What are the communication methods that are used to share information among project stakeholders?

Being a good communicator is an attribute that invariably finds its way onto every list of highly desirable qualities for any project manager, worldwide. And with good reason: Communication plays a critically important role in Project Management. If you do not communicate with your team, they will not know what they are supposed to do, or when. And, in turn, if you do not know what your team is doing, you will not be able to monitor the progress of your project, which will then lead to failure of the project.

You need to be able to maintain open and accurate communication channels with all levels of a project, including project members and stakeholders—starting from the bottom all the way to the top. Communicating insufficient or unclear information can lead to faulty assumptions and poor quality of work while overloading a stakeholder with information can lead to them shutting you off.

Communication that is interactive and relies on either nonverbal, verbal, written, contextual, or subjective components, to convey a message and to rely on the same to attain feedback is effective communication.

Now, let's get started with the topic "Project Management: Interactive Vs. Push Vs. Pull Communication"

The PMBOK® Guide identifies 3 types of communication:

1. Interactive Communication2. Push Communication

3. Pull Communication

Interactive Communication is a fairly self-explanatory term. As the name suggests, it is a multidirectional form of communication. When you require an immediate response, and when the information you are communicating is sensitive with the possibility of being misinterpreted, you turn to interactive communication. It involves one or more people exchanging thoughts and ideas, where participants respond in real-time.

Project managers prefer in-person interactive communication. When communication is performed over media, like video conferences, phones, meetings, etc., a project manager may not be able to pick up on facial expressions and body language of the stakeholders.

To understand this concept better, consider an example. Let’s say you need to have a meeting with the stakeholders about the progress of a project, or you have a glitch in the project. Interactive communication would be preferred over using mails to convey messages and having them respond by email. Rather than being unsure of what is happening, you’d be better off calling for a meeting or a video conference so you can convey the problem to them and receive feedback.

Examples of Interactive communication:

Any face to Face contacts:

Meetings
Phone Calls / Conference
Video Calls / Conference

This kind of communication is from sender to receiver, and is preferable when you distribute information, yet are not looking for an immediate response—or if the matter you are trying to convey is not urgent or sensitive. However, as soon as the recipient views the message, some action is required.

Push communication includes memos, letters, emails, reports, faxes, etc. It is not face-to-face but is instead typically done through some written medium. The one disadvantage of this type of communication is that the sender can only identify that the message has been successfully sent. Some email systems can notify you when an email has been opened, but this feature can’t guarantee that the recipient has understood the message trying to be communicated.

As another example, you have a technical issue that demands immediate attention, and you alert the tech department of your company to fix it. You email IT, but no one is available that day, so no one received your email. You only know that the mail you wrote has been successfully sent. You do not know if it has been received. You will only know the email has been received when desktop support comes to fix the problem.

Examples of Push communication:

Pull communication enables the receiver to gain access to information, but it requires the receiver to initiate the communication to obtain the information. Pull communication is appropriate for purely informational communications. Even if the recipients do not read it, the project will not be affected.

Pull communication doesn’t involve pulling in a reader to read your message. Instead, pull communication is all about providing group access to common information. The receiver, however, must recover this information. This method is used for a large audience who require access to information for their use.

When your communication is informational, make use of this kind of information. If a receiver does not read your message, it will in no way affect the project. Since information will be accessed only when the need arises, pull communication is known to be the most appropriate kind of communication. Methods of pull communication include posting information on websites, wikis, knowledge repositories, bulletin boards, etc.

A sample pulls communication scenario would be when you have enrolled in one of Simplilearn’s project management courses. You need access to more information about the subject, and you begin to search for relevant information from the Articles/eBooks that are available on our website.

Examples of Pull communication:

Next, let's have a look at the differences between Project Management: Interactive Vs. Push Vs. Pull Communication

Below is a table that describes and compares Interactive Vs. Push Vs. Pull Communication in project management.

	Interactive Communication	Push Communication	Pull Communication
Definition – What it is	Involves one or more people exchanging thoughts and ideas and responding in real-time	Sender to receiver type communication – usually some barrier in between	Providing information that is accessible to all members – but they must retrieve this information
Nature of Communication	Sensitive and urgent	Casual – not so important	Informational purpose - casual
Required Action	Immediate response required	Immediate action not required but once recipient notices message must take some action	No action required
Media to communicate	Video conferences, phones, meetings, etc	Memos, Letters, Emails, Reports, Faxes, etc	websites, knowledge repositories, bulletin boards, etc
Example	An important meeting with stakeholders over a video conference	Sending a mail to the tech team to fix a problem but not receiving an immediate response	Browsing through websites for information

That was all about the differences between Interactive Vs. Push Vs. Pull Communication.

