The effectiveness of communication in software

development project management

Eduardo Miguel Pinto Ferreira
Instituto Superior Técnico - Taguspark
Av. Prof. Dr. Cavaco Silva
2744-016 Porto Salvo
+351 912229137
[email protected]

ABSTRACT In way to enable implement what was planned we have to use

Project management is in our days a complex and high demanding communication, this is not only mandatory, but do it well in an
discipline that brings the need of following standards and assertive and clear way is key. [6]
methodologies. Communication was identified as one of the Due to his evolution, the industry, creates levels of complexity
primary reasons for the success or fail of projects. Plan, manage where the communication is not always easy to understand. The
and standardizing the way how the communications are done in a project manager role is vital to establish how the communication
project is a key factor. is taken and understood, leading to less failures, more innovation
There are several standards and methods for project management, and success on adopting new technologies, improving the quality
for this particularly case, ISO 21500-2012 and PMBOK were the of the delivery and the support in decisions. [6] [7]
most relevant of choice.
1.1 Problem
Communication is the way of sending something from one person In a complex business environment, in the area of information
to another, no matter if it’s verbal or non-verbal. systems, with teams based across different locations is necessary
to work in a unified way and where the communication flows
On an ongoing project, within an organization, has been detected clearly and in an objective way, unfortunately this not always
some problems related with managing and communication. happen due to a wide variety of factors, the company
To surpass the detected problems it was presented a solution that organizational culture, the project manager's way of leading or
consists in redefine the manager role, adopt PMBOK standard and even the unknowing of standards or methods that supports a
implement a communication model based in the model from communication model.
PMBOK A Portuguese company, with several years in the market, working
The proposal was evaluated through interviews at project team on different countries, have detected some problems in an ongoing
members and Moody & Shanks framework enabling assess the project for a financial institution:
solution validity.
 Lack of responsibility for each member of the project team;
Keywords  Internal unknowing of milestones, dates and even project
Projects; management; standards; methods; communication; plan;
PMBOK.  Nonexistent communication between the team members;
 Project documentation not reachable across all members of the
1. INTRODUCTION team.
Planning, strategy and management are important since the We find a problem how the information in the project is passed on
beginning of times. [1] and accessed, resulting in the absence of a well-defined
Nowadays project management involves people and companies communication model that supports knowledge sharing and
from all sectors and activities. Technology is a very important collaboration between the various elements of the project team.
factor, for some companies it's even crucial.
1.2 Problem Goal
Hardware, software, communication and multidisciplinary teams The use of standards and methods in project management allows
changed the work environment of companies, totally. [2] support common forms of work, foresee critical paths and provide
Leveraging business, working as a facilitator or disruptive nature, performance indicators immediately on the status of a project by
the technology is not only for technical teams it is also on the adding a model of communication known to all stakeholders in
board rooms. Companies must have the ability of transformation the project.
themselves and have a great time to response. [3] The objective of this study was:
With that in mind good planning to better execute is very
important. Standards and methods on project management are
needs that a company should suppress with lessons learned as the
result of this process. [4] [5]
 Apply to a project already running, a project management The information systems project management is complex and with
standard, PMBOK, focusing on communication model that many variables. Project management is an essential component of
advocates and evaluate whether there were improvements in software engineering. [11] To be something that takes place in the
the way information is accessed by the various elements of the business environment it has various constraints such as time,
project team. people and costs, which is that there must be a professional
management. [9]
1.3 Problem Scope
The assumption that the general formulation the problem can The project management is the application of knowledge, skills,
theoretically be very complex is therefore necessary to surround it tools and techniques around project activities to meet
and focus on it to make the work feasible and consistent. So to requirements. This application of knowledge requires an effective
carry out the work of this thesis was identified a project that process management. [8]
would serve as an object of study and which would bring together A methodology is a set of practices, techniques, procedures, and
the following conditions: rules used in the context of the work in a given discipline. [8]
Methodologies outline the path and provide the required steps,
 Being in execution;
design, order and timeframe of tasks to undertake to complete the
 Having a project team consisting by more than 3 elements and
work. In theory, the benefit and goal of following specified
more than 2 business units within the company;
methodologies is that it will improve and maximize overall
 Do not have in use any standards in project management; efficiencies.
 Need to redefine the project manager responsibilities;
 Being identified by the company as a project in poor Standard is a document, established by consensus and approved
execution and poor management. by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated
use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their
PMBOK was applied, focusing on Chapter 10 [8], on the project results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order
communication management, as we can see on Figure 1 the in a given context. [12]. It just tells us what to do.
business processes that support him.
There are several methods for project management and standards
such as, P2M, ICB, PRINCE2, APMBOK and SCRUM, [13] but
for this thesis the focus will be only two, ISO 21500: 2012 and the
PMBOK.

