Effective communication for project success

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this review is to look at some of the common mistakes made related to communication within a project and how those mistakes can be avoided. Communication in projects is a critical factor in a project’s success. Many times, project teams forget some basic rules for communicating with their stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach of this paper is to provide a general overview of common themes in the project management literature related to communication within projects.

Findings

While communication failures in projects are caused by many factors, the project team ultimately bears the burden for ensuring successful communication within a project. There are several common causes of communication failures. Thankfully, there are also some simple things that project teams can do to lessen the likelihood of miscommunication.

Research limitations/implications

As this is a general overview, this article only explores the more commonly experienced issues related to project miscommunication.

Originality/value

By observing some relatively easy to remember questions and concerns related to communication, a project team can be more effective in communicating with their project stakeholders. Effective communication will generally lead to better outcomes and, therefore, a higher likelihood for overall project success.

Citation

Frank Cervone, H. (2014), "Effective communication for project success", OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 74-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/OCLC-02-2014-0014