Communications Planning

📬 Communications Planning: The Art of Getting Your Message Across

🎯 The Big Picture: What’s This All About?

Imagine you’re the captain of a ship with 50 crew members. If you shout “TURN LEFT!” but only 10 people hear you clearly, what happens? Chaos! The ship crashes.

That’s exactly what happens in projects when communication goes wrong. Communications Planning is your map for making sure the right message reaches the right people at the right time.

One Simple Analogy: Think of project communication like a postal service. You need to know WHO gets mail, WHAT kind of mail they want, HOW to deliver it, and WHEN to send it.

📋 Plan Communications Management

What Is It?

This is your master plan for all project communications. It’s like creating a “Who Gets What Information and How” guidebook before your project starts.

Why Does It Matter?

Picture this: You’re planning a surprise birthday party. You need to:

• Tell the guests about the party (but not the birthday person!)
• Coordinate with the venue
• Update people if plans change

Without a plan, someone might accidentally tell the secret. Same thing in projects!

What Goes Into This Plan?

graph TD
    A["Plan Communications Management"] --> B["WHO needs information?"]
    A --> C["WHAT information do they need?"]
    A --> D["WHEN do they need it?"]
    A --> E["HOW will we send it?"]
    B --> F["Stakeholder List"]
    C --> G["Information Types"]
    D --> H["Timing & Frequency"]
    E --> I["Methods & Channels"]

Real-Life Example

Building a School Website Project:

• Parents need monthly progress updates via email
• Teachers need weekly task lists in team chat
• Principal needs daily status calls
• Students need the final product when it’s ready!

📊 Communication Requirements

What Are They?

Communication requirements answer: “What information does each person ACTUALLY need?”

It’s like asking everyone at a dinner party what they can’t eat. Some are vegetarian, some have allergies, some love everything. You need to know before you cook!

How to Figure Out Requirements

Ask these questions for each stakeholder:

Real-Life Example

Mobile App Development Project:

💡 Remember: Too much information = nobody reads it. Too little = people feel lost. Find the sweet spot!

🔢 Communication Channels Formula

The Magic Formula

Here’s a formula that sounds scary but is actually super simple:

Channels = n(n-1) / 2

Where n = number of people

What Does This Mean?

This tells you how many “conversation paths” exist in your team. It’s like counting how many phone lines you’d need if everyone might call everyone else.

Let’s Do the Math!

Example 1: You and 2 friends (3 people)

• Channels = 3(3-1) / 2
• Channels = 3 × 2 / 2
• Channels = 3

graph TD
    A["You"] --- B["Friend 1"]
    A --- C["Friend 2"]
    B --- C

Example 2: A team of 10 people

• Channels = 10(10-1) / 2
• Channels = 10 × 9 / 2
• Channels = 45 communication paths!

Why This Matters

When you add just ONE person to a team:

• 5 people → 10 channels
• 6 people → 15 channels (+5 more!)
• 10 people → 45 channels
• 20 people → 190 channels!

⚠️ The Lesson: More people = MUCH more communication complexity. This is why big projects need communication plans!

🔄 Communication Models

What’s a Communication Model?

It’s the journey a message takes from one person to another. Think of it like sending a letter:

1. You write it (Encode)
2. You put it in the mailbox (Send)
3. It travels through the postal system (Medium)
4. Recipient gets it (Receive)
5. They read and understand it (Decode)
6. They might write back (Feedback)

The Basic Model

graph LR
    A["Sender"] -->|Encode| B["Message"]
    B -->|Medium| C["Receiver"]
    C -->|Decode| D["Understanding"]
    D -->|Feedback| A
    E["NOISE"] -.->|Disrupts| B

What’s This “Noise”?

Noise is anything that messes up your message:

Real-Life Example

Scenario: You send an email saying “The project is behind schedule.”

• Your meaning: “We need 2 extra days”
• Their understanding: “Everything is falling apart!”

Why? Noise – they couldn’t see your calm face or hear your reassuring tone.

💡 Pro Tip: The message SENT is not always the message RECEIVED. Always check for understanding!

📡 Communication Methods

There are three main ways to communicate in projects. Let’s explore each one with our postal service analogy!

