Communications Skills

As part of general management skills, communication skills are used to exchange information. General management skills related to communications include ensuring that the right persons get the right information at the right time, as defined in the communications management plan. A primary general management skill includes the art of managing stakeholder requirements. The sender is responsible for making the information clear and complete so that the receiver can receive it correctly and for conforming that it is properly understood. The receiver is responsible for making sure that the information is received in its entirely and understood correctly. Communicating has many dimensions:

·         Written and oral, listening and speaking

·         Internal (within the project) and external (customer, the media, the public)

·         Formal (reports, briefings) and informal (memos, and hoc conversations)

·         Vertical (reporting to higher-ups in the organization) and horizontal (with peers)

Information Gathering and Retrieval Systems

Information can be gathered and retrieved through a variety of methods. The most common methods are manual filing systems, electronic databases, project management software, and systems that allow access to technical documentation, such as engineering drawings, design specifications, and test plans. These systems are dependent on the communication technology specified.

Information distribution Methods

Information Distribution is information collection, sharing, and distribution to project stakeholders in a timely manner across the project life cycle. The various methods for distributing project information are:

·         Project meetings, hard-copy document distribution, manual filing systems, and shared-access electronic databases

·         Electronic communication and conferencing tools, such as email, fax, voice mail, telephone, video and Web conferencing, and Web publishing

·         Electronic tools for project management, such as Web interfaces to scheduling and project management software, meeting and virtual office support software, portals and collaborative work management tools.