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Project Portal
| ### Next Steps Iteration Plan Review |
| Define Communication Plan ( 3 : IPM : 4 : 4.3 ) ( 3 : IT : 2 : 2.5 ) Project Manager
Activity: Define Communication Plan
Project Manager
|  |  |  | Build |  |  |  | Stabilize |  |
|  | Participating Roles Responsible: Project Manager Accountable: Project Manager Consult: Any Informed: All
### Overview A communication plan documents the proposed and agreed upon paths and mechanisms of communication across a project. This needs to be updated at the start of each iteration based on the iteration work group assignments. Everyone on the project should be aware of how to communicate across the project and externally to the wider organization. Communication is a big overhead and can be a big drain on productivity. Hence, it is important to put focus on developing a good communication plan and practicing the discipline of following it. # Entry Criteria Iteration Team Organization Chart Detailed organization structure for the iteration with defined roles and responsibilities. # Sub-Activities
1 | Define Paths of Communication | Detail who communicates with whom on the project. Focus on eliminating project flow noise from the team members actually generating value such as developers, testers, user experience architects, and user education specialists. As much as possible, these team members should be free to work. Within work groups, team members should be free to communicate amongst themselves. This optimizes their ability to get work done. Across work groups and external to the project, communications should be channeled. This is typically done through work group leaders such as lead developers and through roles responsible for project flow such as project managers.
2 | Define Means of Communication | For each channel of communication, define the acceptable means of communication such as face-to-face, instant messaging, e-mail, teleconference, video conference, net meeting, and written documents for review and feedback. Inappropriate means of communication on a defined channel should be flagged as a risk or an issue. For example, if it were decided that all design should be done through a face-to-face meeting, then design which happened through an e-mail thread because team members could not schedule time together would be considered a risk to the project and an issue for resolution.
3 | Publish Communication Plan | Publish the updated iteration communication plan to the project portal.
# Exit Criteria
| A plan describing the channels and means of communication across the iteration team and externally to the wider organization.
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