Introduction
For my paper, I am going to discuss the Knowledge Area for Communication Management.
Communication management deals with being able to talk to people and effectively get your point
across with as little deviation as possible. A project manager needs to be able to exchange information
efficiently with the entire team and everyone else involved to make sure that everyone is on the same
page. In my paper I will review all the phases of communication management and by the end of the
paper the reader will have a better understanding of these phases and how to implement them in their
next project.
Project communication management KA phase takes place in the Planning, Executing, and the
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group. Communication management includes the phases necessary
to ensure that information needed for the project and its stakeholders are met through development of
tools and implementation of activities designed to effectively exchange information (PMBOK Guide Sixth
Edition, 2017). There are three main phases that are involved with communication management for a
project to be successful, which are, plan communications management, manage communications and
monitor communications (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). Each phase has different inputs, tools and
techniques, and outputs that are needed to make it them run as effectively as possible. We will cover
what each phase is and how to effectively incorporate the steps to make them successful, as well as
what communication is and how to use it to better help the project.
Communication is the foundation for any project as information can be lost if it isn’t correctly
interpreted. There are different types and forms of communication, whether it is verbal, non-verbal, or
in the form of ideas, instructions, or emotions (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). For the modern-day
project manager, there are different ways to communicate, whether it is through email, texts, phone
calls, meetings, and it is up to the leaders of the project to figure out the best possible way to exchange
the information. Communication is one of the most important part of a project because issues or errors
in a project can most likely be traced back to poor communication (Koltnerova, Sujanova, & Samakova,
2013).
Plan Communication Management
The first part of Communication management is the plan communications management, which
is part of the planning process group. The main goal for this phase is to develop a documented way
effectively communicate the needs of the project to the stakeholders and the team. The inputs needed
to for plan communication management include a project charter, project management plan and
enterprise environmental factors (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). A project charter is the most
important part of these inputs as a project cannot move on without it. The project charter is a short
document that provides key information about the goals, tasks, and timelines about a project as well as
who are they stakeholders, the project manager and when the project is expected to start (Project-
Management.com, 2021). This is important because it is the first official document that has been
completed for the project. Without it, there would not have been approval by the stakeholders.
Next are the tools and techniques needed to complete the goals and tasks of the inputs. A few
of these include expert judgement, communication technology, models, and methods (PMBOK Guide
Sixth Edition, 2017). A project manager and team should use their expert judgement to figure about the
best possible methods for communication during a project. Whether that is annual reports, emails,
presentations, or face-to-face meetings, it is up to the project manager to figure out what is best for the
team. Lastly, the outputs are deliverables that come from the initial inputs, tools and techniques.
Examples of these outputs are a communication management plan, project management plan and
document updates (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). The most important output for this phase is the
creation of a communications plan. This lets everyone know the communication methods and channels,
a plan to deal with different levels of skills and a feedback system to help distribute information
(Koltnerova, Sujanova, & Samakova, 2013). The structure of this plan is important because it lets
everyone know all forms of communication to include guidelines, templates, and who certain
information needs to be sent too.
Manage Communications
The second phase of the Project Communication Management plan is Manage Communications
and is part of the Executing Process Group (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). During this phase, it is
important to ensure the timely creation, collection, distribution, management, storage and disposition
of project information as well as incorporating an effective information flow between the project team
and the stakeholder (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). A good example of managing communications
was during the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of Zoom, or WebEx for meetings. No one
knew how projects would work at that time, but one thing was for sure, there was a need for effective
written and verbal communication. To complete this task, the project manager needed adjust the
techniques and methods to add more training on how to conduct oneself while in front of a camera and
to implement a system to accurately annotate what work has been completed while away from the
office environment.
First, the inputs are needed to start the process of manage communication and include a project
management plan, project documents and work performance reports (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition,
2017). These are tasks that have been created and implemented in other phases of the project, however
they were created in preparation for phases that would be met later in the project. For instance, the
project management plan is the primary document used for planning and execution of the project and
can have many different plans incorporated into it like the resource and communications management
plan (Alqaisi, 2018)(PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). Within these plans, it is communicated who will
complete certain tasks and their certain roles and responsibilities. This is important because it lets
everyone know the responsibilities of certain roles. That way there is no confusion when it comes down
to who should be calling the shots in different areas, especially if something were to go wrong.
Next the tool and techniques needed to complete the tasks and goals of the inputs include
communication technology, methods, and skills, project reporting and interpersonal and team skills
(PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). There are multiple different methods of communication and forms
of technology for a project to be successful. These include different forms of technology like Zoom, or
outlook, and the different types of methods which help with the sharing of information from one person
to another. Lastly, the outputs are a culmination of all the hard work completed from the inputs, tools,
and techniques. These outputs include, project communications, project management plan and
document updates (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). It is important to note that these updates are
going to change as time goes on. Updating key leaders is an important part of every project because it
keeps everyone up to date on parts that have worked and things that have not, as well as what has been
done to make these deficiencies better. Without fixing these deficiencies, they won’t ever get better and
could delay a project.
