About

Poor communication continues to be a major contributor to IT project failure. Timely and proactive project communication is the responsibility of everyone involved in the project. The ability to effectively and efficiently communicate changes, plans, processes, manage expectations etc. are key to a project’s success.

Projects are undertaken in partnership with the business, and this partnership requires effective communication. Project communication for IT Business Analyst will take you through a practical framework and tools to enable you to apply effective communication practices across the project towards a productive and successful outcome.

Outline

Communications Challenges
•   Overview - project communications management
•   The communications challenges inherent to IT and requirements-management
•   The role of the BA as communicator
•   The major issues with project communications and how to tackle them

The Stakeholder Dimensions of BA Communication
•   Segmenting and managing stakeholders for optimal success
-  Communicating upward - senior Executives
-  Communicating across the organisation
-  Communicating within the project
•   Determining the right channels for communicating

How to Approach Communications Planning
•   How to get the right messages, to the right people, at the right time, in the right way, to deliver the right outcome
-  Determining roles and responsibilities of the team
-  Determining which channels will best support your project
-  How to determine what needs to be communicated, to whom, and by whom
-  Developing the right messages
-  Getting the frequency of communication right
-  Developing your project channels: meetings, memos, email, newsletter, intranet, etc.
•   Getting the most out of your project meetings
•   Why it’s important to brand your project collateral
•   How to get noticed – getting visibility of your project’s activities and performance

Achieving Balance in your Communications
•   How to avoid falling into the micromanagement trap
•   Communication paralysis – Over communication
•   Developing and disseminating the right messages
•   Making information timely
•   Developing and maintaining accountability with project team members and stakeholders

Leveraging Communication to Manage Conflicts
•   Creating an environment where project team members and other stakeholders can constructively challenge ideas and behaviour
•   Resolving conflicts inherent to scope-management issues
•   Separating the problems from the people

Expectations Management
•   Successful communications techniques to better manage stakeholder expectations (what they want versus what they’ll get)
•   How to define and communicate the BA value proposition
•   Using measurement to manage risk and stakeholder expectations
•   How to build understanding around the project Charter

Facilitator

Paul Rayner

A change management and communications specialist, Paul is one of a few people practising in this field with a background covering IT, strategic and operational change management, and human resources.

Paul has held senior communications roles with Westpac and Inland Revenue and through his communications consultancy Working Words provides programme communication advice to a range of public and private sector organisations. Paul’s technology experience includes business systems ownership, project management and new technology development, through to managing Westpac’s IT Business Analysis team.

This eclectic background and experience gives Paul an edge in providing pragmatic advice and solutions that work at a programme or project level. A past Membership Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators, Paul is a regular presenter and trainer on both sides of the Tasman, in the areas of shared services engagement, internal communications and change management.

In-house Training