Good communication leads to better collaboration, happier teams and more successful projects. But it can take real work to get people on the same page, especially when you’re dealing with competing priorities, personalities and job titles.
Brett Harned knows this well. Over the past two decades, he’s worked on digital projects for organizations including Happy Cog, Razorfish, Zappos, MTV and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As the founder of the Digital PM Summit and Director of Education at TeamGantt, he spends his days helping digital project mangers to refine their approach and achieve better results. This spring, Brett joins us at our Digital Project Management / Operations Workshop in NYC to share process and team management strategies.
Communication Strategies: Project Plans, Status Reports & Meetings
While many of us are careful in the words that we choose and the manner in which we say them, we may not put the same time and attention into our project plans, status reports and meetings. Taking a thoughtful approach to each of these can dramatically improve stakeholder communications and make life easier for all involved.
Here, Brett offers tips and tactics for making the most of each.
What Goes into a Solid Project Plan
When done well and used properly, a solid project plan sets expectations, outlines a process and communicates when, why and by whom something will by done. A good plan captures answers to all of your stakeholders’ questions in one document, and offers a North Star to help guide the project in the event issues arise or there’s confusion over roles or responsibilities.
As Brett says, a good project plan will:
Communicate major deliverables
Show the process by which you will provide deliverables or features
Communicate timing and deadlines
Show dependencies
Show roles and assignments
More than a static document, a project plan should evolve with the project to provide a real-time overview of where things stand. Many times, there’s an education aspect in the project plan, as stakeholders may be unfamiliar with your process or the importance of timely reviews, feedback and approval.
As you talk through your project plan with stakeholders, consider asking questions to surface possible risks and additional context. For example,
Are there any dates when we can’t do work together on the project?
Are there times when you need our team to present work to a larger stakeholder group?
Is there anything that’s driving the deadline for the project?
Are there any related projects or goals that could impact the project?
If you’re running a process that can get complicated, try to spell things out in a way that makes sense to stakeholders. Many times, the best way to achieve this is by setting up groups of tasks, phases or steps in your project, and highlighting any dependencies. Then talk through these to set simple expectations to avoid confusion and inevitable slowdowns. For example, if dev can’t start without approved designs, make it crystal clear that missed deadlines can affect the timeline and quality of the project. Project plans provide a valuable communication tool to help stakeholders think through the project process, ownership, how they’ll handle feedback and other mission-critical details.
Be sure to discuss:
Risks
Related partnerships or projects
How you will handle change
How you will communicate about the project and plan
Questions or concerns
Updates
The plan can be much more detailed as you talk through things such as what launch means and timing. Discussing these details helps to build trust because you’re talking through what you know now, what you may not presently know and how you can work together as the project unfolds to achieve success.
Consistent Status Reports
When you deliver status reports, you’re ensuring that the expectations that you set forth in your project plan are being consistently reviewed and reaffirmed as you proceed to the final project. Brett recommends weekly or biweekly status reports to keep an open, consistent line of communication.
“When you write a status report, it forces you to check in on all the aspects of your project. You’ll update your plan and look at upcoming tasks and milestones, you’ll work through to-dos with your team and you’ll check in on your budget.”
— Brett Harned
A good status report will support your formal project plan and should convey the following details:
Communicate what just happened and what is happening next
Provide an update on timeline and budget completion
Detail upcoming tasks, milestones and associated action items
Provide a forum to discuss risks and issues
Outlining these items will help to set expectations about what’s complete and will not be revisited, as well as what’s coming next. As status reports progress, they’re a good opportunity to initiate conversations and help educate stakeholders on your process.
And as a project lead, status reports can help to ensure you’re always up to date and have a record of project history as a reference.
Adding Structure to Meetings
Tired of meetings? You may be approaching them wrong. As Brett says, it’s everyone’s job to make meetings useful. Adding some structure to meetings can help to ensure meetings are more successful and make good use of your stakeholders’ and team’s time.
Handled as a form of communication, meetings can help you to move your project forward by confirming expectations that were set forth by your scope and your project plan. They give you valuable face-to-face time with your team and stakeholders and can be very successful when approached with a level of care. Here are some steps Brett recommends taking to improve meeting outcomes:
Before scheduling,
Determine the value of the meeting (can it be accomplished with an email or a quick call?)
Identify goals for your meeting
Estimate the time needed
Determine the best attendees
Create an agenda
Share information needed for the meeting (docs, call-in info, meeting space, etc.)
Sample Meeting Agenda
Sure, meeting agendas take time to craft, and they may feel a bit formal, but they can pay off considerably in making the best use of everyone’s time. Brett offers a sample meeting agenda to help you get started:
Goal: This is a review of our research report. Please review the document attached and be prepared to provide and discuss feedback and next steps.
Agenda:
9:00–9:30: Presentation of document (Abby)
9:30–10:00: Feedback review and discussion (All)
10:00–10:15: Next steps, wrap up (John)
Meeting Guidelines
As digital leaders, we’re all busy and under pressure. But letting distractions and offhand remarks into your meetings can derail momentum and morale. Try using Brett’s basic guidelines to make your meetings constructive and productive:
Be on time and prepared
No devices (stay present)
Think before speaking
Stay on task and on time
Listen with an open mind
Close decisions and identify action items
Follow up on outcomes
Better Communication for Better Results
The foundation of good project communication starts with building trust among your team and stakeholders. Thoughtful project plans, status reports and well-planned meetings can help to build trust and rapport, while making sure everyone is clear on every step of the project.
Developing communication routines for consistency and accuracy will help to surface issues and challenges early, while giving everyone confidence that the project is on track. And while some conversations can be challenging, it’s important to remember that your focus is the project. As Brett says, “Make sure that everyone knows you have the project in mind first. It’s not about your team versus stakeholders. It’s about the project and meeting the project goals.”