Monitor Communications
The last phase of Communication Management is Monitor Communications and is part of the
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). Monitor Communication
is the process that ensures that all information for the project and the stakeholders are met and is
constantly updated and performed throughout the entire length of the project (PMBOK Guide Sixth
Edition, 2017). Therefore, it is in the monitoring and controlling process group, because it is constantly
collecting data and comparing it with what was originally planned. The inputs for this phase include
project management plan, project documents, work performance data and enterprise environmental
factors (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). These are completed from earlier phases in this project and
constantly being updated from the outputs. The project manager and team will need to be aware of the
changes if any that have been made and how to work with those changes.
Next the tool and techniques needed to help complete the tasks and goals of the inputs include
communication technology, methods, and skills, project reporting and interpersonal and team skills
(PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). All the planning that has been done so far will take show through
during this phase. The interpersonal and team skills that have been taught will help when completing
the reporting and meetings that are needed because this phase is all about analyzing the data that and
communicating that in a clear format. Lastly, the outputs are a conclusion of all work completed from
the inputs, tools, and techniques. These outputs include, project communications, project management
plan and document updates (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017). Updating documentation is the key task
throughout this entire phase. From the tools and techniques come valuable data that needs to be
translating and documented in a manner that is easy to understand for all to read. The overall goal of
this phase is to make sure that all the hard work that has happened so far has the desired effect and
gives the expected deliverables and outcomes (PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition, 2017).
For communication management, there needs to be an ability for the project to learn and adapt
to its surroundings. An agile approach tends to be flexible and more effective with projects that are
complex and have uncertainty and there is no specific way to run an agile project, but it follows to the
12 principles of the agile manifesto (Zavyalova, Sokolov , & Lisovskay, 2020). For communication, there
needs to be an ability to be flexible because environmental factors can change from time to time. As
previously said, Covid-19 created lots of changed in every time of business in the last two years. It has
caused every person and project to create an agile approach and take on how they conduct business. A
project manager needs to be able to adjust the different methods of communication to deliver the
needs of the team and the project.
Biblical integration
Throughout the Bible, there are many examples of communication that we should be aware of.
The main person that is communicating is God to man and from man to other people. Communicating
isn’t just talking but also the ability to listen and follow orders. The first thing that comes to mind for me
is Noah and the Ark. In Genesis, the Lord told Noah of an impeding flood and that he wanted him to
build an Ark for his family and two of every kind of animal that roamed the earth. The Lord gave Noah
the exact dimensions of the Ark and what to make it out of. Had Noah not listened efficiently and
followed all the guidance that the Lord gave, his boat may have sunk, or he may not have completed it in
time. Another method of communication God is the Bible itself. There are lessons to be learned from
the Bible, we must read it and talk to others about what we’ve learned. Learning the word will help with
communicating in all aspects of life because as we learn to decipher what the Lord has said, we then
learn how to tell others what we’ve learned. It is important for everyone in the workplace today to take
from the lessons the ability to interpret the information that is given. This will help when trying to
understand the instructions from the project management plan.
Conclusion
Throughout this paper I have covered the three phases of the Project Communication
Management Pian and the importance of communication that is needed throughout the entire project.
Without proper planning of the resources and responsibilities of the project manager, communication
can be lost from day one. Communication is the biggest factor that influences quality, effectiveness,
satisfaction, and productivity of a project team (Koltnerova, Sujanova, & Samakova, 2013). Colossians
4:6 says “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought
to answer each person (ESV). Being effective at communication is one of the hardest tasks to learn
because there are multiple different forms to learn as problems that arise in projects and life can be
traced back to bad communication. There will never be perfect communication in a project, the best any
project manager and team can do is cut down the miscommunication as much as possible.
References
Alqaisi, I. F. (2018). The effects of stakeholder’s engagement and communication management on
projects success. MATEC Web of Conferences 162, 02037,
https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816202037 .
Koltnerova, K., Sujanova, J., & Samakova, J. (2013). Project Communication Management in Industrial
Enterprises. In Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on IS Management and Evaluation:
ECIME 2013. Gdansk, Sopot, Poland: Academic Conferences and Publishing International
Limited.
PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition. (2017). Newton Square, PA: Project Management Institute, INC.
Project-Management.com. (2021). What Is A Project Charter? Retrieved from Project-Management.com:
https://project-management.com/what-is-a-project-charter/
Zavyalova, E., Sokolov , D., & Lisovskay, A. (2020). Agile vs traditional project management approaches:
Comparing human resource management architectures. International Journal of Organizational
Analysis, Vol 28 (5), p. 1095-1112. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-08-2019-1857.
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