HKSM

A communications management plan describes how project information will be planned, created, distributed, stored, and monitored for stakeholders. It clarifies what will be communicated, by whom, to whom, when, through which channels, and how feedback and escalations are handled.

Key Points

• Tailored to stakeholder needs, culture, and the project context.
• Specifies channels, formats, frequency, and timing across time zones.
• Defines roles and responsibilities for sending, receiving, approving, and archiving communications.
• Includes feedback mechanisms, escalation paths, and confidentiality guidelines.
• Integrates with the stakeholder engagement approach, schedule, and risk responses.
• Living document that is updated as stakeholders, risks, or delivery cadence change.

Purpose

• Set clear expectations for information flow and decision support.
• Reduce noise and miscommunication by standardizing messages and channels.
• Enable timely, two-way communication and rapid escalation when needed.
• Support compliance, auditability, and knowledge retention.
• Improve stakeholder engagement and satisfaction through right-sized communication.

Typical Sections

• Objectives and guiding principles.
• Stakeholder communication requirements and sensitivities.
• Information types and templates (status, risks, changes, decisions, deliverables).
• Channels and tools (email, chat, meetings, portals, dashboards, reports).
• Cadence and timing, including time zone considerations.
• Roles and responsibilities, including approvers and spokespersons.
• Escalation path and response time targets.
• Meeting structure and protocols (purpose, inputs, outputs, duration).
• Storage and access (repositories, naming conventions, permissions).
• Quality and effectiveness measures (KPIs, feedback loops).
• Constraints, assumptions, and compliance requirements.
• Change control for the communications plan.

How to Create

• Identify stakeholders and analyze their information needs, preferences, and constraints.
• List key information types and define the minimum content needed for decisions and oversight.
• Select channels and tools that fit the audience and organizational policies.
• Set cadence and timing aligned with sprint cycles, milestones, and governance events.
• Assign roles for preparation, approval, distribution, and storage of communications.
• Design simple templates and standard formats to ensure consistency and clarity.
• Define feedback methods, escalation paths, and response time expectations.
• Establish repositories, access controls, and naming conventions.
• Agree on effectiveness measures, such as readership, timeliness, and stakeholder feedback.
• Review with key stakeholders, refine, gain approval, and baseline the plan.

How to Use

• Brief the team and stakeholders at kickoff and include the plan in onboarding.
• Embed cadences in calendars and work management tools to automate reminders.
• Use approved templates and repositories to keep information consistent and findable.
• Monitor effectiveness using defined measures and gather feedback regularly.
• Escalate issues using the defined path and response targets.
• Coordinate with the stakeholder engagement approach when needs or sentiments change.
• Record deviations and lessons learned to improve future communications.

Maintenance Cadence

• Baseline after planning and revisit at each phase gate or quarterly for longer projects.
• Review after major stakeholder or team changes, risks, or compliance updates.
• Adjust cadence and channels when delivery approach or time zones shift.
• Refresh contact lists, roles, and repository access monthly or as changes occur.
• Submit significant changes through change control and communicate updates broadly.
• Track effectiveness metrics and trend them to guide improvements.

Example

Excerpt from a communications management plan for a mid-size project:

• Weekly status report: All stakeholders, every Friday by 12:00, email with one-page dashboard, prepared by PM, stored in SharePoint folder /Status, read receipt requested.
• Monthly steering committee: Sponsor and executives, 60 minutes, second Tuesday, MS Teams, agenda shared 48 hours prior, decisions logged in RAID register.
• Risk and issue alerts: High severity within 4 hours via chat and phone call to sponsor and affected leads, follow-up email within 24 hours with action plan.
• Change impacts summary: On approval of change requests, email to impacted stakeholders within 2 business days, include what, why, impacts, and next steps.
• Repository and access: SharePoint as the single source of truth, PM controls permissions, naming convention PROJ-YYYYMMDD-Topic.
• Effectiveness measures: On-time distribution rate 95 percent, steering quorum 80 percent, stakeholder satisfaction survey average 4.2 out of 5.

PMP Example Question

Midway through the project, several stakeholders complain about excessive emails at inconvenient hours and unclear status content. What should the project manager do first?

1. Tell the team to reduce emails and only send messages during business hours.
2. Escalate the issue to the sponsor for direction on communication limits.
3. Review and update the communications management plan with stakeholder input, then adjust cadence, channels, and templates.
4. Create a new status report template without changing the existing plan.

Correct Answer: C — Review and update the communications management plan with stakeholder input, then adjust cadence, channels, and templates.

Explanation: The plan governs communication methods and cadence. Involving stakeholders and updating the plan ensures a systematic, agreed approach before issuing directives.