques for starting meetings on time. 3. Have students watch presentation videos on YouTube or other media source and comment on presentation style and visual aids used. Let them suggest how the presentations could be improved. 4. There are many reports online. Have students evaluate reports that are available online for progress updates and final project reports. Lecture Notes 1. Real-World Project Management Examples Vignette A: Knowledge Sharing Supports the Military’s Mission Collaboration tools were used in the military to inform new units and members within units about what is happening and provide feedback to their actions. • Knowledge sharing within the United States’ military services used a number of tools including online knowledge portals and dashboards to provide a range of sharing from training and professional development to communities of practice. o The digital repositories of information and automated business processes were the result of a study on information and knowledge management. ○ The military services and the Department of Defense decided that knowledge management was needed in order to inform other units, especially t hose not yet deployed, about the lessons learned in the regions where fighting and missions were taking place. ○ Social media, Internet video, and collaboration sites were accessible within the Army networks. • The speed of communication increased the agility, effectiveness, and success of the units • Obstacles ○ Acceptance and use those not familiar with sharing knowledge and knowledge management systems lagged those who were more familiar. ○ Convincing those new to the systems to use them presented significant difficulties. At the conclusion of military projects, the shared information was evaluated. Best practices for information sharing between operations were identified by making comparisons of what was planned to what actually occurred within projects with similar levels of complexity. The identified best practices were labeled as knowledge nuggets and recorded to be used within the next projects. Vignette B: Communicate for Success: Research Studies Find Relationship Pulse study and Forbes study results about project communication and its link to successful completion of projects. • The Project Management Institute (PMI) recently released the 2013 Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: The Essential Role of Communications. • Researchers concluded that more than half of the money at risk in a project is due to poor or substandard communications. ○ Ineffective communications were cited as the primary cause for one-third of the project failures reported and as having a negative impact on the success of more than half of the respondents’ projects. • The Pulse report researchers found a relationship between communications and company performance. ○ High performance organizations experienced an average for more than four projects completed on time, on budget, and within the goals out of every five projects started (80 percent). ○ Lower performance organizations reported project completion at rates less than 60 percent of the time (less than three projects completed on time, on budget, and within the goals out of every five projects started). ○ High performing organizations reported implementing a formal communication plan nearly twice as frequently as those companies identified as lower performing for project completion. ○ Comparisons of the communication plans revealed the high performing organizations experienced achievement of the projects’ desired objectives three times more frequently than those without a project communication plan. • Another study, the FD | Forbes Insights 2010 Strategic Initiatives Study Adapting Corporate Strategy to the Changing Economy, reported the importance of communication to the strategic planning and execution process. ○ Almost all CEOS (92 percent) and nearly half of the respondents (46 percent) reported on the critical and integral nature of communications to strategic initiatives. ○ More than seven out of every ten (73 percent) of the responding companies reported plans to increase communications to improve workforce engagement. ○ However, there seems to be a disconnection between upper management’s perception and what actually is occurring in the organizations whose leaders responded to the study’s survey. ○ Two out of every three executive sponsors stated that the communications in their organizations were doing a good job communicating the connections between projects and the strategic initiatives of the company and less than half of the project managers agreed (46 percent). Project communication is critical for successfully completing projects on time, on budget, and within the goals. Project managers and upper level management agree that effective communication strategies are important to project completion and for the company to achieve its strategic initiatives. 