Communications Management Planning Matrix
Small project team; no significant Medium size project team; some
organizational boundaries or
Team Characteristics cultural differences; previous
working relationships.
Identify and exercise channels for
internal and external
communications; identify key players
Communications Planning
and plan contacts, messages, and
information flow; make PM
accessible and communicative.
Identify key players and keep them
informed; encourage and exercise
Information Distribution information exchange within project
team; identify information hand-off
dependencies in advance.
Conduct periodic reviews of
progress with sponsor and
Program Reviews, Design stakeholders; conduct requirements
Reviews, and Reporting reviews and walk-thrus early;
communicate status and design
throughout project.
Produce and package project
working papers in project notebooks;
Project Documentation and
plan early to produce complete
Records
customer support documentation;
document project lessons learned.
Large project team; diverse
organizational diversity;
unfamiliar working contacts;
geographical separations.
Identify communications
requirements, technologies,
constraints and assumptions; draw
communications flow diagram; use
inclusive team structure to shorten
communications paths.
Communicate availability of work
results; prepare methods for
communications storage and
distribution; conduct regular
meetings to identify critical issues.
Conduct management and design
reviews with key stakeholders;
review plans, progress and changes;
focus on early identification and
management of risks.
Use documentation to establish
baseline and communications in the
project team; design tasks with
deliverables in mind; identify design
data needed for support
documentation; define document set
needed at finish.
Very large project teams,
organizations and cultures; numerous organizations and
differing contractual relationships. interfaces; diverse cultures;
numerous geographic locations.
Use stakeholder analysis to identify
Document plans for public relations,
communications paths; plan for
change management, working
multiple communications media; plan
papers and deliverables, project
to shorten vital information paths by
advocacy, and internal project team
new relationships, attitudes, or
communications.
techniques.
Establish communications lists and Identify information requirements of
interest areas; identify multiple media all parties; ensure communication
paths; solicit feedback on information channels in place; track required
adequacy; exploit technology to message delivery; establish
improve communications. distribution lists by subject area.
Schedule periodic cost, schedule,
Conduct periodic management and
and issues reviews (frequently at
design reviews; emphasize early
first); plan for periodic reviews of
definition of requirements, validation
design and at design milestones;
of cost/schedule plans, verification of
facilitate reviews and working
staffing and technology plans.
meetings in special interest areas.
Establish comprehensive definition
Define requirements for project
of documentation requirements;
library, deliverables, support
distribute standard report formats;
documentation, and historical record;
track data production and approvals;
budget and staff a data management
establish project data library
function.
structure.