Successful projects run on effective communication. That’s why communication planning is so important.
Let’s take a closer look at what a communication plan is and how and why you should develop one for your projects.
A project communication plan sets clear guidelines for how and when information will be shared, as well as who’s responsible for and needs to be looped in on each project communication.
This simple document helps streamline communication through the most efficient and effective channels for project teams and stakeholders.
There’s no denying the importance of communication in project management. After all, your project plan needs a steady stream of communication to stay on track. Otherwise deadlines get missed, and stakeholders get frustrated.
As the project manager, you’ve already mapped out every task and deliverable to get you across the finish line. Why not do the same for project communications?
A communication plan strengthens every project by setting clear expectations for how and when updates will be shared. It also establishes written documentation everyone can turn to if—and when—questions arise.
Lay a clear path to success with a visual plan that’s easy to understand, and keep everyone in sync with flexible workflows and team collaboration.
Let’s take the why a step further and unpack the project benefits you’ll see with a communication management plan in place.
An effective project communication plan:
Now that you know how a communication plan benefits your projects, let’s take a look at 5 key components you’ll need to build one.
Every good communication management plan should answer the 5 Ws: who, what, when, where, and why. The following communication plan elements will help you answer these important questions.
Ready to develop a communications plan for your next project? Writing an effective project management communication plan is as simple as following these 5 steps.
Every project is different, so start by determining the size of the project, the nature of work being done, and even the client’s unique preferences.
Then, make a list of which types of communication this project needs to succeed.
Bombarding people with too many emails or unnecessary meetings can interfere with their ability to get work done and cause them to overlook important updates. Be purposeful in your plan, and ensure every communication you include has a reason for being.
If you’re feeling really ambitious, go ahead and outline a basic agenda for the topics that will be covered in each meeting or report.
Do you really need a meeting to share weekly updates, or is your project discussion board enough? Think through how your team works best, so they can stay in the loop while still being productive.
So how do you know what’s right for the project? Review past projects to see what worked well—and what didn’t. Then ask your team and stakeholders about their communication styles and preferences. After all, a weekly email’s no good if no one reads it!
Establish a regular frequency for communication to streamline your process and set clear expectations from the get-go.
This not only frees you from fielding random requests for status updates. It also enables project members to carve out space for important meetings and reports ahead of time.
As the project manager, you’ll be responsible for most communications, but there may be some you want to delegate to others. Assign ownership to create accountability so your carefully crafted plan can reach its full potential.
While you’re naming names, list the audience or stakeholders for each communication type too. That way key players come prepared to provide updates when needed.
Need help identifying project stakeholders? Learn how in our stakeholder management guide.
You know your team and stakeholders best, so how you organize the details is up to you. Just be sure it’s easy to understand. These examples show you 3 different options for structuring the same communication plan.
This example outlines different project communications and features basic elements every good communication plan should include.
In this sample communication plan, we've grouped project communications by delivery method to make communication planning easier.
This project management communication plan example clearly defines who should receive which communication so no one misses an important update.
Want to save time creating your communication plan? Download our free project communication plan template to get started faster.
Simply choose your favorite format, and customize the details to fit your project, team, and stakeholders.
With TeamGantt, it’s easy to put your communication plan into everyday practice. Here are just a few ways you can streamline and manage project communication using TeamGantt.
Upload your communication plan, along with the project scope document, to your project’s planning task or Files tab.
Add major meetings or presentations as milestones to your gantt chart.
Share a PDF or view-only URL of your project so clients and stakeholders can stay up-to-date on progress without getting bogged down by nitty-gritty project details.
Collaborate with team members on project tasks and share files using the comments feature.
Check in on tasks with team members using the Request a progress update feature. TeamGantt will send anyone who's assigned to that task an email asking them to update the percent complete.
Want to eliminate project clutter and confusion?
With TeamGantt, you can keep all your tasks, documents, and conversations in a single centralized hub. That means everyone can find the latest files, chats, and updates without wasting precious project time.
Give TeamGantt a free try today, and see how easy managing project communications can be!