2. Personal Communication Poor communication is often the root cause of failure to accomplish a project’s scope, schedule, budget, or customer satisfaction objectives. Effective communication and timely information flow are essential and the lifeblood for successful project management. Effective and frequent personal communication is crucial to keep the project moving, identify potential problems, solicit suggestions for improving project performance, keep abreast of whether the customer is satisfied, and avoid surprises. Personal communication can occur through words or nonverbal behavior, such as body language. It can be face-to-face or use some medium, including telephone, voice mail, e-mail, texting, letters, memos, videoconferencing, document development systems, or shared Web 2.0 tools. A. Verbal Communication • Personal verbal communication can take place face-to-face or via phone, computer, voicemail, or videoconferencing. • Verbal communication provides a forum for discussion, clarification, understanding, and immediate feedback. • Body language and tone (inflection and emotion of the voice) are important elements that enrich oral communication. ○ Body language is expressed not only by the person talking, but also by the listener as a way of providing feedback to the person talking. ○ Positive body language can include direct eye contact, a smile, hand gestures, leaning forward, and nodding acknowledgment or agreement. ○ Negative body language can be a frown, crossed arms, slouching, fidgeting, gazing or looking away, doodling, or yawning. • When communicating with individuals from other cultures or countries, you need to be aware of their customs regarding greetings, gestures, eye contact, and protocol. • When communicating verbally, be careful not to use remarks, words, or phrases that can be construed to be sexist, racist, prejudicial, or offensive. • A high degree of face-to-face communication is especially important early in a project to foster team building, develop good working relationships, and establish mutual expectations. • Project team members need to be proactive in initiating timely communication with other team members and the project manager to get and give information. ○ Collocation of the project team is helpful to facilitate verbal communication. ○ Videoconferencing is helpful for virtual project teams. ○ Verbal communication should be straightforward and unambiguous. ○ The timing of verbal communication is also very important. In many cases it is a good idea to ask when it would be a good time to get together and how long you need to talk. B. Written Communication • Personal written communication is generally carried out through internal correspondence to or among the project team, and through external correspondence to the customer or others outside the firm, such as subcontractors or some stakeholders. • Written correspondence is normally transmitted through e-mail or can be sent as hard copy. • Formal project documents such as contracts and amendments that require signatures are usually sent as hard copy. • Memos and letters are ways to efficiently communicate with a group of people when it’s impractical to have a meeting or when the information needs to be disseminated in a timely manner. ○ Written communication should be used only when necessary. ○ Project participants are usually very busy and do not have time to read trivial messages or irrelevant documents containing information that could have been communicated verbally at the next project meeting. • An e-mail may be appropriate as a follow-up to a face-to-face conversation or phone call confirming decisions or actions, rather than relying on a person’s memory. • Written communication should be used mostly to inform, confirm, and request. • Memos and letters should be clear and concise and should not include lengthy dissertations or voluminous extraneous attachments. ○ A food of emails or electronic messages can be perceived as more of a hindrance than a help. ○ Work related e-mail should not include emoticons or text message abbreviations. It is considered unprofessional, and recipients may not understand the abbreviations or may misinterpret them: KWIM 🙂 C. Effective Listening • The heart of communication is not words, but understanding. The goal is not only to be understood, but also to understand. • Half of making communication effective is listening. • Here are some common barriers to effective listening: ○ Pretending to listen ○ Allowing distractions ○ Showing bias and closed-mindedness ○ Being Impatient ○ Jumping to conclusions • Listening is more than just letting the other person talk. It must be an active, not a passive, process. • Here are some suggestions for improving listening skills: ○ Focus on the person talking. ○ Engage in active listening—provide verbal and nonverbal feedback to the person talking. ○ Ask questions. ○ Do not interrupt. • Good listening skills are important if project team members are to be effective in communicating with one another and with the customer. 3. Meetings A meeting can be a vehicle for fostering team building and reinforcing team members’ expectations, roles, and commitment to the project objective. A. Types of Project Meetings • The most common types of project meetings are ○ Project kickoff meeting ○ Status review meetings ○ Problem-solving meetings ○ Design review meetings ○ Post-project evaluation meeting 1. Status Review Meetings A project status review meeting is usually led or called by the project manager. • The primary purposes of such a meeting are to inform, to identify problems, and to identify action items. • Project status meetings should be held on a regularly scheduled basis. • A sample agenda for a project status review meeting is shown in Figure 12.1. • Here are some of the subjects that might be discussed under each of the agenda items: ○ Accomplishments since last meeting: Key project milestones that were reached should be identified. ○ Cost, schedule, and work scope—status: Performance should be compared to the baseline plan. ○ Cost, schedule, and work scope—trends: Any positive or negative trends in project performance should be identified. ○ Cost, schedule, and work scope—forecasts: The forecasted project completion date and forecasted cost at completion should be reviewed and compared to the project objective and the baseline plan. ○ Cost, schedule, and work scope—variances: Any cost or schedule differences between actual and planned progress should be identified. These variances can be positive or negative. ○ Risk assessment update: Particular attention should be given to reviewing the trigger points for each risk to determine whether it is time to implement any risk response plans. ○ Stakeholder issues update: Review the stakeholder issue log to make sure that any contentious issues are being addressed in a timely manner. ○ Corrective actions: Corrective actions to address problems and potential problems might take place right at the status review meeting. ○ Opportunities for improvement: These should also be identified, along with problem areas and associated corrective actions. ○ Action item assignment: Specific action items should be identified and assigned to specific team members. 