2.1.1 ISO 21500:2012 – Guidance on project

management
ISO 21500: 2012 consists of a guideline for project management
and can be used by any organization, there is no domain
restrictions, size or types of project. This international standard
provides a high-level description, on the concepts and processes
that allows to create best practices in project management.
Figure 1 - Project Communication Management Overview [8]
Projects can be grouped in the context of programs and portfolios.
2. RELATED WORK The latter are not part of this standard. [14]
In order to characterize the problem and propose a solution to the Defined as 5 the processes group of a project, Initiating, Planning,
same first we need to study the basic concepts in software Implementation, Monitoring and Closing, as we can see on Figure
development project management: a project, requirements, the 2.
project management and methodology. There are also different
types of methods, some more relevant to the proposed solution
ISO 21500: 2012 and PMBOK.
The definition of communication and what is meant by an
effective and efficient communication model are also themes.

2.1 Project management main references

A project is something that occurs in a temporal space in order to
create something unique as a product, service or result. By having
a timeline that indicates that they have a defined beginning and
end. The end is reached when the requirements to which the
project is proposed were implemented or when they cannot be
satisfied, or because the need that originated the project no longer
exists. [8]
The project requirements can be defined as a high-level
description of the information or for having an existing restriction
on the system [9] or on the other hand a well-defined formal
description of a system function [10]. The latter is the one that
best fits the type of projects that we are working with. Figure 2 - ISO 21500:2012 – Processes group [14]
2.1.2 PMBOK – Project Management Body of Table 2 - ISO 21500: 2012 subjects and PMBOK areas of
Knowledge knowledge
The PMBOK, created by PMI in 1969 in order to serve the ISO 21500: 2012 PMBOK
interests of the project management community is a standard
formalized by ANSI, the version of ANSI / PMI 99-001-2013 [8] Integration Integration
[15] is the one used in this thesis. Scope Scope
The PMBOK is currently in the 5th edition [8] and defines as 5 Time Time
the processes group of a project, Initiating, Planning, Executing,
Monitoring and Control and Closing. Cost Cost
These groups are formed by 47 project management processes and Quality Quality
10 knowledge areas:
Resource Human Resource
 Project Integration Management
 Project Scope Management Communications Communications
 Project Time Management Risk Risk
 Project Cost Management
 Project Quality Management Procurement Procurement
 Project Human Resource Management Stakeholder Stakeholder
 Project Communication Management
 Project Risk Management Integration Integration
 Project Procurement Management
Scope Scope
 Project Stakeholder Management

2.2 Comparison between ISO 21500:2012 and

PBMOK 2.3 Communication in project management
ISO 21500: 2012 and PMBOK are two standards for project Communication is transmitting something from one person to
management and both define as 5 the process group of a project. another, one or more, either verbal or non-verbal, for example,
[14] [8] As we can see on Table 1. body posture or images. [16]

