Sharing What They Should Know

So, what is project information distribution? Well, its one of the most vital and necessary things when it comes to project management. Project managers must take the responsibility of distributing project related information to the rest of the project team. The need for this is so that the team can be aware of all the project related updates and progress going on so that no one is left in the dark on any possible changes needed or that have been implemented.

Ways Project Information is Distributed to Teams

Now in order for project information to be properly distributed to the entire team, it is imperative that proper means of communication are set up for this task. The mean of communication that is used to distribute this information depends on the  type of information being shared, the audience that is receiving this information, and the timeline in which the information needs to be received so that the audience can respond in a proper amount of time. With this information in question, a project manager can decide amongst three form of communication that will be best effective in their situation: Face-to-Face communication, Hard-Copy communication, and Electronic communication.

With Face-to-Face communication, this style of information distribution can be either formal or informal and it can be one-on-one or it can be with the entire team. With this style of communication, project mangers can more easily gauge the reactions of what is being shared and communicated to the rest of the team. This enables project managers to also be ensure that what is being passed on to the rest of the team is being heard the way it is intended to be, and no misunderstandings can be had when distributing information.

With Hard-Copy communication, this style of information distribution can be combined with the electronic communication from since in today’s digital age hard copies of information can be digitalized and kept as electronic as well. Project mangers can distribute information via hard copies to their team so that the information being given out can be retained and looked back at if necessary, so that team members have a guideline to go from when completing work. With technology being so apparent in our everyday lives now, this hard-copy communication can still be done and then the information distributed that way can be saved digitally without fear of being lost as well as having where and who the information was distributed to be digitalized as well.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Information Distribution

While project information distribution is absolutely necessary when working on a project, there are disadvantages to it as well as the advantages that come with it. Project information being distributed does allow for many improvements to the overall project’s goal and its completion. Project managers can set up agendas and distribute it to the entire team prior to the start of the project. This allows everyone involved to be aware of what is being done in the project, how to do it, and other important aspects of the project that will help limit any possibilities of miscommunication or confusion among the team. Project mangers can also appoint people by giving certain bits of information to certain people so that they can focus on a given aspect of the overall project. This can be very beneficial when it comes to an agile project management style as one of the goals of this management style is to complete a task not only correctly but as efficiently and quickly as possible. By distributing certain pieces of information to a team member, this goal can be achieved.

The advantages to information distribution are great, but the disadvantages can cause harm to the project overall as well if not considered. Thinking about this includes the advantage of appointing individuals on the team with certain information. While it does allow the opportunity to move through the project in a more efficient manner, this information would still have to fall inline with the agile style and be related to the work of everyone else so that no one is rushing ahead of the rest of the team. If someone were to get too far ahead and then changes were needed to be made, this could greatly affect the work that had been done and thus made it no longer useful to the team and a waste of time. Time can also be wasted if an agenda is made at the beginning of the project but not followed as you work on it. This would cause time to be wasted from the very beginning and make the completion of the project more difficult as no plan is being used to guide the team.

In Conclusion…

Project information distribution had its ups and downs, but is absolutely needed in order for a project to be successful in the long run. It helps keep everyone informed and it helps goals be met by all involved in the project’s completion. The main thing to ensure when distributing information is to make sure everyone knows what is going on and what direction is going to be taken. If this is met, then you as a project manager can lead a team to a well done project and can continue to succeed further in future project work.

Work Cited:

Arvind Rongala, Director, Invensis Learning. (2015, August 31). Best Ways to Distribute Project  Information - Invensis Learning Blog. Invensis Learning Blog. https://www.invensislearning.com/blog/best-ways-to-distribute-project-information/

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