2. Problem-Solving Meetings • When an individual team member identifies a problem or potential problem, that person should promptly call a problem-solving meeting with other appropriate individuals, not wait for a future status review meeting. • Problem-solving meetings should follow a good problem-solving approach, such as the following: 1. Develop a problem statement. 2. Identify potential causes of the problem. 3. Gather data and verify the most likely causes. 4. Identify possible solutions. 5. Evaluate the alternative solutions. 6. Determine the best solution. 7. Revise the project plan. 8. Implement the solution. 9. Determine whether the problem has been solved. 3. Design Review Meetings • Projects that include a design phase, such as an information system project, may require one or more technical design review meetings to ensure that the customer agrees with or approves of the design. • In many projects there are two design review meetings: ○ A preliminary design review meeting when the contractor has completed the initial conceptual specifications, drawings, or flowcharts. The purpose of this meeting is to get the customer’s agreement. ○ A final design review meeting when the contractor has completed the detailed specifications, drawings, screen and report formats, and such. The purpose of this meeting is to get the customer’s approval. B. Effective Meetings 1. Before the Meeting • Determine whether a meeting is really necessary. • Determine the purpose of the meeting. • Determine who needs to participate in the meeting. • Distribute an agenda well in advance of the meeting and include: ○ Purpose of the meeting ○ Topics to be covered ○ Time allocated for each topic and who will cover the topic • Prepare visual aids or handouts. • Make meeting room and visual aid arrangements. • Figure 12.2 depicts a sample agenda. 2. During the Meeting • Start the meeting on time. • Designate a note-taker. • Ask all participants to turn off their cell phones, iPods, and other electronic communication devices • Review the purpose of the meeting and the agenda. • Facilitate—don’t dominate—the meeting. ○ Keep the meeting moving and stay within the scheduled time frame. ○ Encourage participation. ○ Limit discussion by participants. ○ Control interruptions. ○ Clarify points that are made. ○ Summarize discussions and meeting results. • Summarize the meeting results at the end of the meeting. • Do not overrun the scheduled meeting time. • Evaluate the meeting process. • Figure 12.3 depicts the expected code of conduct for team meetings. • Figure 12.4 depicts a checklist for rating the effectiveness of a meeting. 3. After the Meeting • Publish the meeting results within 24 hours after the meeting. • The summary document should be concise and kept to one page if possible. • It should confirm decisions that were made and list the action items, including who is responsible, the estimated completion date, and expected deliverables. • Figure 12.5 depicts the actions items for a meeting. 4. Presentations Often the project manager or members of the project team are called on to give a formal presentation. The audience may be representatives of the customer’s organization, the project organization’s upper management, or the project team itself. A. Prepare for the Presentation • Determine the purpose of the presentation. Is it to inform or to persuade? • Know the audience. What is their level of knowledge or familiarity with the subject? • Make an outline of the presentation. • Use simple language that the audience will understand. • Prepare notes or a final outline to refer to during your presentation. • Prepare visual aids and test them. ○ Visual aids should be simple and not too busy. ○ Make sure the visual aids are readable from the most distant seat in the room where the presentation will be given. ○ If use a video, make sure it is less than 6 minutes. • Practice, practice, practice. • Make copies of handout materials. • Request the audiovisual equipment well in advance. • Go into the meeting room when it’s empty or not in use and get a feel for the surroundings. B. Deliver the Presentation • Expect a bit of nervousness; all speakers experience it. • Turn off your cell phone and other distractions. • Know the first two or three sentences of your presentation. • Use the 3-T approach in your presentation: ○ First, tell them what you are going to tell them (your outline). ○ Then, tell them (the body of your presentation). ○ Finally, tell them what you told them (your summary). • Talk to the audience, not at it. • Speak clearly and confidently. • Use appropriate gestures to help make a point. • Do not read the slide. Elaborate on the ideas illustrated on the slide. • Do not stand in front of your visual aids. • Build interest in your presentation. • Keep to the key points in your outline. • When making key points, explain to the audience why they are important. • Sum up your points on a particular item before moving on to the next item on your outline. ○ Know your closing lines. • Allow time for interaction with the audience, if appropriate. • When responding to questions, be sincere, candid, and confident. 