The 10 areas of knowledge that the PMBOK define are in equal Communication was identified as one of the main reasons for
number to the subjects defined by ISO 21500: 2012 and they even success or failure in the execution of a project. An effective
called almost the same with minor change for Resources on ISO communication between the various elements of the project team,
and Human Resources on PMBOK. [14] [8]. As we can see on the project manager and the various external stakeholders is
Table 2. essential. Ensure a form of open communication is part to achieve
a good working team and high performance in work execution. [8]
However, there are differences between this two standards and it It can be understood by open communication the way it
is in structure definition of the phases. ISO 21500:2012 does not communicates in the project, both internally and externally, with
provide a description of the tools used in the process, just what are transparency, assertiveness and with the purpose of reducing the
the inputs and outputs and a brief description of the process. On risk of false information. The information must be complete still
the other side PMBOK beyond the detailed description and the ensuring it is actual and available at the right time. [17] [18]
inputs and outputs of each process define the tools and techniques
to use in the processes. Communication is the glue that keeps a project united and
prevents this from falling apart. [19].
The PMBOK have 47 project management processes and ISO
21500: 2012 have 39. Typically there are five types of information flows in a project,
[20] [21] as we can also see in Figure 3:
 Downward – From the project manager to the team members
Table 1 - ISO 21500:2012 and PMBOK, processes group and typically serves for the manager to pass job details and
ISO 21500: 2012 PMBOK what is to do;
 Upward – From the team members to the project manager.
Initiating Initiating This flow is important to give feedback on how the project is
Planning Planning running, and allow team members feel committed to the
project, to be able to express their views and opinions on the
Implementing Executing implementation of the project;
 Horizontal – Between the various team members. It allows to
Controlling Monitoring and Controlling create team spirit;
Closing Closing  Diagonal – Communication with other units and teams.
Feedback from subject matter experts helping on solving a
problem;
 External – Typically this kind of communication, is held by
the manager, with the outside, with external stakeholders of
the project or possible new actors or other organizations.
 3. PROBLEM ANALYSIS
To better understand the consequences of what poor definition of
the role of the project manager, the lack of adoption of a project
management standard and not setting a communication mode,
causes on a project lifecycle we need, first, of focusing on our
problem, an ongoing project in a business environment.

3.1 Problem context

The work object is a project that is already ongoing in a company
providing consulting services in the area of information systems
and the development of software solutions. With over 25 years of
experience developing solutions to the financial sectors in more
than 60 customers in 8 countries. It is headquartered in Funchal
and with offices in Lisbon, Luanda, Maputo and Praia. With great
focus and experience in banking core systems, where has begun
its development and which currently have a wide range of
solutions from core systems to web and mobile apps.
Figure 3 - Information flow in a project [21]
The company pyramid has a much broader base, with several
units and segregation skills therefore a project team often formed
by elements of 3, 4 or 5 units and subunits.
2.4 The PMBOK communication model
In PMBOK the communication model defined in the Project Not having a team 100% dedicated on project execution makes
Communication Management knowledge area contains processes the project management a very demanding task for the
needed to ensure that timely information is accessible and shared management team. Different agendas, for each unit, with some of
correctly by all those involved in the project. them in clash with the project dates and agreed milestones.
There are 3 defined processes [8]: The software development company follows the traditional
method, the waterfall model [22], that is, there are 6 sequential
 Plan Communications Management – The process of
phases, requirements analysis, system design, software design,
developing an appropriate approach and plan for project
development, testing and acceptance.
communications based on stakeholder’s information needs
and requirements, and available organizational assets. The target project work of this thesis is the implementation of a
 Manage Communications – The process of creating, solution that supports the business process of granting credit, in a
collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving and the ultimate major financial institution in Angola.
disposition of project information in accordance with the
The scope of the project is the implementation of 14 credit
communications management plan.
products in the institution operation portal, using a BPM tool
 Control Communications – The process of monitoring and
integrated with the existing systems.
controlling communications throughout the entire project life
cycle to ensure the information needs of the project The developments are performed in Lisbon and Funchal, with the
stakeholders are met. installation to be carried out through remote connection in Lisbon,
and the support and training being given locally, in Luanda.
Each of these processes are composed by inputs, tools and
techniques and outputs. 3.1.1 Project team
The inputs are information, whether existing artifacts or new ones The project team, during the problem analysis phase, was formed
of the environment where the project unfolds to serve as a starting as follows, 4 units of the company that worked as independent
point for communication processes. companies between themselves, as we can also see in Figure 4.

