Communication management ensures that all project communications between the team and stakeholders are effective and support successful outcomes. To manage communication, the project manager must determine communication needs, manage communications, and then monitor and control communications on the project. Determining communication needs is about developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications activities based on the information needs of each stakeholder or group, available organizational assets, and the needs of the project. Managing communications ensures timely and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.
Project managers spend approximately 90% of their time doing this. In waterfall projects, communications planning is done early, based on known stakeholders, and updated when stakeholders change or communications are found to be ineffective. In agile projects, communication and feedback is a vital component.
Customers, team members, and leadership must maintain open lines of communications. Agile works to facilitate this with planned meetings called ceremonies at key intervals.