5. Reports Written reports are just as important as oral reports in communicating information about a project. Remember that reports must address what is of interest to readers, not the person writing. A. Types of Project Reports • The two most common types of project reports are ○ Progress reports ○ Final report 1. Progress Reports • A progress report is not an activity report. ○ Do not confuse activity or busyness with progress and accomplishment. • Progress reports usually cover a specified period, called the reporting period. ○ This period can be a week, a month, a quarter, or whatever best fits the project. ○ A sample outline for a project progress report is shown in Figure 12.6. • A project progress report might include the following: ○ Accomplishments since prior report. ○ Current status of project performance. ○ Progress toward resolution of previously identified problems. ○ Problems or potential problems identified since prior report. ○ Planned corrective actions. ○ Milestones expected to be reached during next reporting period. • None of the information in the progress report should be a surprise to the readers. 2. Final Report • The project final report is usually a summary of the project. • It is not an accumulation of the progress reports, nor is it a blow-by-blow story of what happened throughout the project. • The final report might include the following: ○ Customer’s original need ○ Original project objective ○ Customer’s original requirements ○ Description of the project ○ Degree to which the original project objective was met ○ Actual versus anticipated benefits to the customer as a result of the project ○ Future considerations. ○ A list of all deliverables provided to the customer ○ Test data from the final-acceptance testing B. Useful Reports • The following guidelines will help ensure the usefulness of project reports and their value to the recipients: ○ Make your reports concise. ○ Write as you would speak. Use short, understandable sentences rather than compound, complex, paragraph-length sentences. ○ Put the most important points first. ○ Use graphics where possible. ○ Pay as much attention to the format of the report as to the content. • Written reports, like oral communication, leave an impression—positive or negative—with the audience. 6. Control Document Changes • In addition to project reports, many other documents may be created by either the project team or the customer during the project. • Revisions to project documents can result from changes initiated by the customer or by the project team. ○ Some changes are trivial; others are major, affecting the project work scope, cost, and schedule. ○ Project team members should be careful about casually agreeing to changes without knowing whether they will necessitate additional person-hours. • Throughout a project, various project documents will be revised to incorporate changes. ○ The project team should know which is the latest version of a document so they can perform their work correctly based on the most current information and documentation. ○ It’s good practice to put on each page of each type of document: • The date of the latest revision • A sequential revision number • The initials of the person who made the changes • For example, a notation in the lower right corner of a floor plan for an office arrangement may indicate Rev. 4, 12/29/11, ES • This means the latest version of the floor plan is Revision number 4, which was made on December 29, 2011, by Elisabeth Smith (ES). • Just as important as keeping up to date with revision numbers and dates on documents is timely distribution of updated documents with a summary of the revisions. 7. Project Communication Plan A project communication plan defines the generation and distribution of project documents among stakeholders throughout the project. • It identifies the various documents, who is responsible for creating each, when or how frequently the document must be distributed and to whom, and what action each recipient is expected to take. • The project charter or contract often includes sponsor or customer requirements for specific documents, including frequency, the need for customer approvals, and who in the customer organization should receive copies of which documents. • For any external resources such as subcontractors, consultants, or vendors, the project organization will define requirements regarding documentation, approvals required, and distribution and include such requirements in subcontracts or purchase orders. • Figure 12.7 depicts a generic template for project communication plan. Each row in the matrix would include information related to a specific project document. • Possible elements of a communication plan: ○ Documents ○ Author or originator or person responsible for creating the documents ○ Required date or frequency for document completion and distribution ○ Recipients for documents in distribution list ○ Actions required ○ Comments related to each document • The project communication plan needs to be updated as stakeholders or their information needs change, or as new people or new documents are identified. 