Project Management Framework
Planning - Communications Plan
Definition
The Communications Plan outlines the roles and responsibilities of project participants in the review, approval and dissemination of information about key project processes, events, documents and milestones.
Why is this important?
Implementing a well-thought-out Communications Plan will:
- Help manage expectations regarding the project.
- Ensure methods used for communication will be most effective.
- Assure appropriate levels of communication with internal and external project stakeholders.
- Provide relevant, accurate, consistent information at all times.
- Generate and sustain enthusiasm and support for the project.
Instructions
A preliminary Communications Plan should be developed early in the project. The basic steps are as follows:
- Identify the project audience(s) - include internal and external stakeholder groups.
- Assess information needs - determine what groups need to know, want to know, and expect, taking into consideration frequency and length of involvement of each audience and organizational standards of practice.
NOTE: Project resources should be expended only on communicating information that contributes to success or where a lack of communication can lead to failure.
- Identify information sources and assign responsibility for collecting information to be communicated.
- Identify the best media and methods available for use on the project, e.g. meetings, presentations, e-mail - remember people absorb information in different ways.
- Identify key messages, announcements, and/or marketing that needs to be delivered and can or should be included with routine or recurring communications.
- Define when and how communications will be provided.
- Document the approval process needed for any of the communications.
- Assign responsibilities for creating and delivering the various types of communications.
- Identify all triggers, such as key events/milestones/deliverable dates that will initiate communications.
- Define a process for handling ad hoc inquiries the project is likely to encounter.
- Develop a library of project information and assign responsibilities for its maintenance.
- Create internal and external feedback loops to help evaluate the effectiveness of communications as well as other project management processes.
- Schedule the work of communications and related triggers into the project schedule to ensure they are part of the overall plan.
- Define a process for updating/changing the Communications Plan.
Every project should go through all 14 steps at least one time. The steps should be revisited as a project progresses. Projects with long implementation timeframes should go through the steps multiple times, revising and updating the Communication Plan each time. Any significant change in a project should prompt a review of the Communications Plan. Communication is a key success factor for almost all projects.
How to Scale
Like other project management artifacts, the Communications Plan is scaleable. The plan for a very large or high risk project may be quite complex. More stakeholders will mean more information needs and that may mean more delivery mechanisms. There may be several individuals with responsibilities for the different types of communications required by a project. There may be many steps involved in the process of developing and approving communications on a large project in order to ensure communication is accurate, effective, and sensitive to the needs of the project. Highly visible projects may require separate public information or communications expertise. For example, if the Legislature is a stakeholder on a project, an Agency Public Information Officer may need to approve all communication prior to it being sent from the project to the stakeholder. They may be the resource assigned responsibility for developing communications going to the Legislature.
Most projects will require some form of both internal and external communication on a regular basis to sustain momentum on the project and to fulfill organizational reporting requirements. For small projects that have only a handful of stakeholders who are intimately familiar with all project details, it may be sufficient to provide a standard status report to all stakeholders on a regular basis. Be sure to include an open invitation for feedback on even such small projects.
Related Links:
Communications Plan Examples
Communications Plan Execution
Communications Plan Template
Communications Plan Team Feedback Form
Checklists