Project Management Communication Planning: An Improved Optimization Model With Additional Recipients and Individualized Weights

Abstract

Project management is used to coordinate effort during tasks, such as new product design, software engineering, and supply chain improvement. An essential component of project management is the communication plan that directs team members in their use of communication channels for information sharing during the project. Yet, few decision-making tools exist that can help project managers understand the tradeoffs of different communication plans. Herein we connect theory and practice to advance a computational model that provides objective-based assessments of communication plans and helps managers weigh tradeoffs of cost, time, and quality in the use of communication channels across the project. We draw on adaptive structuration theory to understand the impetus to utilize technology in group settings and media richness to explain the capabilities of channels that offer rich synchronous platforms (for e.g., phone, face-to-face, and web conference) and asynchronous lean approaches (for e.g., email, message board, and archive). We describe the tool based on a multiple-criteria decision making model. This model contributes a theoretically based decision support tool for project communication plans.