8. Stakeholder Communication • The project team should welcome stakeholder input, involvement, discussions, and debate. ○ It will build support for the project. ○ Communicating with stakeholders requires the project team to employ effective verbal and written communication, and in particular effective listening to achieve understanding. • Stakeholders’ concerns should be addressed early, positively, and in a timely manner; and not confrontationally, put off, ignored, or dismissed. • The project manager needs to provide opportunities for regular two-way communication with each stakeholder, not just when an issue or concern is identified. 9. Collaborative Communication Tools • Meetings create a forum and opportunity for team collaboration. ○ Because of time and travel constraints, face-to-face meetings are not always feasible or timely, especially when many team members are involved. • Various collaborative communication tools allow all or some of the members of the project team, including subcontractors and the customer, to communicate with each other. ○ Collaboration tools: • teleconferencing • Web 2.0 tools • groupware • content management systems • extranets • collaborative project workspaces on the web ○ These tools facilitate the sharing of project information and can enhance the communication, collaboration, teamwork, productivity and performance of the project team. ○ Collaborative communication tools range from email, which relies on writing and reading, to audio-based tools such as conference calls, to videoconferencing which is based on both audio and video. ○ For project communications that are not face-to-face, email is the most utilized method for transmission and distribution of project information. Information can be distributed quickly and efficiently to the project team or various subgroups through an assortment of distribution lists. • Teleconferencing allows the live exchange of information among members of the project team. Tools such as conference calls and videoconferencing can help facilitate the sharing of information in a more interactive way than email. ○ Web videoconferencing, in which each participant is connected using his or her own personal computer and webcam, is another tool for conducting live meetings over the internet. • Groupware, another collaborative tool, is software that helps people engaged in a common task to collaborate on idea generation, brainstorming, problem solving and decision making. • Web 2.0 tools • Document management systems are another collaboration tool that can provide a central repository for project information and capture the efforts of team members into a managed content environment. ○ A content management system is a system to manage the content of a website, documents, or files. • A computer server may be dedicated to a specific project, or space can be reserved on a server to share project documents and files such as the requirements documents, proposals, specifications, contracts, drawings, forms, plans, schedules, budgets, a common project calendar, meeting agenda and action items, project reports, presentation materials, etc. ○ An extranet is a private network that uses the internet to securely share a repository of project information among the project team, subcontractors, and customer. It can be a restricted part of a website where registered users need to log in to access project information and documents. • Smartphones and tablets provide team members with greater access and flexibility for using various interactive telecommunication technologies and collaboration tools such as email, internet access, document management, etc. 10. Critical Success Factors • Effective and frequent personal communication is crucial to successful project management. • A high degree of face-to-face communication is important early in the project to foster team building, develop good working relationships, and establish mutual expectations. • Body language and customs reflective of cultural diversity must be considered in communications. • Be careful not to use remarks, words, or phrases that can be construed to be sexist, racist, prejudicial, or offensive. • The heart of communication is understanding—the goal is not only to be understood, but also to understand. Half of making communication effective is listening. • Communication should be clear, concise, honest, unambiguous, free of jargon, and not offensive. • Achieving customer satisfaction requires ongoing communication to keep the customer informed and to determine whether expectations have changed. Regularly ask the customer about the level of satisfaction with the progress of the project. • Keep the customer and project team informed of the project status and potential problems in a timely manner. • Hold project status meetings on a regular basis. Have the team develop meeting guidelines at the project kickoff meeting so everyone understands and is committed to the behavior that is expected during project meetings. • Do not confuse busyness and activity with accomplishment when communicating project progress. • Write reports to address what is of interest to readers, not you as the writer. • Make reports concise, readable, and understandable. Pay as much attention to format, organization, appearance, and readability as you do to the content. • At the start of the project, a document control system needs to be established that defines how changes to documents will be documented, approved, and communicated. • When documents are updated, they should immediately be distributed to all team members whose work will be affected. • At the beginning of the project, prepare a project communication plan to ensure that all stakeholders will receive the information and documents they need. • Regular and open communication, trust, respect, open-mindedness, and a positive win-win attitude are keys to successful stakeholder engagement. 