💬 Interactive Communication

What Is It?

Real-time, back-and-forth talking. Like having a conversation where both people can speak and respond immediately.

Examples

• 🗣️ Face-to-face meetings
• 📞 Phone calls
• 💻 Video conferences
• 🖥️ Live chat

When to Use It

Real-Life Example

Scenario: A critical bug is found right before launch.

❌ Bad Choice: Sending an email and waiting for reply ✅ Good Choice: Calling an emergency video meeting

Why? You need instant decisions, questions answered, and everyone on the same page!

graph LR
    A["You"] <-->|Back & Forth| B["Team Member"]
    A <-->|Instant Response| C["Manager"]
    B <-->|Real-time| C

Pros and Cons

➡️ Push Communication

What Is It?

Sending information OUT to people. Like putting letters in mailboxes – you send it, but you don’t know if they read it.

Examples

• 📧 Emails
• 📝 Reports
• 📰 Newsletters
• 📊 Status updates
• 💬 Text messages

When to Use It

Real-Life Example

Scenario: Weekly project status update

✅ Good Choice: Email report every Friday at 3pm ❌ Bad Choice: Calling a meeting every week to read the report aloud

Why? People can read it when convenient, and you have a record!

graph LR
    A["Project Manager"] -->|Sends| B["Email Report"]
    B -->|Delivered to| C["Stakeholder 1"]
    B -->|Delivered to| D["Stakeholder 2"]
    B -->|Delivered to| E["Stakeholder 3"]

The BIG Catch!

⚠️ Push does NOT guarantee receipt or understanding!

Just because you sent an email doesn’t mean:

• They received it (spam folder?)
• They opened it (busy inbox?)
• They read it (too long?)
• They understood it (too technical?)

Pros and Cons

🔍 Pull Communication

What Is It?

Information people ACCESS when they need it. Like a library – the books are there, but people come get them when they want.

Examples

• 🌐 Websites
• 📚 Knowledge bases
• 📁 Shared drives
• 🗃️ Document repositories
• 📱 Internal portals

When to Use It

Real-Life Example

Scenario: Project documentation and procedures

✅ Good Choice: Store on shared drive with clear folders ❌ Bad Choice: Emailing 50-page documents to everyone

Why? People can access what they need, when they need it, without drowning in attachments!

graph TD
    A["Shared Drive / Portal"] -->|Access when needed| B["Team Member 1"]
    A -->|Access when needed| C["Team Member 2"]
    A -->|Access when needed| D["Team Member 3"]
    E["Documents<br>Guides<br>Templates"] --> A

The BIG Catch!

⚠️ Pull requires people to ACTIVELY seek information!

If they don’t know it exists or where to find it, they won’t use it.

Solution: Tell people ONCE where things are (push), then let them access it (pull).

Pros and Cons

🎯 Choosing the Right Method

Here’s your quick decision guide:

graph TD
    A["What kind of communication?"] --> B{Urgent or Complex?}
    B -->|Yes| C["INTERACTIVE<br>Meeting, Call, Video"]
    B -->|No| D{Need to send to people?}
    D -->|Yes| E["PUSH<br>Email, Report, Message"]
    D -->|No, reference info| F["PULL<br>Portal, Shared Drive, Wiki"]

Quick Comparison

🏆 Summary: Your Communication Toolkit

You’ve just learned the complete toolkit for project communications:

1. Plan Communications Management – Your master plan for WHO, WHAT, WHEN, HOW

2. Communication Requirements – Figuring out exactly what each person needs

3. Channels Formula: n(n-1)/2 – Understanding why more people = more complexity

4. Communication Models – Sender → Encode → Medium → Decode → Receiver (+Noise!)

5. Three Communication Methods:

   • 💬 Interactive – Real-time conversation
   • ➡️ Push – Send it out
   • 🔍 Pull – Let them come get it

🎬 Your Next Step

Remember: The best communicators match the METHOD to the MESSAGE.

• Urgent problem? → Interactive (call them!)
• Weekly update? → Push (email it!)
• Reference docs? → Pull (post it!)

You’re now ready to be a communication champion! 🚀