Project Management Fundamentals – Communication is Key

Communication is vital to the outcome of a project, and not taking the time to communicate in an effective way is a very common obstacle/hurdle when managing a project. Starting a proper dialogue with the entire project team, from the very onset of the project can take some of the strain of managing a project and make sure that your project is a successful one.

Communication Starts at the Beginning

Effective communication begins prior to even winning the project. As the Estimator reviews all plans and specifications, they will exchange ideas, provide innovative approaches, identify unique challenges, and develop an efficient concept of how the project will be completed. This is communicated to not only the client in their proposal, but also to the project manager after the job is won. A tremendous amount of positive energy is used during this stage, to develop and effective proposal, however in the time from bid to award to construction, if the wealth of information collected is not communicated onward, it leaves the project venerable to not meeting the estimated budget.

So You’ve Won Your project

After you have won, the communication or “hand off” from Estimator to PM is critical. If only a partial transfer of thoughts and/or ideas occurs, the PM may have to duplicate the efforts of the Estimator and develop his/her own approach to optimizing the project. This can lead to not meeting a project’s budget or schedule, as well as the client’s expectations from the proposal. Not properly communicating with the Estimator from the time you win, will be a major setback, and put your project at a severe disadvantage.

Project Manager to Field Personnel

Equally as crucial to the success of a project is the communications between the PM and field personnel. The field personnel are the individual who implement the proposal written by the Estimator and communicates back the unforeseen obstacles or unexpected setbacks that occur naturally in any project. Having valuable jobsite feedback from project personnel to the PM  as well as to the Estimator completes the effective communication cycle, and allows for continual refinement at each level.

The investment of having thorough and proper communication at each stage of a project and taking the time to properly and effectively communicate that information will make the difference between a good project and a great project.