A key executing process in project management is information distribution. This entails different forms of communication, such as emails and meetings. A common joke in the workforce is "this could have been an email". Although it's a joke, it does capture the fine line between productive meetings and wasting time by being over communicative. Consider two scenarios. In the first, a project manager schedules a myriad of long meetings to ensure everyone is on the page; however, it becomes very challenging to complete tasks in a timely manner. In the other scenario, a project manager prefers to send short emails to communicate and team members have plenty of time to complete tasks. Conversely, this method causes miscommunications and misunderstandings.
Of course, both of these examples are the two extreme scenarios. What is the best way to balance these two alternatives? Do you think it is better to maximize communication, or is it better to maximize time spent working on the projects?
Effective information distribution is a critical component of project management, particularly in how it influences productivity and clarity within a team. Striking the right balance between communication and actual task execution can significantly impact a project's success. In practice, too many meetings can lead to "meeting fatigue," where team members feel overwhelmed and less time is available for actual work, potentially delaying project timelines. Conversely, relying heavily on emails or written communications can lead to misinterpretations or overlooked details, as not all contexts are effectively conveyed through text.
A practical approach involves a mix of scheduled, purpose-driven meetings and concise, well-structured written communications. For example, a project manager could arrange brief weekly meetings to discuss key progress points, obstacles, and updates, ensuring everyone is aligned and has a chance to voice concerns or questions. This could be supplemented by summary emails that recap discussions and outline action items. By using project management tools that allow for tracking discussions, decisions, and responsibilities, teams can reduce the redundancy of information while ensuring clarity. Ultimately, the goal is to facilitate effective communication that supports rather than hinders the completion of tasks.
Asynchronous communication offers an alternative for small weekly meetings where everyone meets up for a status update. Instead of having excessive meetings, projects teams use tools like Slack, Trello, or Asana, to provide status updates without needing real-time attendance, allowing teams to intake update info at their own pace, while maintain transparency. This approach is usually better for smaller teams, where coordination and simpler and members are more independent, however there are still ways to implement asynchronous communication in them. Having designated channels for different updates, have deadlines for response times, and have major discussions happen in live meetings. Has anyone had experience using an asynchronous tool for team communications? Have they helped or introduced new issues?
I think a great approach to fix the potential problems from each extreme side is to incorporate two ways of communicating informational updates. For information that does not require questions and in depth talks, it can just be put into an email. That way it will save everyone's time by not meeting up and dragging out something in an unnecessary way. For information that may arise some questions from working personnel, in person meetings can be utilized to make sure everyone is on the same page. This is more for complex matters. Using an email for complex information could increase the chance of misunderstandings between people in the project. These meetings could be scheduled bi-weekly on the same day so there is a form of consistency. People can keep this bi-weekly meeting time in their schedules as to not create any conflicts with project tasks.
I think it is important to have a balance between time spent on communication and time spent on tasks. Both are just as important and together they build the fundamentals of a successful project. If you do not have enough time spent on communications, there may be errors with completing the tasks. This will lead to time delays and new tasks to fix the errors. If you do not have enough time spent on the tasks, then the project will delay as well. These reasons can lead to a project failing. It does depend on the severity of the delays and errors though.