11. Summary • Project communication takes various forms. ○ Face-to-face or via some medium ○ Verbal or written ○ Internal or external correspondence • Body language and tone are important elements in verbal communication. • Failure to listen can cause a breakdown in communication. • The three most common types of project meetings are status review, problem-solving, and design review meetings. • Before any meeting, the purpose of the meeting and the people who need to participate should be determined, an agenda drawn up and distributed, materials prepared, and room arrangements made. • In preparing for the presentation, determine the purpose of the presentation, find out about the target audience, make an outline, develop notes and visual aids, make copies of handout materials, and practice. • Written progress reports and final reports are often required during a project. • At the start of the project, a document tracking system needs to be established to govern how changes to documents will be documented, approved, and communicated. • A project communication plan defines the generation and distribution of project documents among stakeholders throughout the project. • Communicating with stakeholders requires the project team to employ effective verbal and written communication, and in particular effective listening to achieve understanding. • Collaborative communication tools allow all or some of the members of the project team, including subcontractors and the customer, to communicate with each other. Questions 1. Discuss why verbal communication is important to project success, and describe several ways of enhancing such communication. Face-to-face communication is especially important early in a project to foster team building, develop good working relationships, and establish mutual expectations. Communication with other team members and the project manager should be timely. Verbal communication should be straightforward and unambiguous. The timing of verbal communication is also important. Ask the other person when would be a good time to get together and tell him or her how long you need to talk. 2. Why are listening skills important in effective communications? How can you improve your listening skills? Listening skills are important because half of making communication effective is listening. Here are some suggestions for improving listening skills: • Focus on the person talking • Engage in active listening • Ask questions • Do not interrupt 3. For the next few days, observe the body language of the people with whom you communicate. Describe some of the positive and negative things they do. Specific answers will vary. Depending upon the culture of the students, the identification of negative body language will differ. Some positive body language includes leaning forward, active listening, eye contact. Some negative body language includes looking at something else while someone is talking, yawning, sitting in a manner that is offensive. 4. Discuss why it’s important to be sensitive to the diverse composition of a project team, especially with regard to communication. Members must be sensitive to the diverse composition of a project team in order for each individual to feel that his or her contribution to the project is valued. Communication must be respectful of the culture and customs of others. This will demonstrate the value of each person and no doubt benefit the project as a whole. 5. List ten best practices (do’s and don’ts) for electronic communication etiquette in a business environment. Specific answers will vary. Depending upon the experiences of the students and their familiarity with electronic communication tools, the best practices will vary. Some best practices for electronic communication include: Avoid trivial messages and irrelevant documents. Use the message to inform, confirm, or request information. The communication should be clear and concise. The communication should not include lengthy dissertations or voluminous extraneous attachments. The writing should be professional. The text should avoid text message abbreviations or emoticons. Create a draft message and review the next day if emotional. 6. What is the purpose of status review meetings? When should they be conducted? What should be covered at such meetings? The primary purposes of a status review meeting are to inform, to identify problems, and to identify action items. Project status meetings should be held on a regularly scheduled basis, weekly with the project team and perhaps monthly or quarterly with the customer. Some discussion topics are: • Accomplishments since last meeting • Cost, schedule, and work scope—status • Cost, schedule, and work scope—trends • Cost, schedule, and work scope—forecasts • Cost, schedule, and work scope—variances • Risk assessment update • Corrective actions • Opportunities for improvement • Action item assignment 7. Why are problem-solving meetings conducted? Who should call such meetings? Describe the approach that should be followed. Problem-solving meetings are conducted to address existing problems or potential problems. An individual team member can call a problem-solving meeting with other appropriate individuals. The approach to follow includes: 1. Develop a problem statement. 2. Identify potential causes of the problem. 3. Gather data and verify the most likely causes. 4. Identify possible solutions. 5. Evaluate the alternative solutions. 6. Determine the best solution. 7. Revise the project plan. 8. Implement the solution. 9. Determine whether the problem has been solved. 