COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Project Name	[Insert Project Name]
Stakeholder Name	Engagement Sessions	Status Report	Variance Thresholds	Media
Budget Variance	Duration Variance	Achievement Variance
[Insert Resource Name]	[Indicate the Type of Engagement Session]	[Indicate Frequency of Status Report]	[Indicate if Budget Variance Required]	[Indicate if Duration Variance Required]	[Indicate if Achievement Variance Required]	[Identify Media Type to Distribute Communications]
[Insert Resource Name]	[Indicate the Type of Engagement Session]	[Indicate Frequency of Status Report]	[Indicate if Budget Variance Required]	[Indicate if Duration Variance Required]	[Indicate if Achievement Variance Required]	[Identify Media Type to Distribute Communications]
[Insert Resource Name]	[Indicate the Type of Engagement Session]	[Indicate Frequency of Status Report]	[Indicate if Budget Variance Required]	[Indicate if Duration Variance Required]	[Indicate if Achievement Variance Required]	[Identify Media Type to Distribute Communications]
[Insert Resource Name]	[Indicate the Type of Engagement Session]	[Indicate Frequency of Status Report]	[Indicate if Budget Variance Required]	[Indicate if Duration Variance Required]	[Indicate if Achievement Variance Required]	[Identify Media Type to Distribute Communications]

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN FORM INSTRUCTIONS

The Communications Management Plan details the communication needs of the team members and other stakeholders. It is developed early in the planning stages of the project.

In order to develop this document, the project manager(s) interviews the stakeholders and team members to determine the engagement sessions they require concerning the project and type of information they want to receive as well as the medium they would prefer.

Project Deliverable	Requirements by Project Size
Planning/Development Phase	Large	Medium	Small	Requirements	Approvals
Communications Management Plan	R	R	O	The Communications Plan is required for large and medium scale projects and optional for small scale projects.	Not Applicable

The Communications Management Plan specifies the type of engagement sessions held with stakeholders and project management and which documents, such as change requests, status reports, technical documentation, and updates are distributed to which stakeholders.

It is essential that we know not only the type of information each stakeholder would like, but also the level of detail at which the information is desired. For example, a team member may only want to receive change requests and updates pertaining to a major deliverable that he/she are working on. However, a CFO may be interested in seeing any changes that affect the budget by more than 2%. The Project Manager’s knowledge of these stakeholders’ preferences is key to managing a project where the stakeholders are equipped with the project knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

Stakeholder Name – Specify the name of the Stakeholder who will be receiving the communications.

Engagement Sessions – Specify the type of session the Stakeholder requires, i.e., group meeting, conference call, one-on-one meeting, online conferencing, etc.. The Project Manager(s) will be responsible for scheduling, agendas and minutes.

Status Report – Identify if the Stakeholder would like to receive a status report regarding the project. Indicate either ‘monthly’ or ‘none’. The Project Manager(s) will be responsible for creating the monthly status report.

Variance Thresholds – If the Stakeholder would like to be notified if certain project variances are exceeded, then they need to define the thresholds in advance:

Budget Variance – Identify if the Stakeholder would like to review all Change Requests that pertain to budget variances. Indicate the variance amount, for example, 3% increase or decrease in the budget. Specify the variance amount or ‘none’.

Duration Variance – Identify if the Stakeholder would like to review all Change Requests that pertain to duration variances. Indicate the variance amount, for example 1 week. If the baseline of the project schedule changes by more than 1 week the Stakeholder will review the Change Request. Specify the variance amount or ‘none’.

Achievement Variance – Identify if the Stakeholder would like to review all Change Requests that pertain to achievement variances. Indicate the achievement, ‘MOS’ and/or ‘HLAs’ or ‘none’.

Media – Specify the type of media that the Stakeholder would like to receive the communication, i.e., e-mail, phone, interoffice mail, project folder, etc.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Varian Database Merge Project

Project Name	Varian DB Merge
Stakeholder Name	Engagement Sessions	Status Report	Variance Thresholds	Media
Budget Variance	Duration Variance	Achievement Variance
John Kerrigan	One on One	Weekly	All	All	MOS, HLAs, Tasks	Phone Calls/E-Mails
Steering Committee	Meeting	Quarterly	5K	2 + wks	MOS, HLAs	E-Mail Scheduling
E-Mail	Monthly	Formal Status Reports
Implementation Team	Group Meetings	Once in 2 weeks	1K	1+ wks	MOS, HLAs, Tasks	E-Mail Scheduling
Status Updates	Weekly	Reports/E-Mails
PMO Management	Status Updates	Weekly	1K	2 + wks	MOS, HLAs	Status reports posted in INNOTAS; Project review meetings with Supervisor/Manager