We love the term Agile in the project management community.
Agile people are flexible, adaptable, flexible, flexible, adaptive, and innovative.
Hence, why are we so rigid about the methods we use to communicate project management information?
Waterfall project management relies on heavy documentation and lots email. Agile uses quick face-to-face meetings as well as collaboration tools. Scrum uses a different version of the face-to-face meeting within Agile: the stand-up meeting or daily scrum.
However, no matter what project management style you choose, it is important to choose the best communication tool for each project. Effective communication can have a huge impact on the success or failure of your projects.
Take a look at the following.
Gartner webinar: Effective communication is key to success for businesses, according to Gartner webinar (free with your business email registration).
There is so much at stake, it is more important to use the best communication tools for each situation rather than trying to follow a project management style.
Small business leaders can use the best communication tools of different project management styles to create a communication plan that is more efficient than any one component.
The right combination of communication tools
Modern project management tells Waterfall that Waterfall is inferior due to its heavy reliance on documentation. Why can’t we use documentation in small amounts when it makes sense? For example, when we have a proven process that has been used for many years, or when we have daily standup meetings.
Even if your team is the most agile, there are still situations where you will need the e-word. For example, when you need to quickly announce a change to a dispersed group.
Communication is more complex than ever in 2019. In 1989, communication was difficult. You had to choose between a phone call or fax and a handwritten note. Different situations call for different communication methods.
How to choose the right communication channel
Iliyana Hadjistoyanova is senior research analyst at Gartner. “If there has been senior leadership change, it can be all to easy to think, “I’ll just post a quick article on the intranet,”” she says. Instead, communications should ask, “How can I ensure that employees are informed in a correct way and feel prepared to deal with this change in leadership?” ‘”
This could include sending an email to the entire company, posting on the intranet and hosting a conference between the team leaders.
What if you could choose the most effective communication tools among different schools of thought to communicate with your teams the most effectively?
You can. Here’s how.
In the next five sections we’ll be discussing five main forms of communication: email and collaboration tools, video conference, face-to–face meetings, video conferencing, and phone-sorry, users of fax. To help you understand the various communication options available to project managers, we’ll discuss when and how to use them.
1. Email to update large groups and send files
When to use it
When to not use it
Email communication for project management communication should not be used to misinterpret or treat sensitive subjects in a sloppy manner. Imagine how you would feel if a person you have worked with for five years decided to leave you via email.
It is also important to consider email clutter. You have two options: start a conversation between six people by initiating a stand-up meeting or instant message, or initiate an email thread that will undoubtedly grow to dozens of messages.
It works well with: Email’s effectiveness