Communicating And Documenting

Project Progress

Text by Stanley E. Portny, Samuel J Mantel, Jack R. Meredith, Scott M. Shaffer, Margaret M. Sutton with Brian Kramer.

PowerPoints by Christine Mooney

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Forms of Communication • The key to successful project

management is communication.

• Project communications can be both formal and informal.

• Formal communications are preplanned, conducted in a standard format in accordance with an established schedule.

• Informal communications occur as people think of information they want to share.

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Communicating in Writing

• Written reports enable project managers to provide factual data more efficiently. However, they do not:

a. Allow the intended audience to ask questions

b. Enable project managers to verify that their audiences received and interpreted their message in the way intended

c. Enable project managers to pick up nonverbal signals that suggest an audience’s reactions

d. Support brainstorming and discussion

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Reaching Your Audience

• Project managers can take the following steps to ensure that people read and understand their written reports:

a. Prepare reports in a standard format b. Stay focused c. Minimize the use of technical jargon d. Use reports to share facts e. Clearly describe any actions people

should take f. Keep reports to one page if possible

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Informational Meetings

• Meetings can be a valuable way to share information if they are planned and managed effectively. Project managers could improve their meetings by doing the following:

a. Clarify the purpose of the meeting b. Decide who needs to attendc. Give plenty of advance notice d. Prepare and circulate an agenda e. Keep meetings to one hour

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Meeting Conduct & Follow-Up

• Project managers can ensure successful meetings by:

a. Starting on time even if people are absent b. Assign a timekeeper c. Take written minutes d. Keep a list of action items e. End on time

• After a meeting project managers should follow-up by:

a. Distributing minutes b. Monitor the status of all actionsc. Don’t just think about those suggestions

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Preparing Progress Reports

• A project progress report reviews what has happened during a performance period, describes problems and the corrective actions needed.

• Project progress reports include some of the following content:

a. Performance highlights b. Performance details c. Problems and issues d. Approved changes to the plan e. Risk-management status f. Plans for the next period

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Project Progress Reports

• Project managers can improve the quality of project-progress reports by following these tips:

a. Tailor reports to the audience’s interest b. Produce the report no more than once a month c. Make sure all timeline information is in the

report

d. Always compare actual performance with respect to the performance planned.

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Key Project Meetings

• There are a variety of types of meetings a project manager can hold during a meeting:

a. Regularly scheduled team meetings – Opportunities for team members to share progress and issues and to sustain productive and trusting interpersonal relationships.

b. Ad hoc team meetings – Special sessions for team members to address problems and issues as they arise.

c. Upper management reviews – Periodic summary of project status, major accomplishments and issues.

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Team Meetings

• Project managers should request input from team members for all meetings.

• They should clarify the issues with the team.

• Explain the purpose of the different type of meeting.

• Be sure to value and listen the input of the team members.

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Reviews by Upper Management

• A project manager can ensure the effectiveness of upper management reviews by:

a. Identifying the audience’s interests b. Keep presentations short c. Highlight the key information d. Allow time for questionse. Distribute brief handoutsf. After the meeting distribute notes

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