There are many ways to communicate in today’s world. Technology has increased the ways people interact and communicate but unfortunately it does not guarantee effective communication. According to Dr. Stolovitch, effective communication is influenced by:
Even if you believe you are clearly communicating, how others perceive your words can be different than your intentions. “The personal filter is the result of your perception of the world. This is influenced by the long and the short term. Long term is a result of personal emotions and a view of the world that develops over time--stereotyping is one of the results. This might be a great hindrance to communication. (Robbers, 2009)” As a project manager clear and effective communications is critical to the success of the project. The selected mode of communications can also affect the overall perceived message. In our class this week we reviewed the same message presented using three different modalities: Email
Viewing the message by email, it was difficult to determine the intent behind the remarks about Mark being “possibly” busy in a meeting all day. The email sent from Jane indicated that she needs information from Mark on a missing report. The email read as if Jane were in a panic about getting the information as quickly as possible. The email message did not specify what missing report Jane is referring to. It did not say what information she needs to finish her report or how what her deadline is to file her report. The email did not include her phone number or even her last name. Email is a preferred way to communicate in business in today’s world. Unfortunately, it is also difficult to understand intention due to the lack of body language or visual cues. When using emails to communicate it is important to be clear and concise. The information should be organized and presented using a business friendly format. The author of the email must compensate for the lack of body language and tonality by not being obscure. Lastly, for critical communications that are time sensitive, email was perhaps not the correct choice for this communication. Voice Next the same message was presented in a voice mail format. Jane did not introduce herself so it would be difficult for Mark to determine who was calling easily. The tone of the message was friendly and did not indicate that Jane was in panic mode. No call back number was given so Mark could easily return the call. Unfortunately, no more information was included in the voice message. Voice mail is used quite often in business. With voice mail you can hear tonality of the voice and determine to some extent the emotions of the caller. But as with email, when using the phone for project communications it is advisable to identify yourself, give a call back number and time/date of the phone call. Voice mail also does not allow for immediate response. The other downside to using the phone for communication is that there is not a written record of what is said during the calls. Face-to-Face The third modality used an informal face-to-face presentation of the message. In this method, Mark could clearly see who was asking the questions. Mark would have been able to ask further questions to determine what the information requires was and what the deadlines was for submission. The remark about how busy Mark was became a non-issue as the body language and tonality indicated that it was a passing comment. Mark was also able to see that Jane was not upset about the delay in receiving the information. Face-to-face modality is the most effective form of communication if backed with written documentation. In this example Mark could see Jane’s body language and hear her tonality. It also gave him a quick way to ask additional questions and receive answers. Unfortunately, face-to-face is not always an option. “The ability to communicate well, both orally and in writing, is a critical skill for project managers. Planning project communications up-front enables project managers to choose the appropriate type of communication for sharing different messages. (Portny et al., 2008, p. 357)” The project manager must carefully evaluate how best to communicate with a project team and stakeholders. Whether formally or informally, no matter what type of communication is selected, it is important that the project manager understand how to communicate effectively with all personality types. By being cognizant of how language, culture, personality and other factors can overshadow and complicate the channel of communications, the project manager can avoid miscommunication and the resulting issues. Have a story about project communications success or failures? Share it below! References Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu. Laureate Media (no date) Educ-6145. Available at: http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html. Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Robbers, H. (2009a) The communication triangle (part 1). Available at: http://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/251632/The-Communication-Triangle--Part-1-. Robbers, H. (2009) The communication triangle (part 2). Available at: http://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/251829/The-Communication-Triangle--Part-2-.
