Page 313 -

10 - PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

10 10

Project coMMunicAtions MAnAGeMent

Project Communications Management includes the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate
planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate
disposition of project information. Project managers spend most of their time communicating with team members
and other project stakeholders, whether they are internal (at all organizational levels) or external to the organization.
Effective communication creates a bridge between diverse stakeholders who may have different cultural and
organizational backgrounds, different levels of expertise, and different perspectives and interests, which impact or
have an influence upon the project execution or outcome.

Figure 10-1 provides an overview of the Project Communications Management processes, which are as follows: 10
10.1 Plan communications Management—The process of developing an appropriate approach and
plan for project communications based on stakeholder’s information needs and requirements, and
available organizational assets.

10.2 Manage communications—The process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving and
the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the communications management
plan.

10.3 control communications—The process of monitoring and controlling communications throughout
the entire project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project stakeholders are met.
These processes interact with each other and with processes in other Knowledge Areas as described in detail
in Section 3 and Annex A1.

The communication activities involved in these processes may often have many potential dimensions that need
to be considered, including, but not limited to:

• Internal (within the project) and external (customer, vendors, other projects, organizations, the public);
• Formal (reports, minutes, briefings) and informal (emails, memos, ad-hoc discussions);

• Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal (with peers);
• Official (newsletters, annual report) and unofficial (off the record communications); and
• Written and oral, and verbal (voice inflections) and nonverbal (body language).

©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Fifth Edition 287
®

Licensed To: Jorge Diego Fuentes Sanchez PMI MemberID: 2399412
This copy is a PMI Member benefit, not for distribution, sale, or reproduction.