Evaluation of Communication Plan in Project Management

This report evaluates the effectiveness of a communication plan in project management and provides recommendations for improvement. It examines a project of developing an integrated health informatics system and assesses the communication plan prepared for effective communication among stakeholders. The report compares the communication plan with project management practices and recommends strategies to address issues and improve communication. The current communication plan is found to be complex, and the recommendations focus on reducing complexity and promoting informal communication. Overall, the report highlights the importance of effective communication in project management and provides insights for better communication planning.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction /Background..............................................................................................................2
1. Current Communication Plan......................................................................................................2
2. Communication Plan vs PM practices.........................................................................................3
3. Recommendations......................................................................................................................3
4. Justifications...............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................4
References......................................................................................................................................6

2
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Introduction /Background
Project management outlines the use of various efficient tools and techniques that can be used
by a project team to ensure smooth project execution. One such technique is management of the
communication among the team members and the tool used for the same is communication plan [5].
Effectiveness of a communication plan is largely dependent on the elements and the understandability
of the plan. This report is based on evaluation of a communication plan on basis of its role in effective
project execution and completion. A project of development of an integrated health informatics system
is considered, for which a communication plan is prepared. Although this particular project was
formulated years ago, there have been considerable issues regarding getting optimum support from the
team. However, with an entire support from the leadership team, the project is ready to be
implemented. The report aims in assessing the communication plan of the project that is prepared to
ascertain effective communication among the stakeholders.
1. Current Communication Plan
The aim of this section of the report is to access the current communication plan that is
developed for implementation of the project. Since the project has a complete support from the
leadership team, the communication plan developed will help in establishing the communication link
among all the stakeholders of the project [4]. The communication plan prepared is effective in
management of the project stakeholders particularly because it highlights the form and the vehicle of
communication with the stakeholders [8]. The developed communication plan is incorporated with all
the necessary elements of a communication plan. Since the communication plan provides an idea of the
communication channel and the type of communication that a stakeholder can engage in, it can be
commented that the communication plan that is adopted in this project is quite realistic [7]. The
communication plan further establishes the fact that communication can be initiated with both internal

3
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
and external stakeholders associated with the project [3]. Easier communication between all the
associated stakeholders of the project is necessary as communication issues can be considered as a very
specific reason behind the failure of an Information Technology project [6]. The following section of the
report showcases a comparison of the developed communication plan with the sound project
management practices. The concept of project management establishes the need of keeping all the
stakeholders informed about any modification in the project processes. A communication plan helps in
effectively implementing the task.
2. Communication Plan vs PM practices
Project management practices highlight the need of planning a communication strategy to keep
the stakeholders engaged in a project. Stakeholders’ Management and communication Management are
two most important knowledge areas of PMBOK. In order implement the Public heath Informatics
project successfully, effective stakeholder’s engagement is necessary [2]. This is particularly because the
project had previously faced issued related to stakeholders’ engagement in the project [4]. Therefore, a
well-structured and well-planned communication plan is prepared that will ensure establishment of a
reliable communication link between the project team, leadership team and the associated stakeholders
of the project [1]. However, there is no denying the fact that there is a scope of improvement in the
current communication plan that is prepared. The communication plan is seemingly complex, which
might prove to be an issues with the external stakeholders associated with the project.
3. Recommendations
As discussed in the previous section of the report, the communication plan is found to be
seemingly complex and therefore, it can be said that the communication plan can be improvised. With
an aim of improving the current communication plan, certain recommendations are made. These
recommendations expect to addresses a lot of issues related to management and execution of this

4
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
project. One of the most significant issues related to the communication plan is complexity. The
complexity of the communication plan can be significantly reduced by adding a scope of informal
communication. The informal type of communication can be executed through different communication
channel. This will enable the team members or the stakeholders of the project to create a
communication link even if it is not specified in the communication plan. The presence of scope of
information communication can further help in addressing certain other communication issues as well.
4. Justifications
The recommendation made on the current communication plan is justified particularly because
it addresses certain specific concerns related to the plan. The plan although, is well formulated, it lacks
the link of informal communication among the team members. Informal communication is often needed
to communicate certain smaller issues to the team and the project stakeholders. The presence of a link
of informal communication can further help in reducing the complexity of the current communication
plan. The presence of an informal communication link will promote more effective communication
among the team member, which is another major advantage. The current communication plan is
effective in communicating the project progress to all the major stakeholders of the project. However,
certain modifications are needed in the communication plan in terms of the promoting local
communication among the team member; absence of which in the current plan is a major loophole of
the same.
Conclusion
The report provides a background information of a project of developing and improving a public
health informatics system. The project, which has earlier faced certain issues regarding its management
and implementation, has now managed to get full support from the leadership team. Therefore, with an
aim of ensuring a planned project implementation, a communication plan is prepared. The

5
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
communication plan aims in establishing an easy communication link between the project manager and
the stakeholders. Since the project is related to development of a system that is linked with public well-
being, smooth and prompt information flow among the project stakeholders. The report examines the
correctness of the prepared communication plan and recommends certain strategy to improve the
same. The report establishes the fact that the prepared communication plan is effective in management
of the project stakeholders and therefore, it can be used by the public health informatics project team
to ensure smooth communication flow.

6
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
References
[1] B.G., Zulch, Communication: The foundation of project management. Procedia Technology, 16,
pp.1000-1009, 2014.
[2]. K. Muszynska, K. Dermol, V Trunk, A. Ðakovic, and G. Smrkolj, Communication management in
project teams–practices and patterns. In Joint International Conference (pp. 1359-1566), May 2015
[3]. P. Eskerod, and A,.L, Jepsen, Project stakeholder management. Routledge, 2016.
[4]. B. Mohamad, H.A. Bakar, H. Halim, and A.R. Ismail, . Corporate Communication Management (CCM)
and Organisational Performance: A Review of the Current Literature, Conceptual Model and Research
Propositions. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 155, pp.115-122, 2014
[5]. J. Doorley and H.F. Garci. Reputation management: The key to successful public relations and
corporate communication. Routledge, 2015.
[6]. J. Binder, Global project management: communication, collaboration and management across
borders. Routledge, 2016.
[7]. R.A. Noe, J.R. Hollenbeck, B. Gerhart and P.M. Wright,. Human resource management: Gaining a
competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2017
[8]. P. Eskerod, M. Huemann and G. Savage, Project stakeholder management—Past and
present. Project Management Journal, 46(6), pp.6-14, 2015.