Here are some sample questions you may see on your PMP certification exam.

What term describes the information that is sent to recipients at their request via Web sites, bulletin boards, eLearning, knowledge repositories like blogs, and other means?a. Push communicationsb. Pull communicationsc. Interactive communicationsd. Customer communications
Communication between two or more parties performing multi-directional exchange of information is called ______?a. Interactive communicationb. Pull communicationc. Push communicationd. Multi-directional communication
You need to resolve a workplace conflict involving several members of your project team. Which communication technique is best suited for this?a. Pull Communicationb. E-mailc. Interactive Communication
d. Push Communication

If you are considering working toward your PMP exam, Simplilearn offers a variety of project management courses that will help you pass, including the PMP Certification Training Course. Our PMP training courses are conducted by certified, highly experienced professionals with at least 10 years of experience.

Hope you like the article on Interactive Vs. Push Vs. Pull Communication., in case of doubts please leave a comment below.

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Ensuring that the right people (such as stakeholders, project team members, project sponsors, etc.) get the right information at the right time for project status and to make decisions on projects requires a great deal of planning. Effective distribution of information relies on the selection of the right tools and methods to ensure you reach the people you need to reach in the manner beset suited for them to evaluate and/or make decisions.

Communication Methods

The method to communicate that you select should be based on:

The type of information to be distributed
The audience requirements
The timeline for a required response

Any or all of the following are acceptable methods for distributing project information to stakeholders and other relevant interested parties:

Project team meeting
Individual, one-on-one meetings
Stakeholder meetings
Video conferencing
Conference calls
Email
Portal or project intranet site
Collaborative work management tools

The method you choose is based on your audience, the environment, company policies and/or access to software, the size of the project and other factors.

There are pros and cons to different methods of distributing (communicating) project information. It is important to weigh the pros and cons against availability of certain tools/methods, expectations of the individual being communicated to about the project, expectations around formal or informal communication, the need for formal record keeping, etc.

General Categories of Communication

The three basic general communication categories include:

Face-to-face communications (group or individual meetings)
Hard-copy communications (letters, memorandum, reports)
Electronic communications (email, conference calls, web conferencing)

Face-to-face communications can be either formal or informal, one-on-one or in groups. Face-to-face communication allows more easily for gauging others’ reactions to what you are communicating, which allows you to ensure they are hearing what you intend them to hear and understand what you are saying.

Meetings may be costly if you need to bring individuals in from other states and/or countries to participate. However, it may be a good idea, for global projects, to have at least a face-to-face meeting as a project kickoff and another meeting mid-way through or near the end of the project. To ensure your meetings are productive, be sure to plan for them ahead of time and send to all participants an agenda prior to the meeting. If participants are required to have information with them for the meeting, make sure they know they are expected to be prepared for the meeting.

To ensure an effective meeting, you will need to facilitate it or have someone available who is able to facilitate the meeting. This includes ensuring the agenda is followed and the meeting starts and ends on time. Document the notes from the meeting, including any “to-dos” or decisions made or which need to be made and distribute to all participants as a follow up the meeting. If there are “to-dos” or decisions to be made, include a timeline as agreed to at the meeting.

Hard-copy communications can really be combined with the category of electronic communications. In today’s information age with easy access to computers (in nearly all situations) hard copy reports, if desired, could be followed up with electronic version. You may choose to provide a hard copy status report to an executive if he or she prefers that format of communication, but you would want to retain an electronic version for recordkeeping, along with information about the distribution of the hard copy – such as a copy of the memo to the executive with the attached report.

Given the shortage of time, tight budget controls, the need for project managers to manage multiple projects, and project team members spread out over the country or in different countries, electronic communication methods are quite common. There are various methods of electronic communications and you may deploy a certain method depending on the communication need. For example, email may work best for short, brief updates on project status or to ask a question or get a decision made.

A project portal or intranet site is also a viable method of getting project data out to others and of sharing information via discussion forums or through chats to make decisions or get input. Tools such as Microsoft SharePoint® enable collaborative sharing of documents to make revisions – such as building of a project plan.

If you need to pull a large group together, and a face-to-face meeting is not possible, you may choose to use a collaborative meeting tool, such as GoToMeeting®, or a similar tool, to communicate with the team. Such tools allow for collaboration as video can be an option – if individuals are able to see each other there is a higher likelihood of collaboration. Many such tools also provide white boards and other collaboration options for document sharing, editing, etc. Similar to face-to-face meetings, follow up such meetings with document meetings notes, with “to-dos” or decisions to be made.

