99% of project failures are due to bad communication plans.
This statistic from the "Totally Subjective Institute" is unverifiable, but experienced CIOs do say that effective communication equals better project management. As the saying goes, "if it’s ambiguous, it’s suspicious"...
Project management is mainly about organizing and leading people. To succeed, the project manager must be heard and he or she must listen, making sure that every piece of information is understood at every stage, while avoiding risks of backlash.
Welcome to a pragmatic and strategic guide on writing a project communication plan adapted to your context and goals. We'll cover fundamental principles, advanced practices, best communication strategies and common pitfalls.
As usual, there are no magic words for guaranteed success, but you'll find some strong convictions, principles and proven models to help draft up a project communication plan, ready to fit your specific environment.
The word "communication" comes from the Latin word "communicare," which means "to share."
Practically speaking, sharing burdens and difficulties 😱 won't encourage teams! However, when well-structured and executed, an effective internal communication plan can act as a real "change manager” helping you better manage your projects.
🥊 99% of conflicts come from a lack of understanding of the IT department's constraints and the business expectations.
However, regular communication about progress, issues and milestones helps reduce frustration and impatience among those seeking updates. Less friction allows your project team to work and move forward more smoothly.
It’s a virtuous cycle: Trust + Respect = Engagement!
Before becoming an expert in corporate communication, you must master the basics of strategic planning.
Often, the methodological approach involves framing your action plan from multiple viewpoints "who says what, to who, why, when, where? By what means and what impacts?" This approach is inspired by the Lasswell matrix, named after a 20th-century American political scientist who worked on mass communication.
Project communication is a shared responsibility.
Get help from all stakeholders. If mentioned during initial planning, the communication effort will be spread across the team. Indeed, a communication committee can be created.
However, make sure to clearly define the review process and the person who will have the final say on group messages, just like how journalists rely on a chief editor to guarantee consistency.
Establish the main sections in your communication plan according to your communication goals so as to create a template:
One message, several versions according to your target audience. List the project stakeholders, understand what their stakes and expectations are.
Do all the targeted groups have the same characteristics? Or does a specific group need to be split into subgroups? (by importance, involvement in the project, IT skills, location, etc.)?
Each communication campaign must contribute to your direct and indirect goals:
Internal communication must follow the project's pace, adapting and evolving with its stages:
Three criteria are to be remembered for creating your communication content: utility, clarity and conciseness.
One channel = one use.
With the proliferation of communication channels, it is more important than ever to agree and choose the best media and communication methods based on the desired impact and to ensure consistent communication.
“Flash reports" are an ideal communication tool, indispensable for better stakeholder engagement and, consequently, project success. They support effective project management and planning.
Sending a weekly flash report addresses three key issues:
👩🍳 The Chef’s tip: after a few iterations of this "routine," check with stakeholders to ensure the communication meets their information needs using a simple open-ended question: "Is the way we communicate meeting your information needs?"
🕵️♂️ : this concept of continuous communication was discussed in our article about steering committee: "The best way to avoid catching the steering committee members off guard is to communicate continuously about the project’s progress."
To steer clear of the pitfall of a too restricted user group, remember to communicate not only with those in the project but also with all future users who will be impacted. For instance, every 15 days, share key information on a platform like Teams to ensure the audience is truly reached. ✅
You can, for example, structure your communication plan as follows:
☝️ Make sure you establish clear guidelines for your channels and present the terms of use to avoid conversations getting off track.
☝️ Moreover, experiment different communication resources: project posters, flyers, teaser emails, “Loom” demo videos, announcements in the company newsletter, project-branded goodies, informational webinars, messages in Slack/Teams, launch events… Each communication support has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Form matters as much as content. Remember the joy of playing with the boxes of the toys at Christmas, sometimes they were actually more exciting than the gift itself. Improve presentation quality by using visual aids and infographics.
While sharing success with an image is a good start, effectively highlighting a success point in a message that will be seen is even better. And for that, there's nothing quite like using a well-chosen animated GIF. GIFs are a great way to get attention and make your message more engaging.
In the project discussion thread on AirSaas, you can add a GIF to share a project success or congratulate a colleague. It does make a big difference! An off-beat or even "quirky" communication approach helps avoid a lack of motivation.
Milestones make the rhythm of projects. They align teams on goals and break down projects into key stages. They represent perfect communication opportunities to set reference points. Remember that we are all more or less overwhelmed by the overflow of information.
Indeed, communicating about milestones will help guide your "readers." It's the famous 📍 "You are here!" that reassures and provides an overview of the project.
The final challenge in writing a good project communication plan is transparency. During project team sync-up meetings, many micro-decisions are made. The project team must take responsibility in communicating about these, even if they sometimes are outside their responsibility scope. It is important to organize the good dissemination of all information, issues and decisions.
And don't forget : the best tool to communicate the health of your projects is the weather report!
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