Structure of a Simple Communications Management Plan
Objective
The purpose of the Communications Management Plan is to document the methods required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate archival of project information.
Briefly describe how the Communications Management Plan will be used for the project and how the plan will impact the project team.
Identify Project Team
Who are the members of the project team and what are their roles? This section should always reference the below individials and provide contact information (email, phone, etc.)
- the Project Manager
- the project Sponsor
- Key contributing staff
- Vendors
Project Team Responsibility Matrix
This section should identify the role of each team member as well as particular communication roles for which they may be responsible. For example, if a technical team leader is responsible for weekly distribution of a product development status report, then this should be identified.
Methods of Communication
How will the team members communicate? If team members are geographically distributed, will a particular platform be used for conference calls or online meetings?
Project Documentation, Control and Archives
This section identifies what elements of the project will be documented, how that information will be captured, distributed and archived
Some companies use particular public email folders or distribution lists. This should be documented.
Meeting Minutes
Who is responsible for capturing meeting minutes and how will these be distributed and archived?
Project Reports
Who is responsible for drafting and distributing project reports and how will these be distributed and archived? What is the content of these reports and to whom will they be distributed?
Other Documents
Are there other documents which need to be distributed to the project team?
Project Meetings
How will project meetings be scheduled and conducted? Who are the participants? If a schedule is available, then it should be provided.
Kickoff Meeting
Has the Project Kickoff Meeting been already scheduled? Identify participants, schedule, location.
Meeting Agenda
Who will be responsible for drafting the meeting agenda? When should these be distributed? Are these stakeholders who should also be on the agenda list even though they may not be participating in the meeting?
Project Reporting
What project reports should be distributed and who is responsible for doing so?