Chapter 8



CHAPTER 12

Project Communication and Documentation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This chapter discusses an element vital to the effective performance of a project—communication. Communication takes place between the project team and the customer, among the project team members, and between the project team and its upper management. Based on this chapter the students will become familiar with:

• suggestions for enhancing personal communications, such as face-to-face discussions, phone conversations, letters, and memos

• effective listening

• various types of project meetings and suggestions for effective meetings

• formal project presentations and suggestions for effective presentations

• project reports and suggestions for preparing useful reports

• project documentation and keeping track of changes

TEACHING STRATEGIES

1. Before you start, ask your students to name one thing that is essential to the success of any project in any field: good communication.

2. Ask them to identify some good communicators.

3. Ask them to state what makes that person a good communicator.

4. Create pairs of students. Tell them in 5 minutes they must find out information about their partner that they will present to the class.

5. Put up some transparencies that are horrible (too small to read, too wordy, etc.). Ask the students why they aren’t good and how they could be better.

6. Ask them what it takes to give a good presentation.

LECTURE OUTLINE

1. Real-World Examples

A. Vignette: Communicating with Digital Images in the Construction Industry

• Digital images have become essential to the construction industry for

project documentation

i. Fast and clear communication for members of project team

ii. Shows progress to building owners

iii. Shows problems requiring immediate attention to

architects, engineers, and contractors

• Camera features can be used for image security:

i. Date-time stamp on photos and software can be used to

prevent tampering

ii. Useful for proving or disproving a legal claim

• Michael Mahesh of Bechtel Corp. has taken over 10,000 digital photos

in the past 16 months that he’s been working on the Port Authority

Trans-Hudson/Downtown Restoration Project.

• He joined the project as project controls engineer in 2002 to re-

establish the PATH between New Jersey and New York City

• The project will be completed in two phases

i. Phase 1—construction of a temporary PATH station at the

World Trade Center site, with track and tunnel work, along

with expanding the Exchange Place rail station in Jersey

City

ii. Phase 2—construction of a permanent terminal at the WTC

site

• The digital images from the $566 million Phase 1 project can be

arranged to document project progress replacing multiple pages of

notes

• Advantages of digital pictures for construction projects:

i. Allows architects, engineers, contractors and owners to

track operations and respond quickly to problems

ii. Accountability, economy, and speed

iii. To support valid legal claims, or nullify erroneous ones

• Digital cameras are readily available, ranging from $400-$600.

• Results are economical for the construction field.

B. Vignette: Another Team Meeting?

• Team or departmental meetings are often viewed as a waste of time

where nothing is accomplished, even though they are important

communication tools.

• It is estimated that 11 million meetings take place in North America

each day. Many professionals attend an average of 62 meetings each

month.

• Laura Bogomolny shares advice on running a meaningful business

meeting:

i. Determine the purpose of the meeting.

a. If the purpose of the meeting is to distribute

information, consider using email.

b. If there is a large amount of information to distribute, or a need for collaboration and decision-making, set up a meeting.

c. Everyone should know the purpose of the meeting.

ii. Invite the right people to the meeting.

a. If someone doesn’t need to be there, don’t waste his or her time.

b. Don’t exclude someone needed for decision-making or approvals.

c. Invite attendees well in advance, and provide them

with a detailed agenda.

iii. Meeting environment

a. People usually appreciate food, but it may be distracting.

b. Adjustable room temperature with adequate lighting.

c. Put a senior leader at the head of the table.

d. Use a round table for open discussion.

iv. General information

a. Begin on time and stay focused.

b. Set ground rules for mobile phones and leaving the

room.

c. Designate a secretary to take notes.

d. Address issues not related to the meeting’s

objective later.

d. Finish on time with a summary of decisions and a

list of actions to take.

g. Agree on a date for a follow-up meeting.

h. Listen for opinions offered at the end of the meeting. Post meeting discussions can be informative. When you listen you learn and you make better decisions.

