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Download communication plan in Microsoft Word format.
Communication Plan Example: The Purpose and Components
Do you need to develop a communication plan for a project you and other team members are currently involved with? Would a dynamic communication plan example help to shed some light on what the final product should resemble? If so, the following information may prove very useful. In this article we will introduce you to the various purposes of the communication plan document, and discuss a few of the items that would typically appear in one of these plans.
The Communication Plan and Its Purpose
A communication plan is a part of a project lifecycle that identifies how information will be gathered, disseminated and later used to successfully complete a project. This plan, which doesn’t necessarily need to follow any specific format or structure, should at least identify all of the formal and informal communication used in the project process, along with who will be involved as both the originators and receivers of the information.
There are several reasons why one would want to develop a communication plan, but perhaps the most significant benefit is how it brings project team members together and “keeps all of them on the same page.” When communication is organized into a plan, every person involved can stay up to date on the latest developments. What this means is that each member of the project (including the customer to whom the project will be delivered), through weekly meetings, status reports and lists which identify potential risks and issues, is able to use the latest information to structure and prioritize their daily tasks to develop strategies and solutions geared toward completing the project successfully.
A communication plan is also an excellent tool to evaluate a project’s outcome. For example, if an external customer or internal department was dissatisfied with a portion or phase of the project you developed, you and other team members can use the communication plan to reflect on how each piece of information could have been used more effectively. Conversely, if a project was well received, the communication plan can be used as a template to ensure similar steps are taken when developing future projects.
Communication Plan Example: The Components
When searching for a communication plan example that will suit your unique purposes, there are several items you may want to look for. Some of these include:
• Introduction. The introduction phase of the communication plan is where you would typically list your purpose and objectives for creating it. This can also include items such as the context (what’s happened before) and the key factors that will affect your success.
• Formal Communication. Formal communication includes information that is disseminated through weekly status meetings among individual departments, written status reports, and formal memos. These are an integral part of the project process and should be outlined in written form and visually represented by graphs, charts and other visual mediums.
• Informal Communication. While you may not think informal communication is as significant as the more formal type, most experts agree that is through ad hoc conversations via emails, phone calls and informal visits that the bulk of a project’s information is gathered and distributed.
• Conclusion. In the “conclusion” section of your communication plan you will summarize how information relating to the project was gathered and later used to bring about successful completion.
If developing these types of plans is rather new to you, using a communication plan example is a great way to ensure that you do not omit any pertinent components of the plan and that the format you ultimately select is both professional and practical.