PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS

Project communications include the medium or the way we communicate, including the following:

• In-person informal communications

• In-person formal meeting

• Telephone voice mail

• Telephone contact with receiver

• Telephone contact with human being, not the receiver

• Casual note

• Informal memorandum

• Formal letter or document

• Electronic mail

• Web pages through the Internet or intranets

• Videoconferencing via the Internet

Within some of these there are additional options related to location. We can consciously control which of these we want to use in a project. By considering the time of day, you can predict with some degree of certainty whether the receiver will be present and the degree to which they can focus on what you are saying through your message via the medium.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT MEDIUMS

Table 17.1 presents some advantages and disadvantages of some of the different mediums. Note that there are advantages to verbal communications in the sense that you can convey tone and yet not be pinned down to specific text. In project management verbal communications cannot be underestimated. For the same reasons, electronic mail is fraught with risk. Not only does someone have your written message, but it is an electronic form that can be forwarded and copied to anyone. It is much more credible than other written communications because it tends to have been written by the sender without a secretary. Web pages are used for showing project reports...