2. Personal Communication

Personal communication can occur through words or nonverbal behavior, such as body language. It can be face to face or use some medium, including telephone, voice mail, electronic mail, letters, memos, video conferencing, or groupware. Personal communication can be oral or written.

A. Oral Communication

1. Oral communication provides a forum for discussion, clarification, understanding, and immediate feedback.

2. Body language and tone (inflection and emotion of the voice) are important elements that enrich oral communication.

3. Body language can be used not only by the person talking, but also by the listener, as a way of providing feedback to the person talking.

4. Positive body language can include direct eye contact, a smile, hand gestures, leaning forward, and nodding acknowledgment or agreement.

5. Negative body language can be a frown, crossed arms, slouching, fidgeting, gazing or looking away, doodling, or yawning.

6. When communicating with individuals from other cultures or countries, you need to be aware of their customs regarding greetings, gestures, gift giving, and protocol.

7. When communicating orally, a person must be careful not to use offensive remarks.

8. A high degree of face-to-face communication is especially important early in a project to foster team building, develop good working relationships, and establish mutual expectations.

9. Project team members need to be proactive in initiating timely communication with other team members and the project manager to get and give information.

10. Oral communication should be straightforward and unambiguous.

11. The timing of oral communication is also very important. In many cases it is a good idea to ask when it would be a good time to get together and how long you need to talk.

B. Written Communication

1. Personal written communication is generally carried out through internal memos and external letters.

2. Memos and letters are ways to efficiently communicate with a group of people when it’s impractical to have a meeting.

3. A memo or letter may be appropriate as a follow-up to a face-to-face conversation or a phone call.

4. Written communication should be used mostly to inform, confirm, and request.

5. Memos and letters should be clear and concise and should not include lengthy dissertations or voluminous extraneous attachments.

3. Effective Listening

A. The heart of communication is not words, but understanding. Not only to be understood, but also to understand.

B. Half of making communication effective is listening.

C. Here are some common barriers to effective listening:

• Pretending to listen

• Distractions

• Bias and closed-mindedness

• Impatience

• Jumping to conclusions

D. Listening is more than just letting the other person talk. It must be an active, not a passive, process.

E. Here are some suggestions for improving listening skills:

• Focus on the person talking

• Engage in active listening—provide verbal and nonverbal feedback to the person talking.

• Ask questions

• Don’t interrupt

4. Meetings

A meeting can be a vehicle for fostering team building and reinforcing team members’ expectations, roles, and commitment to the project objective.

A. Types of Project Meetings

The three most common types of project meetings are

• Status review meetings

• Problem-solving meetings

• Technical design review meetings

1. Status Review Meetings

A project status review meeting is usually led or called by the project manager.

(a) The primary purposes of such a meeting are to inform, to identify problems, and to identify action items.

(b) Project status meetings should be held on a regularly scheduled basis.

(c) A sample agenda for a project status review meeting is shown in Figure 12.1.

(d) Here are some of the subjects that might be discussed under each of the agenda items:

• Accomplishments since last meeting: Key project milestones that were reached should be identified.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—status: Performance should be compared to the baseline plan.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—trends: Any positive or negative trends in project performance should be identified.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—forecasts: The forecasted project completion date and forecasted cost at completion should be reviewed and compared to the project objective and the baseline plan.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—variances: Any differences should be identified between actual progress and planned progress with respect to cost and schedule for project work packages and tasks. These variances can be positive or negative.

• Corrective actions: Corrective actions to address problems and potential problems might take place right at the status review meeting.

• Opportunities for improvement: These should also be identified, along with problem areas and associated corrective actions.

• Action item assignment: Specific action items should be identified and assigned to specific team members.

2. Problem-Solving Meetings

(a) When a problem or potential problem is identified by an individual project team member, that person should promptly call a problem-solving meeting with other appropriate individuals, not wait for a future status review meeting.

(b) Problem-solving meetings should follow a good problem-solving approach, such as the following:

1) Develop a problem statement.