8. What should be done before a meeting to properly prepare for the meeting? What should be done during a meeting to ensure that the meeting will be effective? Describe how personal computers, cell phones, tablets, and other technologies could help or hinder meeting effectiveness. Before the meeting, leaders should: • Determine whether a meeting is really necessary. • Determine the purpose of the meeting. • Determine who needs to participate in the meeting. • Distribute an agenda well in advance of the meeting. • Allocate time for each topic and identify who will cover it. • Prepare visual aids or handouts. • Make meeting room and visual aid arrangements. During the meeting, the leader should: • Start the meeting on time. • Designate a note-taker. • Review the purpose of the meeting and the agenda. • Facilitate—don’t dominate—the meeting. • Summarize the meeting results at the end of the meeting. • Stay within the scheduled meeting time. • Evaluate the meeting process. Answers for how technology helps or hinders will vary. Personal computers could make taking notes and minutes more effective because then handwritten notes don’t have to be transcribed. Also, updates could be sent ahead of the meeting and be included in the meeting minutes to allow for recording of clarifications. Cell phones could be a distraction, especially when people who need to listen are answering e-mails or texting. 9. If you were asked to advise someone on how to prepare for and deliver an important presentation, what would you say? For each step listed, state why it is important. • Preparation of the Presentation ○ Determine the purpose of the presentation. Is it to inform or to persuade? This will ensure that the meeting performs the necessary function. ○ Know the audience. What is their level of knowledge or familiarity with the subject? This will enable you to gear the presentation to the audience you expect. ○ Make an outline of the presentation. This will help you organize your thoughts. ○ Use simple language the audience will understand. The audience may not understand jargon or acronyms and feel frustrated if your presentation includes a lot of them. ○ Prepare notes or a final outline to refer to during your presentation. This will help your delivery flow smoothly. ○ Practice, practice, practice. This will help you to feel comfortable giving the presentation: bolster your self-confidence and calm your nerves. ○ Prepare visual aids and test them to reduce the possibility of problems during the actual presentation. ○ Make copies of handout materials. If audience members don’t have to take a lot of notes, they will be able to give their full attention to the presentation. ○ Request the audiovisual equipment well in advance. You don’t want to find at the last minute that equipment is not available. ○ Go into the meeting room when it’s empty or not in use and get a feel for the surroundings. This will also enable you to feel more comfortable during the presentation. • Deliver the Presentation ○ Expect a bit of nervousness; all speakers experience it. ○ Turn off your cell phone and other distractions. ○ Know the first two or three sentences of your presentation. ○ Use the 3-T approach in your presentation: • First, tell them what you are going to tell them (your outline). • Then, tell them (the body of your presentation). • Finally, tell them what you told them (your summary). ○ Talk to the audience, not at it. ○ Speak clearly and confidently. ○ Use appropriate gestures to help make a point. ○ Do not read the slide. Elaborate on the ideas illustrated on the slide. ○ Do not stand in front of your visual aids. ○ Build interest in your presentation. ○ Keep to the key points in your outline. ○ When making key points, explain to the audience why they are important. ○ Sum up your points on a particular item before moving on to the next item on your outline. ○ Know your closing lines. ○ Allow time for interaction with the audience, if appropriate. ○ When responding to questions, be sincere, candid, and confident. 10. Why are progress reports an integral part of project communications? What should they include? How are they different from a final report? Progress reports are an integral part of project communication because they inform team members and customers of the accomplishments, current status, problems, and goals of the project. A project progress report might include the following: • accomplishments since prior report • current status of project performance • progress toward resolution of previously identified problems • problems or potential problems identified since prior report • planned corrective actions • milestones expected to be reached during next reporting period The purpose of the final report is to summarize the project. It is not an accumulation of progress reports. The final report may include the following: • customer’s original need • original project objective • customer’s original requirements • description of the project • degree to which the original project objective was met. • actual versus anticipated benefits to the customer as a result of the project • future considerations • a list of all deliverables provided to the customer • test data from the final-acceptance testing 11. Why is it important to control changes made to project documents? How can you achieve effective control? It is important to control the changes made to project documents because while some changes are trivial, others are major and can affect the project work scope, cost, and schedule. Project managers can achieve control by reaching an agreement early in the project between the contractor and the customer, as well as with the project team, regarding the way changes will be documented and authorized. 