Successfully completing a project from start to finish requires specific core skills. Scheduling, time management, budgeting, and negotiating with all stakeholders are critical skills of a project manager. Leadership, risk management, and critical thinking are also high on the list. But the talent that is most important to project management is communication. A project manager spends 90% of his time communicating on a project, making it an immensely vital skill for successful project completion. 

Effective Communication is Vital to Project Success

No matter what method you use to communicate or to whom, effective communication is vital to all businesses. Effective communication has been proven to boosts project success rates. Organizations that have implemented effective communication strategies produce more successful projects. The absence of effective communication increases project risk and the probability of future project failure. So why do project communications fail to be effective? Because proper communication is rare due to some typical communication difficulties.

Ineffective communication is the reason why over half of projects fail to meet business objectives. Communication fails to meet business objectives because people improperly perceive their reality and believe they are communicating much better than they are. Despite its immense contribution to organizational success, communication is usually considered a low priority topic by most people in an organization. It's easy to find examples of people not prioritizing communication higher in instances of canceled meetings and essential conversations going unspoken.

Consistent communication between the project team and organizational leadership is an essential risk management step that organizations often ignore. Regular communication amongst all stakeholders helps identify potential problems. Proper feedback from stakeholders is how the project team knows they have fulfilled the stakeholder's wishes. Communication is a two-way street where executives should clearly state how the project aligns with organizational strategy so the team will completely understand and not make incorrect assumptions.

"Not all projects succeed. On average, two in five projects do not meet their original goals and business intent, and one-half of those unsuccessful projects are related to ineffective communications," from PMI's Pulse report.

Problem Areas in Project Communication 

There are two significant problem areas when it comes to project management communication. These two problem areas are:

• Incongruity in the awareness of business benefits

• Objections to the language used to deliver project-related information which is frequently unclear and full of project management jargon

The lack of understanding of business benefits derives from PMO directors and senior project leaders not taking responsibility for this gap and failing to translate the business benefits of strategic initiatives to the project team. Team members must understand the organization's long-term goal and how they make an impact in contributing to this goal. This knowledge provides team members with a sense of purpose when undertaking and completing project work. Organizations that frequently use effective project communication strategies while emphasizing the business benefit and the team's contribution to organizational objectives complete significantly more projects than organizations that communicate the same information less frequently. Ensuring team members understand the significance of aligning with an organization's strategic initiatives is crucial in communicating during project progression. 

Organizations have difficulty communicating appropriate levels of clarity and detail, which leads to team member confusion. This is all made worse by the audience's lack of understanding of technical project-specific language. Project success depends on communicating the correct information to the appropriate stakeholders, using clear and consistent language that resonates with the audience. 

Project Communication Plan = Viable Solution

A project communication plan could be used to help solve the problems mentioned above. The utilization of a formal communication plan frequently leads to project success. To create a project communication plan, you should reference your already composed stakeholder analysis. Then list all the people you need to communicate with and record the information you will need to communicate to each person or group to satisfy their interests and keep them informed. Next identify the methods you will use to communicate with them (i.e., email, face-to-face, team meeting, presentation, etc.).

Be sure to regularly review your project communication plan because it will change throughout the project as stakeholders' expectations change and you identify new stakeholders. Get into the routine of asking what information needs to be communicated and to whom. Keep the communication flowing by reminding people about:

• the project

• the reasons for the project

• what the project will achieve

• what's currently happening on the project and why

Remember that your goal in creating a project communication plan is to address stakeholder expectations and involve them in the project. 

Strategies to Move Forward

To improve project communications, organizations can take the following steps:

1. Close the communications gap surrounding business benefits by better communicating strategic and business benefits to those accountable for their implementation.

2. Tailor communications to different stakeholders, which requires communicating with a suitable level of clarity and detail and in the appropriate language to all stakeholders.

3. Recognize the value of project management communications. It is crucial to place importance on project management tasks, especially project communications.

4. Utilize standard project communication practices and use them effectively. An example of a standardized project management practice is a formal project communication plan which can be advantageous in successfully working in complex and competitive business climates.

References:

Pulse of the ProfessionTM In-Depth Report: The Essential Role of Communications, PMI, 2013. Results based on interviews conducted in March 2013 among 742 full-time project management practitioners with three or more years of project management experience, and among 148 executive sponsors and 203 business owners who have been involved in large capital projects with total budgets of US$250,000 or more in the past three years and are within organizations with a minimum of 1,000 employees worldwide.