2) Identify potential causes of the problem.

3) Gather data and verify the most likely causes.

4) Identify possible solutions.

5) Evaluate the alternative solutions.

6) Determine the best solution.

7) Revise the project plan.

8) Implement the solution.

9) Determine whether the problem has been solved.

3. Technical Design Review Meetings

(a) Projects that involve a design phase, such as an information system project, may require one or more technical design review meetings to ensure that the customer agrees with or approves of the design.

(b) In many technical projects there are two design review meetings:

1) A preliminary design review meeting when the contractor has completed the initial conceptual specifications, drawings, or flowcharts. The purpose of this preliminary design review meeting is to get the customer’s agreement.

2) A final design review meeting when the contractor has completed the detailed specifications, drawings, screen and report formats, and such. The purpose of this final design review meeting is to gain approval from the customer.

B. Effective Meetings

1. Before the Meeting

(a) Determine whether a meeting is really necessary.

(b) Determine the purpose of the meeting.

(c) Determine who needs to participate in the meeting.

(d) Distribute an agenda well in advance of the meeting.

The agenda should include:

• Purpose of the meeting

• Topics to be covered

• Time allocated for each topic and who will cover the topic

(e) Prepare visual aids or handouts.

(f) Make meeting room and visual aid arrangements.

2. During the Meeting

(a) Start the meeting on time.

(b) Designate a note-taker.

(c) Review the purpose of the meeting and the agenda.

(d) Facilitate—don’t dominate—the meeting.

A good facilitator will:

• Keep the meeting moving and within the scheduled time frame.

• Encourage participation.

• Limit discussion by participants.

• Control interruptions.

• Clarify points that are made.

• Summarize discussions.

(e) Summarize the meeting results at the end of the meeting.

(f) Do not overrun the scheduled meeting time.

(g) Evaluate the meeting process.

3. After the Meeting

(a) Publish the meeting results within 24 hours after the meeting.

(b) The summary document should be concise.

(c) It should confirm decisions that were made and list the action items, including who is responsible, the estimated completion date, and expected deliverables.

5. Presentations

Often the project manager or members of the project team are called on to give a formal presentation. The audience may be representatives of the customer’s organization, the project organization’s upper management, or the project team itself.

A. Preparing for the Presentation

• Determine the purpose of the presentation. Is it to inform or to persuade?

• Know the audience. What is their level of knowledge or familiarity with the subject?

• Make an outline of the presentation.

• Use simple language that the audience will understand.

• Prepare notes or a final outline that you will use or refer to during your presentation.

• Practice, practice, practice.

• Prepare visual aids and test them.

¬ Make sure the visual aids are readable from the most distant seat in the room where the presentation will be given.

¬ Visual aids should be simple and not too busy.

• Make copies of handout materials.

• Request the audiovisual equipment well in advance.

• Go into the meeting room when it’s empty or not in use and get a feel for the surroundings.

B. Delivering the Presentation

• Expect a bit of nervousness; all speakers experience it.

• Know the first two or three sentences of your presentation.

• Use the 3-T approach in your presentation:

¬ First, tell them what you are going to tell them (your outline).

¬ Then, tell them (the body of your presentation).

¬ Finally, tell them what you told them (your summary).

• Talk to the audience, not at it.

• Speak clearly and confidently.

• Use appropriate animation to help make a point.

• Do not stand in front of your visual aids.

• Build interest in your presentation.

• Keep to the key points in your outline.

• When making key points, explain to the audience why they are important.

• Sum up your points on a particular item before moving on to the next item on your outline.

• Know your closing lines.

• Allow time for interaction with the audience, if appropriate.

• When responding to questions, be sincere, candid, and confident.

6. Reports

Written reports are just as important as oral reports in communicating information about a project. It is important to keep in mind that reports must be written to address what is of interest to the readers, not what is of interest to the person writing the report.

A. Types of Project Reports

The two most common types of project reports are

• Progress reports

• Final report

1. Progress Reports

(a) It is important to keep in mind that a progress report is not an activity report.