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“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” ~Winston Churchill, 1948 In the military we called it an “After Action Review” or AAR. “After Action Reviews, an important discipline employed by military planners, helps them learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly. After a major engagement, soldiers and officers meet to make a rigorous assessment of the battle just fought—what went wrong and right—and especially what can be learned to improve performance in similar situations in the future. It’s the military’s way of linking strategy and action. (Pinegar, 2009)” AAR’s provided my first experience with the power of reflection to improve a project or process. Project managers refer to this reflection process as a project “post-mortem”. “It's important for project managers and team members to take stock at the end of a project and develop a list of lessons learned so that they don't repeat their mistakes in the next project. (Greer, 2010, p. 43)” The benefits of both AAR’s and post-mortems are the same as they provide a feedback in order to improve future projects.
A few years ago I was involved in a large scale project ($3,000,000 over 3 years) that involved developing a software package to be used by several state, tribal and federal entities. The goal was to create a tracking software for adult salmon to be used in the field. This project involved creating a software user interface for entering data, a centralized backend database and a way to upload the data to the centralized database. It also included reporting capabilities and a training package. This project eventually produced a software package but it was scrapped because the user interface and data collected did not meet the needs of the different agencies. Some agencies flat out refused to use the software and used other methods to collect their data. After two years the software package was scrapped. So where did this project go wrong and if it were attempted today how could the project dynamics be changed to facilitate a more positive outcome? There were many points of failure within this project. One of the first issues occurred during the initial phase of the project. The project manager failed to gather all requirements from the primary stakeholders. “Before planning projects, project managers need to clearly define several aspects of projects, including project needs, strategy, and objectives. Limitations and needs act as boundaries for projects, while unknowns need to be anticipated, evaluated, and planned for. Portny et al., 2008. p. 30)” The false assumption was made that all agencies gathered the same data in the same manner. Although it would have been a huge task, gathering information from all the agency stakeholders pertaining to their processes, objectives and desired outcomes could have clearly defined the project concept. This process would have also created engagement for the project key stakeholders. Selecting the project team is an important part of the success of a project. “Getting the right people on board the project team and aligning the right project stakeholders provide critical resources and support during the course of the project. (Portny et al., 2008, p. 108)” In this case, the project team was isolated and made up of members from the project manager’s agency. Subject matter experts (SME’s) also came from the project manager’s agency. The identified project programmers were fishery staff that wanted to be programmers and had no formal training. A case could be made that the project manager did not spend enough time evaluating the qualifications of the project team members and missed an opportunity to build support for the project by not selecting more qualified personal from other agencies. Communication is a critical requirement of project management. “If you don’t involve all stakeholders in an active and engaged fashion from the beginning, you are likely to suffer the consequences of rework when they finally figure out what you and your project team are up to…. and they then take action to leave their mark on it! (Greer, 2010, p. 11)” During the building of the software package there was little communication with stakeholders or opportunities to view the progress of the project. Had the project manager given status updates on a regular basis the issues with the software may have been caught early in the process. Regular project team meetings may have uncovered the inadequacies of the programming staff. According to Portny et al., most issues with drivers and supporters can be avoided by ensuring that the following steps are taken:
A project post-mortem was conducted on this project and in hind sight the root of the problems in the project were apparent. Recognizing the power of communication and how it can affect a project is a powerful lesson. Since that experience I have endeavored to build communication into my projects. Weekly project team meetings, stakeholder meetings and status meetings are all tools that will prevent major failures and build support for any project. The use of post-mortems will continue to be a critical part of my project management as there is always room for improvement in any project. Do you use post-mortems in your project management? Do you believe it is an important tool to improve project management? Let me know what you think! References Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc. Pinegar, B. (2009) Post-Mortem vs. After action review |. Available at: http://brettpinegar.com/post-mortem-vs-after-action-review/. Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Project Management Institute (2000) A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). 3rd edn. United States: Project Management Institute. PublicDomainPictures.net (no date) Double tree reflection free stock photo. Available at: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=146242&picture=reflecie-double-tree/. Westminster College (no date) Winston Churchill museum in Fulton, MO. Available at: https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/ |
Stacy SpringerWelcome to my blog! I am passionate about great Instructional Design and Educational Technology. Let's start a discussion! Archives
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