Ok project managers let’s start out this week’s post with a scenario. Your team has been working on a project for a few weeks now. By using an agile approach to the project, you and your team have been in consistent contact with key stakeholders and users. Everything has been going smoothly for the most part until one day you learn from your stakeholders were really interested in a new feature that would involve a lot of change within the project. You assure them that your team will be able to make the changes and go on with your day. A few weeks later when your team meets with the stakeholders, the stakeholders are surprised to realize that their new feature has been implemented. Your team looks confused as the let the stakeholders know that they weren’t aware of the requested feature because no one told them.
This is a perfect example of bad communication. As you can imagine communication within project management is key. Good communication leads to teams being on one accord throughout the project whether there are changes within the development process or even personal issues outside of work. That being said there are still time where bad communication continues to happen within a project team. In this post, we will look at ways that communication can fail, some key points to help encourage good communication within a team and how these keys can impact your agile project management process.
When looking back at the scenario lack of communication from the project manager to the team was clearly evident. That is one of a few ways that project communication fails. Poor communication can cause delays in development, increased cost, spread of misinformation, confusion, and disorganization among other negative effects. A few reasons why communication can fail in a project are: lack of transparency, insufficient planning, and a failure to improve over time.
Lack of Transparency: Not providing team members with the information they need such as update can lead to distrust within the team. Not everything needs to be accessed by everybody but having transparency helps members feel more open to share their opinions
Insufficient Planning: Starting out a project without a sufficient communication strategy can lead to mass confusion among the team and potential important information being put out in the wrong channel of communication.
Failure to Improve Over Time: Just like with any other aspect of agile methodology not updating or review your communication strategy can leave you unprepared for an unexpected scenario. Communication avenues do change and grow over time, so it is beneficial to find the best options for you and your team
Although failures in communication can have drastic effects, there are plenty of keys that can benefit you in producing a better form of communication. Here’s a list of 10 keys for good communication.
Know your channels: having an idea of which and how many channels you and your team will use is important. With everyone using the same channels it eliminates the chance of someone not getting information because they weren’t on the right channel
Emphasize the use of technology: Technology provides many avenues for communication from texting to chat, to email and even video chat. This allows for a more diverse communication plan that is even beneficial for those who are working remotely.
Use in person meetings: The dreaded in person meeting. The ban of everyone’s existence. Having in person meetings helps to build comradery. Being in person for meetings can invoke more dialog on a project, allows people to show progress updates that they might have, and it reduces the chance for miscommunication with everyone being there.
Know who gets what information and how do they get it: Important and personal information should never be out to everyone. Knowing which avenue, you are using to send out a message is crucial. For personal or important information using email to communicate is usually the most ideal while a chat system tends to be more useful for smaller issues and faster responses.
Give out information in an effective and timely manner: If you are aware of a change within your project at the beginning of the week that has a weekend deadline, don’t wait until 2 days before it is due to let your team know. Giving out information in a proper manner leads to a lower chance of rushing through a process which would reduce the chances of errors.
Remember nonverbal communication: Nonverbal communication is just as important as verbal communication. If you’re in and in person meeting or a video chat, make sure that you’re “present”. Be engaged with the person talking, give feedback, and encouragement. Even though someone may not say it they notice when you’re not involved in what they have to say
Be aware of cultural and language barriers: As you can imagine within a team there can be many different people from many different walks of life. This diversity helps teams grow due to all the type of mindsets that are brought together. That being said be mindful of what you say to others or what they might say to you. You’re all a team so let’s be respectful to each other.
Respect your team: As a team respect go hand and hand with trust. By respecting one another it allows for team members to know their opinions matter. Don’t shun someone’s idea because you don’t like it. Be open minded, ask them if they would be willing to explain the idea in more detail and see if you all can come to an understanding.
Keep everyone in the loop: Do not leave you team in the dark. Telling your team of any coming or potential updates and changes helps to build that trust and respect between you and your team members.
Listen: Probably the most important thing in communication. In a conversation you should be trying to listen more than you talk. Don’t just listen to respond listen to learn and gain information. Dig for details. The more you listen and become immersed in the conversation the more you start to question aspects of conversation which can lead to a better developed product.
These are just a few key ideas for having good communication within a project group. Good communication is key to going through a project. Using these keys along with other can help you streamline communication within agile. Meetings can become more precise focusing on the major topics. And the meeting can be set up for only the people who need to be involved. However these keys also allow you to adjust to the adaptability of agile in order to continuously change along with your project.
Works Cited
Schwalbe, Kathy. Information Technology Project Management. Boston, MA: Course Technology, 2019. Print.
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