(b) Do not confuse activity or busy-ness with progress and accomplishment.

(c) Progress reports usually cover a specified period, called the reporting period.

(d) This period could be a week, a month, a quarter, or whatever best fits the project.

(e) A sample outline for a project progress report is shown in Figure 12.6.

(f) A project progress report might include the following:

1) Accomplishments since prior report.

2) Current status of project performance.

3) Progress toward resolution of previously identified problems.

4) Planned corrective actions.

5) Problems or potential problems since prior report.

6) Milestones expected to be reached during next reporting period.

2. Final Report

(a) The project final report is usually a summary of the project.

(b) It is not an accumulation of the progress reports, nor is it a blow-by-blow story of what happened throughout the project.

(c) The final report might include the following:

1) customer’s original need

2) original project objective

3) customer’s original requirements

4) actual versus anticipated benefits to the customer as a result of the project

5) degree to which the original project objective was met

6) Brief description of the project

7) Future considerations.

8) A list of all deliverables provided to the customer

9) Test data from the final-acceptance testing

B. Preparing Useful Reports

1. Taking into consideration the following guidelines when you are preparing project reports will help ensure their usefulness and value to the recipients:

• Make your reports concise.

• Write as you would speak. Use short, understandable sentences rather than compound, complex, paragraph-length sentences.

• Put the most important points first.

• Use graphics where possible.

• Pay as much attention to the format of the report as to the content.

2. Written reports, like oral communication, leave an impression—positive or negative—with the audience.

7. Project Documentation and Controlling Changes

A. In addition to project reports, many other documents may be created by either the contractor’s project team or the customer during the project.

B. Revisions to project documents can result from changes initiated by the customer or by the project team.

C. Some changes are trivial; others are major, affecting the project work scope, cost, and schedule.

D. Throughout a project, various project documents will be revised to incorporate changes.

E. It is important for the project team to know which is the latest version of a document, so that they can perform their work correctly based on the most current information and documentation.

F. It’s good practice to put on each page of each type of document:

(1) the date of the latest revision,

(2) a sequential revision number

(3) the initials of the person who made the changes

G. For example, a notation in the lower right corner of a floor plan for an office arrangement may indicate

Rev. 4, 06/20/97, ES

H. This means that the latest version of the floor plan is Revision number 4, which was made on June 20, 1997, by Elisabeth Smith (ES).

I. Just as important as keeping up to date with revision numbers and dates on documents is timely distribution of updated documents.

J. Project team members should be careful about casually agreeing to changes without knowing whether they will necessitate additional person-hours.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss why oral communication is important to project success, and describe several ways of enhancing such communication.

Face-to-face communication is especially important early in a project to foster team building, develop good working relationships, and establish mutual expectations. Communication with other team members and the project manager should be timely. Oral communication should be straightforward and unambiguous. The timing of oral communication is also important. Ask the other person when would be a good time to get together and tell her how long you need to talk.

2. Discuss why written communication in the form of memos and external letters is so important to project success, and describe several ways of enhancing such communication.

Memos and letters are ways to communicate efficiently with a group of people when it’s impractical to have a meeting. A memo or letter may be appropriate as a follow-up to a face-to-face conversation or a phone call. Written communication should be used mostly to inform, confirm, and request. Memos and letters should be clear and concise and should not include lengthy dissertations or voluminous extraneous attachments.

3. Why are listening skills important in effective communications? How can you improve your listening skills?

Listening skills are important because half of making communication effective is listening. Here are some suggestions for improving listening skills:

• Focus on the person talking

• Engage in active listening

• Ask questions

• Don’t interrupt

4. For the next few days, observe the body language of the people with whom you communicate. Describe some of the positive and negative things they do.

Specific answers will vary.

5. Discuss why it’s important to be sensitive to the diverse composition of a project team, especially with regard to communication.

