Rethinking Communication in IT Project Management

Abstract

This paper is a response to the call in the Rethinking Project Management (RPM) study for new ways of thinking regarding project management. In particular, this paper presents a critique of existing thinking on communication in project management, and then presents a new model for conceptualizing communication in IT project management. Specifically, the Shannon-Weaver model, on which the Project Communications Management knowledge area in PMBOK is based, is shown to be inadequate when applied to human communications, and an alternative conceptualization is offered in this paper, drawing on alternate theories of communication from Galle and Wittgenstein. Project manager understanding of communication may be improved through recognition of the productive and interpretive aspects of communication and of the role of language games in supporting or thwarting successful communication across stakeholder groups.