Project Management For Dummies®

Chapter 13. Keeping Everyone Informed

In This Chapter

• Choosing how to share the news: Writing or meeting?

• Authoring your project progress report

• Managing an assortment of meeting styles

Imagine standing at one end of a large room filled with assorted sofas, chairs, and tables. You've accepted a challenge to walk to the other end without bumping into any of the furniture. But, as you set off on your excursion, the lights go off, and you now have to complete your trip in total darkness, with only your memory of the room's layout to guide you.

Sounds like a pretty tough assignment, doesn't it? How much easier it would be if the lights went on every few seconds — you could see exactly where you were, where you had to go, and where the furniture got in the way. The walk would still be challenging but much more successful than in total darkness.

Surprisingly, many projects are just like that walk across the room. People plan how they'll perform the project — who will do what, by when, and for how much — and they share this information with the team members and other people who will support the project. But as soon as the project work begins, people receive no information about their progress, the work remaining, or obstacles that may lie ahead.

Effective communication is a key to successful projects — sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner. Informative communications support the following:

• Continued buy‐in and support from key audiences and team members

• Prompt problem ...