One must be sensitive to the diverse composition of a project team in order for each individual to feel that his or her contribution to the project is valued. When working with a group composed of a variety of backgrounds and cultures, one’s communication must be respectful of the culture and customs of those involved. This will demonstrate the value of each person and no doubt benefit the project as a whole.

6. What is the purpose of status review meetings? When should they be conducted? What should be covered at such meetings?

The primary purposes of such a meeting are to inform, to identify problems, and to identify action items. Project status meetings should be held on a regularly scheduled basis. They might be held weekly with the project team or perhaps monthly or quarterly with the customer. Some of the subjects that might be discussed are:

• Accomplishments since last meeting.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—status.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—trends.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—forecasts.

• Cost, schedule, and work scope—variances.

• Corrective actions.

• Opportunities for improvement.

• Action item assignment.

7. Why are problem-solving meetings conducted? Who should call such meetings? Describe the approach that should be followed.

Problem-solving meetings are conducted to address existing problems or potential problems. An individual team member can call a problem-solving meeting with other appropriate individuals. The approach to follow includes:

1. Develop a problem statement.

2. Identify potential causes of the problem.

3. Gather data and verify the most likely causes.

4. Identify possible solutions.

5. Evaluate the alternative solutions.

6. Determine the best solution.

7. Revise the project plan.

8. Implement the solution.

9. Determine whether the problem has been solved.

8. What is the purpose of technical design review meetings? What are the two different types of technical design reviews? Who participates? What should be covered in each type of meeting?

The purpose of technical design review meetings is to review a design and ensure that the customer agrees with or approves of the design that was developed by the project contractor. The first type of technical design review is a preliminary design review meeting. This is when the contractor has completed the initial conceptual specifications, drawings, or flowcharts. The purpose of this preliminary design review meeting is to get the customer’s agreement. The second type of meeting is a final design review meeting. At this point the contractor has completed the detailed specifications, drawings, screen and report formats, and such. The purpose of this final design review meeting is to gain approval from the customer. Both of these types of meetings require representatives from the contractor and the customer.

9. What should be done before a meeting to properly prepare for the meeting?

Before the meeting, one should:

• Determine whether a meeting is really necessary.

• Determine the purpose of the meeting.

• Determine who needs to participate in the meeting.

• Distribute an agenda well in advance of the meeting.

• Time allocated for each topic and who will cover the topic.

• Prepare visual aids or handouts.

• Make meeting room and visual aid arrangements.

What should be done during a meeting to ensure that the meeting will be effective?

During the meeting, one should:

• Start the meeting on time.

• Designate a note-taker.

• Review the purpose of the meeting and the agenda.

• Facilitate—don’t dominate—the meeting.

• Summarize the meeting results at the end of the meeting.

• Do not overrun the scheduled meeting time.

• Evaluate the meeting process.

10. If you were asked to advise someone on how to prepare for and deliver an important presentation, what would you say? For each step listed, state why it is important.

• Determine the purpose of the presentation. Is it to inform or to persuade? This will ensure that the meeting performs the necessary function.

• Know the audience. What is their level of knowledge or familiarity with the subject? This will enable you to gear the presentation to the audience you expect.

• Make an outline of the presentation. This will help you organize your thoughts.

• Use simple language that the audience will understand. The audience may not understand jargon or acronyms and feel frustrated if your presentation includes a lot of them.

• Prepare notes or a final outline that you will use or refer to during your presentation. This will help your presentation flow smoothly.

• Practice, practice, practice. This will help you to feel comfortable giving the presentation: bolster your self-confidence and calm your nerves.

• Prepare visual aids and test them. This will reduce the possibility of problems during the actual presentation.

• Make copies of handout materials. If audience members don’t have to take a lot of notes, they will be able to give their full attention to the presentation.

• Request the audiovisual equipment well in advance. You don’t want to find at the last minute that equipment is not available.

• Go into the meeting room when it’s empty or not in use and get a feel for the surroundings. This will also enable you to feel more comfortable during the presentation.

