Is it better to design communication management plan just once for all the project in the company and documenting it as a SOP or is it better to have a communication plan that is specific to a particular project.
I would think of for a common communication management plan since that results in saving some time, it saves resources and reduces one of thing in so many things that needs to be completed while doing a Project.
Effective communication is one of the cornerstones for success for a project as well as for an entire organization. I agree that that a generalized communication plan can be made SOP for all projects occurring within the organization. However, depending on the circumstances and potential special needs of the project, a more detailed communication plan may be necessary. For example, if your team is spread across different time zones, it may be necessary to require the team to meet at a specific set time on a periodic basis so they can all touch bases and review the status of a project. Or one could have a scenario where the team is comprised of individuals who speak different languages, it would be then necessary to have a translator review documents and other deliverables to ensure that nothing important is lost in translation.
@ala26 I agree with you on this tactic. I have experienced in my career something similar when departments are given autonomy to create their own policies. I also believe that it is beneficial to have a general communications management strategy and to have it as a part of the SOP. The foundation would be laid and then it can be tailored to suite each individual project.
It seems feasible that an organization geared towards a specific market would have projects that are pretty similar in structure. With that, having an SOP that outlines projects in general would be more beneficial. If on the off chance a project comes about that is totally outside of that scope, amendments can be made and provided to those working on the project.
There can be two communication plans. There should be a high level communication plan for communicating with stakeholders. I would say high level because there would be no need for stakeholders to know every detail of the tasks being performed and communicated among the project management team. Then there will be a second communication plan among the team to communicate completion of steps, questions to clarify steps, request changes and more. I think this plan will be developed by the PM based on his team layout and the schedule of tasks to be completed.
I believe it is better to have particular projects have their own communication plans, as it keeps things organized and specified to a specific project. If a company has many projects and a general SOP, I feel as though there is room for mix ups and confusion. Project details should remain separate from other project details until their information needs to be crossed over/combined.
Understandably, it could make communication easier, but I find it more risky to have problems or confusion arise.