The tools and techniques are artifacts that act over the project
information.
The outputs are the production of new artifacts or update of
existing ones.
The Communication Management Plan process’s benefit is to
identify and document the most effective and efficient
communication approach with the various project stakeholders.
Effective communication is the one in which the information is
provided in the right format at the right time for the intended
audience and the proper impact. Efficient communication is one
where only the necessary information is provided. [8]
In most projects, the communication planning is done at an early Figure 4 - Project Team (AS-IS)
stage, typically in the definition of the project plan, i.e. to have the
benefits of avoiding problems in the delivery of information and
making timely allocation of resources such as time and budget for
these activities.
 Unit X - Development FX (Funchal) - Unit responsible for
the creation and evolution of the company's products and the
technological parts that development teams in Lisbon can use.
This unit is considered the software development factory and
has about 80 people;
 Unit A – Development LX (Lisbon) - Unit that performs all
custom developments under the scope of projects and
implements technological parts in alignment with unit X.
Composed of sub-teams, they also have some little problems
in communication. It is considered the custom development
unit and contains about 30 people, including skills for
developing integration solutions systems and graphical user
interfaces, both desktop and mobile applications;
 Unit B - Banking Consulting LX (Lisbon) - Unit with the
functional and technical knowledge of bank's central systems.
Highly specialized senior elements, in all day to day banking
operations and their technical components (central systems,
RPG) and with some more junior members. It is the Figure 6 - Communication model in the project
company's consulting unit, with nearly 120 people;
 Unit C - BPM LX (Lisbon) - Unit for processes
implementation on various BPM tools, only have technical There were no meetings with all project team members. The
knowledge. Need help from unit B elements. Unit with 4 various elements participating in the project did not know all the
people. other team members.
Still in problem analysis phase, the project manager was at the As shown in Figure 6 the project manager had the exclusivity of
same time the account manager, i.e., one person had the project relations and communications, which is often verified result in an
management responsibility for the delivery and also the embarrassment to the efficiency and effectiveness of the flow of
commercial responsibilities. Having to keep track of all requests information required between the elements of the project.
made as well the state of the various projects on the client.
There was no kind of internal interaction between the elements of
The total number of elements that made up the team during the the project team, lacking horizontal communication. Only
analysis phase of the problem is not possible to indicate. downward communication exists. [21]
The commitment of the units was not with the project, the 3.1.3 Problem state
commitment was to the work priorities that each had. Did not
With a year and a half after project adjudication and with a year
exists a clear view of the project, scope, dates and customer
delay in delivery compared to the original plan the status of
expectations.
project deliverables was:
3.1.2 Existing communication model  Functional analysis delivered and validated by the customer
With the structure of the project team presented in the previous but without awareness of the various elements of the project,
section the existing communication between the various elements especially the Unit C - BPM LX. Risk of falling with
of team is illustrated in Figure 5. customer expectation or not be possible to implement;
If there was a need were sent individual emails without visibility  GUI development already initiated by the Unit B -
by the project team of what was going on the whole and what was Development Lx due to project manager request but without
the impact it had on the client. reflecting on all what was specified in the functional analysis;
 Nonexistent project plan.
The mails were often sent to the heads of each unit, which have
other responsibilities had no availability and promptness in With all that was described in this section it became necessary:
response, leading to constant delays. Between sending and reply
 Redefine project manager’s role;
to an email could spend weeks, all this within the same company.
 Adopt a project management standard or method;
 Establish a way that communication become more effective to
all project members
3.2 Project manager’s role redefinition
The first step in the proposed solution is to assign the project
manager responsibility to an employee of the company, different
from the one that performs account manager role.

