Project management communication tools

Project planners and managers responsible for remote workers and virtual teams need to use project management communication tools that help schedule time. Different tools for project management can help managers consciously schedule time to communicate with team leaders and team members by using various channels. Emails, telephone talks, face-to-face meetings, videoconferences, conference calls, and instant messages are kinds of such channels. Project managers can use these channels to communicate with their teams to ensure that statements of project issues and descriptions of tasks are delivered to team members who send feedback and exchange updates. Examples of frequently used PM tools are email programs, instant messengers, video conferencing software, and modules of complex software solutions for project management. Let’s review each of the mentioned examples.

Email software is one of the most popular communication tools. Project managers and teams can use email clients (like MS Outlook, The Bat) to exchange written messages, review tasks and assignments, and share files. Emailing helps establish a continuous process allowing project participants to have understandable written discussions of project goals, tasks, assignments and schedules. At the same time, using email programs to communicate with project teams can be convenient when messages are required to be delivered immediately.

Perhaps, instant messengers can help. Such tools can be used between project participants as a real time chat to discuss immediate decisions and urgent questions. Instant messengers (Like Google Chat, MS Messengers, Skype) will let project managers keep live conferences with several persons at once. At the same time, instant messengers will not be best for managing tasks and assignments because such communication tools do not allow using to-do lists, schedules and timelines.

Video conferencing software allows earning great achievements in project management, communications and team management. Project participants can arrange video conferences and video calls to discuss current issues and see each other through using web cameras. Such software is one of the most effective tools that can help project teams avoid many project management communication problems and misunderstandings. At the same time, video conferencing software does not allow project participants to achieve project management communication best practices because it is the best tool for arranging conferences and real time video sessions but not for exchanging and tracking tasks.

Project management (PM) software that contains modules will be the best solution for planning and managing communication and collaboration between project teams. For example, VIP Task Manager is a PM program that allows creating tasks, making project assignments, planning working hours, tracking performance, and sharing information. By means of VIP Task Manager you can use templates and checklists to design plans and project schedules. The software features Task Tree that helps you create templates and checklists. It also features Calendar view to develop project schedules and timelines.

Your project team can communicate with each other by exchanging comments on tasks, writing notes to tasks, and attaching files and hyperlinks to tasks. They can use Comments Panel, Notes Panel and Attachments Panel as methods that help maintain group collaboration and establish teamwork.