12. Describe what is meant by the terms collaborative communication tools and Web 2.0 tools and provide a list of some of these tools. How can these tools help improve project communications? Collaborative communication tools allow all or some of the members of the project team, including subcontractors and the customer, to communicate with each other. Web 2.0 tools are tools that use the Internet to help virtual teams collaborate. Some of these tools are teleconferencing, groupware, content management systems, extranets, and collaborative project workspaces on the web. Use of such communication tools can be important when team members are in different geographic locations, making face-to-face meetings it inconvenient or impractical. These tools facilitate the sharing of project information and can enhance the communication, collaboration, teamwork, productivity, and performance of the project team. Internet Exercises Assign the Internet Exercises to your students as homework or complete them together in a computer lab. Searches for each of the terms suggested (“effective project communications,” “effective listening skills,” “effective meeting strategies,” and “project reports”) result in a number of definitions and examples. Have students identify additional information the websites offer that may not be in the chapter and show how the concepts of the chapter were reinforced in the sites they found. Let students try the collaborative tool they found online with their team project if one has been assigned, or assign teams to try the tools. Have students report on how effective the tool was for communication. Case Study #1 Office Communications This case recounts a discussion between Cathy Buford, design leader for a large, complex technical project, and Joe Jackson, an engineer on that team. It is a very nice example illustrating communication problems. Answers to Case Questions 1. What are some of the communication problems presented in this case? There are many. For starters, Joe doesn’t seem to be listening to a word Cathy is saying, yet he feels she isn’t listening to a word he is saying. Joe is also showing his negative attitude and lack of dedication. 2. What should Cathy do? There is no simple solution to this problem. Cathy and Joe need to sit down and have a very serious discussion; however, that apparently won’t be easy to do. 2a. What do you think Joe will do? Joe will probably have someone else type his progress reports rather than contribute to the report as Cathy asked. He needs to be more focused at work and learn how to listen and contribute to the effort. 3. How could Cathy and Joe have handled this situation better? For starters, Joe interrupted Cathy while she was working. It is apparent that she was busy, but Joe doesn’t seem to care. Cathy should have made it clear that he should come back at another time and Joe should have been more aware of what she was doing. 4. What could have been done to prevent the communication problem between Cathy and Joe? Again, there is no easy solution to this problem. They have a lot of work to do to overcome their communication problems. Group Activity Have two participants in the class act out this scenario. Immediately afterward, have a class discussion that addresses the questions above. Case Study #2 International Communications This case study introduces a man named Samuel who is working on an international project and clearly has some very serious communication and other problems that must be overcome. Answers to Case Questions 1. What are the communication errors Samuel made? There are many. Not returning phone calls. Not answering e-mails. Not paying attention. Being rude! 2. What should Angelique do when she gets the phone call from Penny asking her to come to Dallas to meet with Samuel? Angelique definitely needs to talk with Samuel. She has many good reasons to be upset. Perhaps Samuel should fly to see her. 3. Is there anything more Michael could have said or done in his conversation about Angelique’s phone call? Should Penny do anything about Samuel’s communication style and insensitive comments? Michael knew that Samuel was wrong and that he was being insensitive; however, he didn’t really say anything about it. Penny is clearly in a tough position and it seems she is trying to improve the situation. 4. What would be the elements of a good communication plan for managing a multinational project such as this? Answers will vary but clearly the ground rules should be spelled out up front. Group Activity Divide the course participants into groups of three or four to develop responses to the case questions. Each group should identify a spokesperson to present its responses to the entire class. Optional Supplemental Activities 1. Have students read the real-world vignettes and discuss the communication strategies presented. 2. Ask each student to provide a one-page description of someone who is an effective communicator along with the reasons this is true. Also ask for a one-page description (no names) of a poor communicator and the reasons. 3. Have students read the chapter and answer all the Reinforce Your Learning questions and the questions at the end of the chapter. 4. Show a video of a meeting. Evaluate the presentations and the meeting progress. Have students use the meeting evaluation form, suggest ways to improve the meeting, and discuss ways they can avoid the problems in the filmed meeting. Let them discuss how they can achieve the positive aspects of the meeting. Instructor Manual for Successful Project Management Jack Gido, Jim Clements 9781285068374