3.3 Project management standard or methods

adoption
The second step in the proposed solution is the adoption of a
project management standard that is accepted by the company
where the project is ongoing.
Figure 5 - Communication Model (AS-IS)
This standard should be well documented and be a reference 4.2 Project management adopted method
between standards and project management methods. It should The implementation of the previous point was required to be able
indicate what to do and what tools and techniques to use to assist to proceed with the adoption of a standard or method in project
the project manager. management.
3.4 Establishment of an effective First was investigated the existence of any ISO standard on
communications model project management. ISO 21500: 2012 was the choice because
The last step in the proposed solution is the uniform and effective indicates how to create the best practices in project management.
way to communicate in the project, the communication model. After the study of the ISO and verify the similarities and
Being an integral part of the standard management adopted in the differences with the PMBOK, with the latter having the definition
previous step, the communication model requires, creation of a of tools and techniques to use as opposed to the ISO and this
communication plan and the implementation of control and being the standard that is recommended by the company's PMO, it
maintenance mechanisms. was decided to apply the PMBOK in project management.
The project manager and the PMO's office are at the center of With the project management standard defined a project kick-off
information and project control. It is project manager's meeting was convened. Until this meeting never the various
responsibility develop not only the organizational structure of the elements involved in the project, with a year and a half of
project but also the plan and the lines of communication that execution had been together in the same meeting room.
support the communication model.
The purpose of this meeting was to clearly define the scope of the
The communication plan should identify [8]: project, the role of each in the project, known limitations and
 Who – are the lines of communication, transmitter, receiver; internally present the work plan to further communicate it to the
customer and get a validation.
 What – is the scope of communication and form;
 When – what is cadence; In addition to the information to be provided was intended that the
 How – what is the format, e.g. mail, electronic documents; various elements involved in the project began to form a project
 Support – create ways of recording, archiving and prevention team, as illustrated in Figure 8.
mechanisms in the event of failure;
The project team, in the implementation phase, has in some
 Feedback – implement understanding confirmation and
moments up to 16 elements assigned.
receipt of the message, documentation validation.
The project manager plays a key role in this field, working as a
4. SOLUTION PROPOSAL AND facilitator for the various elements can perform the necessary
SOLUTION APPLICATION work, communicate in a timely and constructive manner the next
Because it’s a project taking place in the business environment, steps related to the project plan and help create a sense of
the time restriction was high, leading to 3 clearly actions, redefine belonging to the project.
the project manager role, the adoption of PMBOK as the standard
for project management, and implementation of the
communication model defined in this standard.

4.1 The project manager

It was necessary to change responsibilities of stakeholders in the
project before adopting any rule or method of communication.
The project manager who played at the same time account
manager responsibilities began to be focused only on customer
business aspects and project manager functions were taken over
by another person, a company employee who did not have any
liabilities on that client to put concerned project delivery due to
other issues on the agenda. This redefinition of roles it’s
illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 8 - Project Team (TO-BE)

4.3 Implemented communication model

The communication model, the main objective of this work can
only be achieved after the redefinition of the role project manager
and the adoption of a project management standard.
The goal was to create a support for an effective communication
between the various elements of the project team and allow access
to relevant information anytime anywhere.

Figure 7 - Redefining project manager responsibilities

It was necessary to define a communication plan and was was evaluated based on the quality’s criteria of Moody & Shanks
followed PMBOK's Project Communication Management. [8] framework [23].
This PMBOK knowledge area defines three methods for 5.1 Practitioners interviews
implementing a communication management model, each For the evaluation of the work done, interviews were conducted to
consisting of inputs, tools and techniques and outputs. Being the various elements of the project team.
desired end result to have a more effective form of
communication between the various members of the team. The interviews can be divided into three types [24]:

4.3.1 Plan Communicatons Management  Structured interviews – When the researcher has fixed
In this process the goal is to define and create a plan for project questions for every interviewee. The list of questions has a
communications. specific order;
 Semi-structured interviews – When the researcher uses a
Using as inputs, the project plan, the existing stakeholders and the questions and topics guide to be covered;
enterprise environmental factors, it was possible, through tools  Unstructured interviews – When the researcher has a
and techiques, like the analysis of the communication predefined plan, but the control on the interviewee’s answers
requirements, the technology available and meetings create an is minimum.
effective communication plan:
Interviews carried out were the structured type.

 Definition of the periodicity of meeting, internally biweekly, The choice of design team members for interviews was due to the
external and for controlling monthly; fact that virtually all (9) have been present in the problem analysis
phase (AS-IS) and in the implementation phase of the solution
 Site for the sharing of all information, the online repository.
(TO-BE). Table 3 identifies who the project team was
Supported on Microsoft technology, Microsoft SharePoint,
interviewed.
which enables collaboration of the various elements of the
project; Table 3 - Interviewees
 Profiles to access information and information loading Interviewed Unit
responsibilities, only the most senior elements could carry
initial versions, the most junior members could give Information systems architect Unit A
contribution to existing documents; GUI Senior Consultant Unit A
 Definition of communication with the customer, always
through the project manager; GUI Programmer Unit A
 After an external meeting a report for validation by the Integration Senior Consultant Unit A
various stakeholders in the meeting is always sent;
 The emails about the project on the subject should respect Integration Senior Programmer Unit A
the following taxonomy,[Client Country] [Project Name] - Outputs Senior Consultant Unit A
<subject to address>;
 Just treat a subject by mail, except for emails after meetings Senior Consultant Unit B
that had the effect of minutes;
Junior Consultant Unit B
 Team leader's identification, one by each specific area, 1
team leader for BPM, 1 team leader for integration, one team BPM Senior Consultant Unit C
leader for the interfaces and 1 team leader for analysis and
Integration Senior Programmer Unit X
documentation.

