The project manager's communication toolkit

Addressing the unique difficulties involved in day-to-day project management communication, The Project Manager's Communication Toolkit provides proven methods for creating clear and effective communications--including text-based plans, reports, messages, and presentations. It examines the many tools available and goes beyond traditional coverage to define their proper use and application.

Using language that's easy to understand, the author explains how to determine the appropriate tools for specific communication needs. This time-saving resource provides the understanding to harness the power of everyday communication, such as email and PowerPoint® to:

Gain control over project parameters Overcome conflict Create effective project plans, charters, and statements of work

Considering that most projects fail due to lapses in communication, it is essential for project managers to understand how to communicate their plans and ideas clearly and effectively. Complete with numerous examples and case studies, this book provides the understanding required to select the right tools, as well as the insight to use those tools effectively in a wide range of real-world situations.

Praise for:

... a 'slam dunk' in providing the reader a foundation, emphasizing various tools, techniques; and in which situations they should be applied. The case studies further challenge the day-to-day situations one may face; providing techniques that work! Anyone that has been part of a project team will benefit from this book.
--Lisa Holowiak, Quality Assurance Specialist, Pfizer, in PM World Today, Vol. XII, Issue X

... a valuable resource for program and project managers at all levels and all industries. Shankar very successfully managed very large and complex projects for my organization utilizing many of these tools and

Author Notes

Shankar K. Jha, PMP, has more than 12 years of managerial experience at various levels and more than 7 years experience as a project and program manager working with some big multinational and Fortune 100 companies. Over the last 6 years, Shankar has anchored and imparted trainings on project management topics to a large number of project managers, team leads, resource managers and other employees of his company and those of the clients.

Shankar began his career in project management with one of the most respected Indian multinational companies where he successfully managed process improvements, value addition initiatives, knowledge management and quality improvement initiatives apart from managing the client projects. Later on he moved on to work with an American multinational where he managed projects, programs and engagements for a Fortune 100 client. His process improvement initiatives in the PMO of Galaxy, Ingenix (a UHG company) were highly appreciated.

Shankar holds an undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Technology in Mining Engineering) from a premier and nationally renowned institute (ISM, Dhanbad) in India. He kept on updating his knowledge by acquiring various relevant certifications and by attending training programs in-house as well as from outside. He is a member of American Management Association and he has been member of Project Management Institute and Institute of Engineers (India) in the past. Currently Shankar is working for Cognizant Technology Solutions (a Fortune 1000 company), before this, he has worked for Tata Steel (world's second most geographically diversified steel producer and world's top 5 steel producer) and Infosys Technology Ltd (India's most respected and valuable company for many years and # 2 Software Services company in India).

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
About the Author	p. xvii
1 Communication: Challenges and Opportunities for Project Managers	p. 1
Communication Concepts	p. 2
Types of Project Communications	p. 3
2 Text-Based Plans, Reports, Messages, and Presentations	p. 11
Project Charter	p. 12
Statement of Work	p. 15
Project Initiation Document	p. 17
Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda	p. 19
Project Management Plan	p. 21
Scope Management Plan	p. 24
Schedule Management Plan	p. 26
Cost Management Plan	p. 30
Human Resource (HR) Management Plan	p. 34
Communication Management Plan	p. 35
Change Management Plan	p. 38
Defect Management Plan	p. 39
Quality Management Plan	p. 43
Risk Management Plan	p. 46
Strategies for Risk Response Planning	p. 48
Strategy for Threat	p. 48
Strategy for Opportunity	p. 49
Strategy for Threats and Opportunities	p. 50
Supporting Project Management Plans	p. 50
Procurement Management Plan	p. 50
Configuration Management (CM) Plan	p. 52
Knowledge Management (KM) Plan	p. 55
Transition Plan	p. 57
Environmental Management Plan (EMP)	p. 59
Change Request Document	p. 60
Project Status Report	p. 62
Milestone Report	p. 65
Meeting Agenda and Meeting Minutes Document	p. 66
Project Closure Report	p. 72
Lessons Learned Document	p. 74
Email Etiquette	p. 76
Microsoft" PowerPoint"	p. 82
3 Charts, Graphs, and Diagrams	p. 85
Gantt Chart	p. 86
Flowchart	p. 91
S Curve	p. 93
Column Chart	p. 95
Resource Histogram	p. 96
Run Chart	p. 98
Pareto Chart	p. 100
Cause-and-Effect Diagram	p. 102
Pie Chart	p. 103
Control Chart	p. 105
How to Interpret Out-of-Control Indicators	p. 108
Organization Chart	p. 110
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)	p. 111
Decision Tree Diagram	p. 113
Additional Project Schedule Reporting Tools	p. 117
4 Tables and Matrices	p. 119
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)	p. 119
Role and Responsibility Matrix	p. 122
Communication Matrix	p. 124
Project Team Roster	p. 124
Risk Probability-Impact Matrix	p. 126
Risk Register	p. 129
Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)	p. 132
Quality Matrix	p. 135
Issue Log	p. 138
Project Dashboard	p. 142
Pivot Table	p. 144
5 Conclusion and Case Studies	p. 157
Scenarios on the Usage of Text-Based Tools	p. 159
Scenarios on the Usage of Chart-, Graph-, and Diagram-Based Tools	p. 166
Scenarios on the Usage of Tables and Matrix-Based Tools	p. 167
Miscellaneous Scenarios on the Usage of More than One Category of Tools	p. 170
Index	p. 179

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Author Notes

Table of Contents