Project Communication Plan Analysis: Assessment and Recommendations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of a project communication plan, evaluating its strengths and weaknesses in the context of project management best practices. The report begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of effective communication and assesses the current communication plan, identifying limitations such as the lack of stakeholder prioritization and undefined communication frequencies. A comparison of the communication plan against project management practices reveals discrepancies, particularly in the level of detail provided for key messages and communication frequency. The report then recommends an improved communication plan tailored for future projects involving diverse stakeholders, detailing communication strategies for different audience groups, including government bodies, executive sponsors, and collaborating agencies. Justification for the proposed plan emphasizes the importance of stakeholder identification, information categorization, and communication frequency. The report concludes by acknowledging the inclusion of certain features of an effective communication plan, while emphasizing the need for improvements in stakeholder prioritization and communication frequency to ensure project success.

Running head: PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
Table of Contents
Introduction:.........................................................................................................................................2
Assessment of the current project communication plan:......................................................................2
Communication Plan assessment Vs project management practice:....................................................3
Recommendation of communication plan for future project involving stakeholders from different
sectors:..................................................................................................................................................4
Justification for proposed communication plan:..................................................................................5

2
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
Introduction:
Although it is an important criterion to have a proper communication plan for any project, it
is also important to ensure that the communication plan is effective and it is in accordance with
project scope and objectives [1]. Now in this project as per the requirement, communication with all
the stakeholders are necessary. Communication with every stakeholder is required as stakeholder
input and feedback are important for the project. Communication to all of the stakeholders at the
same time is not possible and it is not realistic as well [2].
Now the communication plan provided in this context has various important features
included. These features like the identification of important stakeholders, an important message to
share are included. The communication plan also includes medium for communication along with
communication format. The communication plan has included some of the important
communication features of an effective communication plan, but it still has some issues discussed in
this context.
Assessment of the current project communication plan:
As already mentioned, communication with all of the stakeholders at the same time is not a
realistic and feasible option at all. It is not needed either because a project does not require
involving all of the stakeholders with the project at the same time. Along with that, some
stakeholders’ input is more important than others are [3]. Now a well-designed communication plan
considers this aspect of communication and integrates this with the communication plan developed
for the project.
The prioritization of stakeholders is hence an important criterion of an effective
communication plan. It provides a context to identify which stakeholder needs to be included in the
communication plan and when they need to be involved. It provides a clear overview of the
communication process [4]. When the correct stakeholder is involved at the correct time, it

3
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
enhances the effectiveness of the communication process. Now in the communication plan,
provided in this context, stakeholder prioritization is not integrated which affects the
communication process and makes it difficult to communicate with the stakeholders as well.
The frequency of communication is another important aspect of a communication plan as it
provides a clear description of when to communicate with a stakeholder. However, in this
communication plan provided in this context, does not explicitly specifies the frequency of the
communication, which is another significant drawback of the communication plan provided in this
context.
Communication Plan assessment Vs project management practice:
Project management recommended
process
Communication plan of case study
Identify each and every stakeholders of the
project
This recommendation is followed as the
communication plan includes all the
stakeholders of the project
Define important messages that needs to be
shared
Although key message to be shared has
been included in the communication plan, it
is not defined in details.
Define communication medium that needs
to be followed in the communication
process
This aspect has been recognized properly in
the communication plan as it properly
defines various communication medium to
be considered in this project for
communicating with the stakeholders
Define appropriate frequency for
communication
This communication plan considered here
has not defined it properly which makes this
communication plan les effective

4
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
Define appropriate format for
communication
this recommendation is well followed in the
communication plan as it defines format of
communication in the communication plan
Define how project information will be
stored and accessed
this is required to ensure that project
information is not only secure but there is
no issues in data availability and data
integrity
Recommendation of communication plan for future project involving stakeholders from
different sectors:
Audience Document Frequency Content Responsible party
Government
Steering
Committee
PM status
reports
Monthly Project status,
project plan,
issues, and risks
updates.
Project manager
Steering committee PM status
reports
Monthly Project status,
project plan,
issues, and risks
updates.
Project manager
Enterprise
Executive sponsors
PM status
report, steering
committee
report
Quarterly, or
as needed
Project status,
project plan,
issues, and risks
updates.
Project manager or
steering committee
Office of the State
Chief Information
Officer (OSCIO)
PM status report Quarterly Project status,
plan, issues,
and risks
updates.
Project manager
Legislative Fiscal
Office (LFO)
Executive
briefing
As needed Project status
and plan.
Executive sponsor
chair and vice-chair,
and steering
committee co-chairs

5
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
Audience Document Frequency Content Responsible
party
Collaborating
agencies,
monitoring
agencies
Email/
newsletter
Monthly Project status Project
manager,
other project
leaders as
needed
Justification for proposed communication plan:
An essential requirement for effective communication plan is to identify each stakeholders
of the project. This proposed communication plan has described in details the essential stakeholders
of the project [1]. In communication plan, it is extremely important to identify which information to
be shared with which stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient communication [4]. However,
the communication plan in the case has not categorized information and it lacks details, which
makes this communication plan less effective in the context of project execution.
It is not only the information that is important in communication, it also needs to be shared
when stakeholders requires it so that they are able to provide their input and feedback in the project
[5]. Hence, frequency of communication is important and this communication plan considered here
defines it properly. One important feature of this recommended communication plan is that it also
defines responsible party for managing communication process, which makes it easier to effectively
manage the communication process.
Conclusion:
The report identifies that the provided communication plan does include some important
features of an effective communication plan like identification of stakeholders, important
information to communicate, a medium of communication and a format of communication.

6
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
However, some issues like prioritization of stakeholders, frequency of communication with the
stakeholders are not properly defined. Hence, the communication plan provided in this context is
not effective for the project where a large number of stakeholders are involved and hence it is
required to be managed properly for the effective execution of the project.

7
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
References:
[1]P. Ziek and J. Anderson, "Communication, dialogue and project management", International
Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 788-803, 2015. Available:
10.1108/ijmpb-04-2014-0034.
[2]A. Butt, M. Naaranoja and J. Savolainen, "Project change stakeholder communication",
International Journal of Project Management, vol. 34, no. 8, pp. 1579-1595, 2016. Available:
10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.08.010.
[3]B. Dao, S. Kermanshachi, J. Shane, S. Anderson and E. Hare, "Exploring and Assessing Project
Complexity", Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, vol. 143, no. 5, p. 04016126,
2017. Available: 10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0001275.
[4]M. van Offenbeek and J. Vos, "An integrative framework for managing project issues across
stakeholder groups", International Journal of Project Management, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 44-57, 2016.
Available: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.09.006.
[5]M. Aakhus and M. Bzdak, "Stakeholder engagement as communication design practice",
Journal of Public Affairs, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 188-200, 2015. Available: 10.1002/pa.1569.