5.2 Results evaluation

4.3.2 Manage Communications The evaluation of the obtained results from the interviews was
With this process the concern was to ensure that the information made in statistical form for the communication plan, the project
stored in the repository were updated as much as possible, and manager, and tools.
that the information sent to the client it was the only one he
needed. To evaluate the communication model we rely on Moody &
Shanks framework.
4.3.3 Control Communications
With this process it was possible to control the communication 5.2.1 Communication plan
plan and at the same time carry out his monitoring. Looking to the results we may conclude that the proposed solution
in terms of the communication plan was found positive.
Sending emails to the heads of each unit for decision making
about the project decreased.  100% answered that it is now easier access to the information,
compared with the previous process management (AS-IS);
The number of documents produced in project increased.  What contributed most to the easier access to information,
was the oral communication form (meetings and
5. EVALUATION conversations, with an average of 4.4 on a scale of 1 to 5. In
The evaluation of the results was performed using the statistical second place was the electronic communication form (email
data for the communication plan, the project manager and tools
used in the project. The communication model also questioned, it
 and documents) with 4.2, and finally the visual form (slides)
with 2: 8;
 According to the interviewees the most effective form of
communication model in project management was also the
oral 4.5 on a scale of 1 to 5. In second place was the electronic
communication form (emails and documents) 4, 2 and finally
the visual form (presentations) with 3.1;
 100% of the interviewees believe that now they perceive
better the project scope;
 90% answered yes when asked about the existence of a
feedback policy in the project. The remaining 10% replied
that only sometimes, because the organization is not mature
enough to have multidisciplinary teams;
 Related with the number of artifacts produced in the project
90% of interviewees says it increased and considers it
positive. The remaining 10% consider that declined, referring
to the number of emails exchanged between the teams in the
analysis phase, which was higher, despite the response they Figure 9 - Moody & Shanks Framework evaluation
consider the change as positive as well. results

