A.4 Communication management strategy

A.4.1 Purpose

A communication management strategy contains a description of the means and frequency of communication to parties both internal and external to the project. It facilitates engagement with stakeholders through the establishment of a controlled and bi-directional flow of information.

A.4.2 Composition

• Introduction States the purpose, objectives and scope, and identifies who is responsible for the strategy
• Communication procedure A description of (or reference to) any communication methods to be used. Any variance from corporate or programme management standards should be highlighted, together with a justification for the variance
• Tools and techniques Refers to any communication tools to be used, and any preference for techniques that may be used, for each step in the communication process
• Records Definition of what communication records will be required and where they will be stored (for example, logging of external correspondence)
• Reporting Describes any reports on the communication process that are to be produced, including their purpose, timing and recipients (for example, performance indicators)
• Timing of communication activities States when formal communication activities are to be undertaken (for example, at the end of a stage) including performance audits of the communication methods
• Roles and responsibilities Describes who will be responsible for what aspects of the communication process, including any corporate or programme management roles involved with communication
• Stakeholder analysis:
  • Identification of the interested party (which may include accounts staff, user forum, internal audit, corporate or programme quality assurance, competitors etc.)
  • Current relationship
  • Desired relationship
  • Interfaces
  • Key messages
• Information needs for each interested party:
  • Information required to be provided from the project
  • Information required to be provided to the project
  • Information provider and recipient
  • Frequency of communication
  • Means of communication
  • Format of the communication.