Communication Management Plan

Your communications management plan may include any or all of the following information, depending on your project’s needs. (Reference: Project Management Body of Knowledge, 4th Edition, Chapter 10: Project Communications Management, Section 10.2.3)

Stakeholder requirements for communication
Information to be communicated including format and level of detail
Reason for the distribution of the information (e.g., share information, make decisions)
Time frame and frequency of communications
Person responsible for communication of information
Person(s) responsible for authorizing release of confidential information
Methods or tools used to convey information (e.g., email, meetings)

Resources allocated for communicating information including time expectations and budget
Escalation process identifying time frames and management names for escalation of issues that must be resolved at a higher level
Method for updating and refining the communications management plan
Glossary of common terminology
Flow charts depicting information flow in the project including workflows with sequence of authorization, reporting, meeting plans, etc.
Communication constraints if in existence, such as if there are legislation or regulations in effect or company policies

Communication Management Plan Template

The communications management plan template below provides you one template option for your project. You may add or delete fields depending on your specific project needs. Your company may also have specific templates that are used for all projects, regardless of the project size or complexity. The template below has been partially completed to provide you an example.

Project Name:	Office Holiday Party
Project Manager:	John Smith,
Project Sponsor:	Jane Doe, VP of HR,
Date:	October 26, 2009
Objective
The objective of this plan is to identify all communication needs of the Office Holiday Party stakeholders and to ensure the project team is able to carry out a coordinated effort to meet the stakeholders’ varied communication needs. The following is included in this plan: List of stakeholders Stakeholder information requirements Requirements for distributing information Requirements for information gathering and reporting Guidelines for gathering and distributing information Issue escalation Communications plan update Glossary of terms Revision history
Project Stakeholders
Internal Stakeholders
Name	Title	Responsibility	Contact Information
Jane Doe	VP of HR	Project sponsor
Jack Brown	Finance Manager	Project budget control, all financial decisions
External Stakeholders
Name	Title/Organization	Responsibility	Contact Information
Spouses/Children	N/A	None	Through employees
Alison Jackson	Caterer/ABC Catering	Catering of party
Stakeholder Information Requirements
Group/Individual	Information Requirements
Project Sponsor	Detailed Project Plan – by Oct. 30 Bi-weekly status reports Requested changes
Jack Brown	Budget – by Nov. 2 Regular financial reports showing use of budgeted monies Requested budget changes
Requirements for Distributing Information
Communication Component	Due Date	Audience	Responsible Person(s)	Distribution Methods
Project plan	October 30	Project sponsorProject team	Project manager	Email and posted on portal site
Project budget	November 2	Finance managerProject sponsor	Project manager	Email and posted on portal site
Initial communication of holiday party	November 5	All employees	project manager and project sponsor	Email and posted on company intranet
Requirements for Information Gathering and Reporting
Information Input	Person(s) Responsible for Collecting and Reporting	Person(s) Responsible for Submitting Information	Due Date
Change requests	Project team, Project manager	Project manager	When applicable
Project budget status report	Project manager	Project manager	Bi-weekly – first due date is Nov. 20
Guidelines for Gathering and Distributing Information
Storage of Project Information All project documentation must be stored on the project portal site and via hard copy in locked file cabinets for the duration of the project. Upon project completion, only final project documentation – such as final reports, budgets, etc. – may be retained in the project portal site in the archive section and hard copy of final reports kept in the appropriate locked file cabinet. Use of Communication Methods and Technologies Approved communication methods include: Email Paper copy Project portal site Company intranet site See detailed communication methods and technologies document available on company intranet site in knowledge base for further details.
Issue Escalation
The project manager is responsible for managing all project issues which arise and the project team should see the project manager for disputes, issue resolution, problem solving, etc. Issues the project manager cannot resolve will be brought to the attention of the project sponsor for decision making and resolution.
Communications Plan Update
The project manager is responsible for monthly review of the communications plan. Any changes to the communication plan must be approved by the project sponsor.
Glossary of Terms
Term	Definition
Change Requests	Change requests include any deviation from the original project plan, scope, budget, timeline, team members, etc.
Issue	Any problem or dispute which arises in the course of the project and may impact the final outcome of the project.
Revision History
Version Number	Date	Originator	Reason for Change	Approved – Yes/No and Date
1.0 (original)	Oct. 26, 2009	John Smith	N/A – original communications plan	Approved: Yes Oct. 26, 2009

Summary

Bottom line – choose the appropriate method for distributing information for the project based on a number of factors, such as:

The audience with which you are communicating
The environment in which you work – for example, do individuals expect formal or informal communications
Company policies around communications
Size of the project and number of individuals involved, project complexity
Project alignment to organizational goals
Other factors relevant to your project, company, stakeholders, etc.

Please share your experiences with information distribution on projects and communicating with others in the Comments field below. What have you found to be successful? What stories can you share?