11. Why are progress reports an integral part of project communications? What should they include?

Progress reports are an integral part of project communication because they inform the individuals (team members AND customers) of the accomplishments, current status, problems and goals of the project. A project progress report might include the following:

• Accomplishments since prior report.

• Current status of project performance.

• Progress toward resolution of previously identified problems.

• Problems or potential problems since prior report.

• Planned corrective actions.

• Milestones expected to be reached during next reporting period.

How are they different from a final report?

The purpose of the final report is to summarize the project. It is NOT an accumulation of progress reports. The final report may include the following:

• customer’s original need

• original project objective

• customer’s original requirements

• actual versus anticipated benefits to the customer as a result of the project

• degree to which the original project objective was met.

• Brief description of the project.

• Future considerations.

• A list of all deliverables provided to the customer

• Test data from the final-acceptance testing.

12. Why is it important to control the changes made to project documents? How can you achieve effective control?

It is important to control the changes made to project documents because while some changes are trivial; others are major and can affect the project work scope, cost, and schedule. One can achieve control by reaching an agreement early in the project between the contractor and the customer, as well as between the project manager and the project team, regarding the way changes will be documented and authorized.

WORLD WIDE WEB EXERCISES

Assign the World Wide Web Exercises to your students as homework or complete them together in a computer lab.

CASE STUDY #1 OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS

This case involves a discussion between Cathy Buford, design leader for a large, complex technical project, and Joe Jackson, an engineer on that team. It is a very nice example illustrating communication problems.

Answers to Case Questions

1. What are some of the communication problems?

There are many. For starters, Joe doesn’t seem to be listening to a word Cathy is saying, yet he feels she isn’t listening to a word he is saying. Joe is also is showing his negative attitude and lack of dedication.

2. What should Cathy do?

There is not an easy solution to this problem. Cathy and Joe need to sit down and have a very serious discussion; however that apparently won’t be easy to do.

What do you think Joe will do?

While he is at work, Joe needs to get focused. He also needs to learn how to listen and to contribute to the effort.

3. How could Cathy and Joe have handled this situation better?

For starters, Joe interrupted Cathy while she was working. It is apparent that she was busy, but Joe doesn’t seem to care. Cathy should have made it clear that he should come back at another time and Joe should have been more aware of what she was doing.

4. What could have been done to prevent the communication problem between Cathy and Joe?

Again, there is no easy solution to this problem. They have a lot of work to do to overcome their communication problems.

Group Activity

Have two participants in the class act out this scenario. Immediately afterward, have a class discussion that addresses the questions above.

CASE STUDY #2 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

This case study involves a man named Samuel who is working on an international project and he clearly has some very serious communication and other problems that must be overcome.

Answers to Case Questions

1. What are the communication errors Samuel made?

There are many. Not returning phone calls. Not answering e-mails. Not paying attention. Being rude!

2. What should Angelique do when she gets the phone call from Penny asking her to come to Dallas to meet with Samuel?

She definitely needs to talk with Samuel. She has many good reasons to be upset! However, maybe Samuel should fly to see her!

3. Is there anything more Michael could have said or done in his conversation about Angelique’s phone call? Should Penny do anything about Samuel’s communication style and insensitive comments?

Michael knew that Samuel was wrong and that he was being insensitive; however he didn’t really say anything about it. Penny is clearly in a tough position and it seems as though she is trying to help the situation somewhat.

4. What would be the elements of a good communication plan for managing a multinational project such as this?

Answers will vary but clearly the ground rules should be spelled out up front!

Group Activity

Have participants in the class act out this scenario. Immediately afterward, have a class discussion that addresses the questions above.

HOMEWORK

1. Have them read the real-world vignettes.

2. Have each student provide a one page description naming someone that think is an effective communicator along with the reasons why they feel this is true. In addition, have the provide a one page description (no names) of someone they feel is a poor communicator along with the reasons why they feel this is the case.

3. Have them read the chapter and answer all of the Reinforce Your Learning questions and the questions at the end of the chapter.

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