Communication Plan for Integrated Public Health Informatics System

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Communication Plan
1

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Case Study Assessment...............................................................................................................................4
Report on the current communication Plan............................................................................................4
Comparison of assessment from the case study and project management practices.............................7
Recommend a communication plan for future project involving stakeholders from different sectors.......8
Justify your recommendation....................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................12
References.................................................................................................................................................13
2

Introduction
The senior managers of the County Health Department (CHD) aim for improving the public health informatics
system to respond to the significant disease outbreak in no time. It has different database systems working
standalone considering which the new epidemiologist suggested having an integrated public health informatics
system. This report initiates with the description regarding the genuineness and pragmatism of the current
communication plan. Further, this current communication plan compared with the best project management
practices. Considering this, a new communication plan proposed under the context of publicly run projects.
Justification of the proposed communication plan also mentioned, and the report concluded with the summary
of the report.
3

Case Study Assessment
Report on the current communication Plan
Existing Communication plan
Key
stakeholders
Stakeholder
issues
Key messages Communication
methods
Description of specific
communication
Time/
frequency
Senior
Managers
Project
information
and project
status
Project status
report
Task progress
updates
Project issues
Project review
E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Daily
Employees Project
information
and project
status
Project status
report
Project issues
Task progress
updates
E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Twice in a
week
Sponsor
(Robert Wood
Johnson
Foundation
(RWJF)
Financial
information on
the project
Project budget E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Weekly
Project leaders
(IT engineers
and
epidemiologist)
Project
information
and project
status
Project status
report
Task progress
updates
Project issues
Project review
Team Logbook
E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Daily
Technical
Experts
Project
information
and project
Project status
report
Task progress
E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Daily
4

status updates
Project review
Team members
of the project
Project
information
and project
status
Project status
report
Task progress
updates
Project issues
Project review
Team Logbook
E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Daily
Community Advantages of
this project
Project
information
and project
status
Project status
report
Project review
report
Conference Formal
communication
Medium- descriptive
Weekly
Contractors Project
information
and project
status
Project status
report
Task progress
updates
Project review
Meeting
E-mail
Telephone
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Weekly
Suppliers Information on
raw materials
and other
resources
required
Project status
report
Project raw
materials report
Telephone
E-mail
Formal
communication
Highly descriptive
Weekly
This communication plan can consider realistic in the context of communication to all the stakeholders of the
project. This plan identifies all the key stakeholders associated with this project. Every stakeholder defines with
their communication requirements and the key messages through communication would take place. This plan
is realistic since it involves easy communication through the medium of e-mails, telephone, and meetings [1].
However, it is feasible to undertake such communication plan since it derives the primary purpose of
communication to stakeholders.
5

The audience for the communication has identified in this plan very clearly, and also the key messages are free
from ambiguousness which would help in maintaining proper communication. The key characteristics of an
effective communication plan comprise of clarity, conciseness, completeness, and consideration and so on. This
plan encompasses all the critical requirements of an effective communication plan. The practicality of this
communication plan affects weekly communication to community, suppliers, and contractors. Weekly meetings
for the community would be time-consuming events for the project [2]. The plan would be feasible when
communication with these stakeholders would undertake once in a month.
6

Comparison of assessment from the case study and project management practices.
The communication plan assessment reflects some of the critical project management practices. This plan
helps the project manager in ensuring that all the involved stakeholders have developed an understanding of
what the project requires [7]. But, it cannot provide complete knowledge since some stakeholders are unaware
of the project information such as suppliers. Developing better scheduling for everything involved in the
project is a good project management practice. In the current communication plan, the stakeholders would
communicate the key messages periodically as suitable to them. As an instance, the contractors need to know
everything about the project identified in this existing plan [3]. This current communication plan lacks in
providing sufficient information to the stakeholders such as suppliers should also know about the project
information; and senior managers, employees, project team and sponsor must be aware of the project
benefits.
Transparency makes the project manager an excellent practitioner of project management. Moreover, every
stakeholder must work with the project by keeping in their mind what the project purpose is all over the
project life-cycle [7]. Going with the project purpose across the project life-cycle makes the project
management more effective. This communication plan ensures conveying the project purpose and sticking with
it until the project conclusion. Frequent and regular communication with the stakeholders results in effective
and efficient project management. However, in this communication plan high-frequency communication makes
it more burdensome and time-consuming process [4]. As an instance, weekly communication to the suppliers,
contractors, and community would lead to the delay in project completion.
7