5.2.2 Project Manager  Flexibility - the ability of the artifact to adapt to new
requirements;
In this section of the questionnaire evaluates the role of the
manager, explained in the implementation of the solution as  Integration - the artifact integration in the organization;
compared to that found in problem analysis:  Understandability - the level of complexity to understand the
artifact;
 90% of the interviewees consider that the role of the previous  Implementability - the effort for the artefact implementation;
project manager was not clear. The other 10% did not  Integrity - the quality that the artefact produces or saves;
participate previously in the project;  Correctness - the compliance of the artifact.
 100% of the interviewees consider that the current role of the
project manager is clear and understandable. The questions were asked to be evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5,
with 1 for quite inefficient, 2 for ineffective, 3 for somewhat
The take on responsibility, the existence of recurrently meetings effective, 4 for effective, and 5 being very effective. This
to follow-up with all team members and exists the concern in how assessment was made without indicating to the interviewees the
the message is passed and understood by all led to the conclusion method we were using. The obtained results are illustrated in
that the current role of the manager project is preferable to the Figure 9.
former.
After analyzing the results obtained from the questionnaires we
5.2.3 Tools can infer that related with Mood & Shanks framework criteria’s
In this section we evaluated if the creation of forms to access the model of communication was:
information has contributed to an improvement in the
communication process of the project.  Completeness - the communication model is quite complete,
allowing when needed full access to information. It is one of
A 100% agreement rate, where all interviewees agreed that the the dimensions best evaluated;
use of new forms of support, such as a single repository for all  Simplicity - the communication model is considered simple to
project information contributed to the improvement. use;
 Flexibility – the communication model is quite flexible,
One of the interviewees when asked if the sharing of information
allowing, for example, maintain a follow-up meetings but
and documentation, in collaboration between the various elements
switching between days or hours without major constraint for
of the project contributed to a better understanding and
project team members. This was one of the best evaluated
monitoring of work to be performed under the project answered
dimensions;
no, for him what contributed was the follow-up meetings. The
remaining interviewees agreed with the question asked.  Integration – after a habituation phase of the various
elements of the project team began to adopt the model of
5.2.4 Communication model effectiveness communication, especially the information repository;
In this section was evaluated the effectiveness of the selected  Understandability – the communication model required a
communication model. The main objective of this thesis. relatively low level of complexity. Possible to the oldest
elements explain the new elements into the project how we
It was chosen Moody & Shanks framework [23] for assessing the were organized and which supporting tools we used;
quality of the produced artifact, the communication model.  Implementability - the effort to implement the
This framework proposes 8 criteria for evaluating the quality: communication model was very low, the mailboxes already
exist, the calendar also, as well as the repository tool, the rest
 Completeness - the artifact has all the information required to was procedural;
support the function of the system;  Integrity - by most of the artifacts produced in the
 Simplicity - the artefact achieved with the minimum possible communication model being electronic and we are using
interactions support the function in the system; updated tools the integrity level of the communication model
is quite high;
  Correctness - the communication model allows information communication. The remaining areas, such as risk or quality
to be available only to those who should access them. For might not even be addressed.
example, the documents to produce, only the more senior
One other limitation were the project team members. Being a
elements may set up thus allowing that the loaded and shared
project with a year and a half running the team is not the same
information have a correct basis. This was the highest ranked
which started making it difficult to make comparisons between
dimension.
the analysis phase of the problem and the phase of solution.
We conclude that the effectiveness of the communication model
achieves very positive results on the criteria of Moody & Shanks Another limitation is the end result, the communication plan,
framework. having just been applied and tested in a single project.

6. CONCLUSIONS 6.2 Future work

The importance of communication in the software development The application of the resulting communication model of this
management project was presented in the related work, showing work to more projects in the same organization and other may be
that others have addressed the issue and it appears to be relevant also future work. This suggestion comes following the feedback
in the project management area, through a real case presented in obtained by the company's PMO office on the execution of
problem analysis and solution proposal and solution application. internal surveys carried out to their employees participating in this
project. For this a survey was made of all employees who reported
We present the limitations of the work and also indicate what may
their hours into the project, in the company's internal control tool.
be the future work on this subject.
Calculating ROI in the communication process as complement to
We began this thesis by pointing out that the project management
the work done by Angela Sinickas [18] is also a possibility for
in a business environment is complex and must follow standards
future work. Measure the cost, e.g. calls, with teams
and methods in order to have more control and be a continuous
geographically dispersed versus after the feedback message, how
improvement process. We mentioned that are useless these
is the clarity in the work being undertaken and the net result of the
standards and methods if you do not know how to communicate.
project compared to the initial estimation of costs. This work
Communication is one of the key factors for success in project
should be carried out with the financial area of the company,
management.
allowing us to understand the impact that communication have,
In the related work we began by identifying references in project not only in people but also in the financial aspect of a project and
management and we found that there are an extensive range of therefore in the company.
methods and standards in this area. Due to its importance for this
With the study of the literature we identify other potential
thesis we have deepened knowledge in the PMBOK and in his
innovation to complements this work such as measuring the
communication model. Communication can have different flows
existing communication in the project using the ICAM, [21] an
and ways to share information. Knowing what flow to use and
original model from New Zealand created through a data mining
when to use is not only an empirical work and involves methods,
tool called Weka [21]. This model uses several machine learning
models and tools and techniques.
algorithms to analyze existing communication flows in the
We define the problem of this thesis, a project taking place in the project, downward, upward, horizontal, and diagonal. It performs
business environment with questions about the management and the measurement of information exchange internally in project
communication. teams allowing further analysis and presentation of results through
graphics
Our proposed solution consisted of three steps:
I) Redefining the role of project manager;
II) Adopt a standard or method for project management; 7. REFERENCES
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