What Is Communication Management? (continued)
Suppose you want to convince a key stakeholder of the merits of the solution you are building. What medium do you think will be most effective? Will sending an e-mail be enough to convince her? Probably not. E-mail and other written forms are best used to transmit information. To gain commitment from a stakeholder, you usually need to personally connect with him or her one to one or in a group meeting, and secondarily over the telephone.
The medium for each communication link must also be defined. Some communication takes place in weekly status meetings, including face-to-face meetings, electronic meetings, and conference calls. Alternatively, communication could occur as written reports, electronic memos, or e-mailed documents. Internet or intranet posting is another potential communication medium. Project information can be updated and posted online where people who need it can access it at all times.
Your decisions regarding communication will be affected by the geographic location of the team members, the frequency of communication required, and the technology that is available.
If all the team members are in the same location, you might want to consider a team room approach.