Recommend a communication plan for future project involving stakeholders from different sectors
The current project is a publicly-owned project where the main aim implies as the deployment of an improved
and integrated public health informatics system by CHD. Since it is a public project, there would be more
stakeholders than the current communication plan identified. The recommended communication plan for this
project is as follows:
Improved Communication Plan
Key
stakeholder
s
Stakeholder
issues
Key messages Communicati
on methods
Description of
specific
communicatio
n
Time/
frequency
Owner
Senior
Managers
Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Project status report
Task progress
updates
Project issues
Project review
E-mail
Meeting
Teleconferen
cing
Formal
communicatio
n
Highly
descriptive
Daily Project
Manage
r
Employees Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Project status report
Project issues
Task progress
updates
E-mail
Meeting
Formal
communicatio
n
Highly
descriptive
Twice in a
week
Project
Manage
r
Sponsor
(Robert
Wood
Johnson
Foundation
(RWJF)
Project
information
Financial
information
on the
project
Project statement
Project budget
Project financial
statements
E-mail
Teleconferen
cing
Meeting
Formal
communicatio
n
Highly
descriptive
Weekly Project
Manage
r
Project
leaders (IT
engineers
Project
information
and project
Project statement
Project status report
Task progress
E-mail
Meeting
Teleconferen
Formal
communicatio
n
Daily Project
Manage
r
8

and
epidemiolog
ist)
status updates
Project issues
Project review
Team Logbook
cing
Telephone
Highly
descriptive
Technical
Experts
Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Project status report
Task progress
updates
Project review
E-mail
Meeting
Teleconferen
cing
Telephone
Formal
communicatio
n
Highly
descriptive
Daily Project
Manage
r
Team
members of
the project
Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Project status report
Task progress
updates
Project issues
Project review
Team Logbook
E-mail
Meeting
Teleconferen
cing
Telephone
Formal
communicatio
n
Highly
descriptive
Daily Project
Manage
r
Community Advantages
of this
project
Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Project status report
Project review
report
Conference Formal
communicatio
n
Medium-
descriptive
Monthly Project
Manage
r
Contractors Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Project status report
Task progress
updates
Project review
Meeting
E-mail
Teleconferen
cing
Formal
communicatio
n
Highly
descriptive
Monthly Project
Manage
r
Suppliers Project
information
Information
Project statement
Project status report
Project raw
Telephone
E-mail
Formal
communicatio
n
Once in a
fortnight
Project
Manage
r
9

on raw
materials
and other
resources
required
materials report Highly
descriptive
Union Project
information
Information
on human
resource in
the project
Project statement
Recruitment of
personnel
Lay-off of personnel
Pay scale to the
personnel
E-mail
Meeting
Telephone
Formal
communicatio
n
Medium-
descriptive
Monthly Project
Manage
r
News media Project
information
Project
Milestone
completion
Project statement
Advantages of this
project
Project status report
E-mail
Conference
Meeting
Formal
communicatio
n
Medium-
descriptive
On
request
Project
Manage
r
General
public
Project
information
Project
Milestone
completion
Project statement
Advantages of this
project
Key milestones
achievement
Conference
E-mail
Formal
communicatio
n
Medium-
descriptive
On
request
Project
Manage
r
Government
agencies
Project
information
and project
status
Project statement
Advantages of this
project
Project status report
Key milestones
achievement
E-mail
Meeting
Teleconferen
cing
Formal
communicatio
n
Medium-
descriptive
On
request
Project
Manage
r
10

Justify your recommendation
This new, improved communication plan ensures that every stakeholder gets aware of the project information
with an understanding that whoever associates with the project must know the crucial information such as
project purpose, objectives, plan, and expected outcomes and so on [5]. This proposed communication plan
would involve a new communication method named teleconferencing for communicating with the key
stakeholders. It would help the project manager in communicating with a different number of people through
telephone irrespective of the location. Moreover, the frequency of communication also changed as per the
suitability. This improved communication plan also identified more stakeholders for the project such as
government agencies, unions, news media, and the general public [6]. This plan clearly shows also as who is
responsible for maintaining effective communication throughout the project life.
11

Conclusion
This report aimed at developing a better communication plan for CHD's project of the integrated public health
informatics system. Earlier some barriers or errors were identified in the current communication plan of the
project. This current communication plan compared with the best project management practices to derive the
effectiveness. Considering all the essential requirements, a new communication plan proposed for the project
by making some modifications and additions for compensating the drawbacks of the previous plan.
Communication mainly requires the conveyance of messages to the right audience with the right amount of
information and at the right time.
12