What metrics should you use to monitor your project communication plan?

2 Communication indicators

Once you have your communication goals, you need to identify indicators that will help you track your progress and performance. These indicators are measurable variables that reflect the quality and quantity of your communication outputs and outcomes. They can be divided into two categories: output indicators that measure the deliverables and outputs of your communication plan, such as the number, frequency, type, and format of your communication channels and messages; and outcome indicators, which measure the effects and impacts of your communication plan, such as the level of stakeholder awareness, satisfaction, feedback, and action. To capture the different aspects of your communication plan, it's beneficial to use a mix of quantitative and qualitative indicators.

3 Communication data sources

To collect the data for your communication indicators, you need to determine the data sources that will provide you with reliable and relevant information. Data sources are the methods and tools used to gather and analyze your communication data, which can be divided into primary and secondary. Primary data sources are generated or collected directly from your communication activities, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, and testimonials. Secondary data sources are obtained or accessed indirectly from other sources, such as reports, documents, records, databases, and analytics. Combining primary and secondary data sources can help validate and triangulate your communication data.

4 Communication benchmarks

To evaluate your communication plan, you need to establish benchmarks to compare your actual performance with your expected performance. These benchmarks can come from three sources: baseline benchmarks set at the beginning of your project, target benchmarks set during planning based on communication goals, and industry benchmarks obtained from external sources. By using different types of benchmarks, you can assess your communication strengths and weaknesses.

5 Communication reports

In order to communicate your communication plan, you need to prepare reports that will help you share your findings and recommendations with your stakeholders. Reports can be documents or presentations that summarize and visualize your communication data and analysis. They can have a variety of purposes and formats, such as status reports which provide an update on the progress and performance of your plan, feedback reports which seek out stakeholders' opinions and suggestions, and improvement reports which suggest actions and changes to the plan. You can use various tools and techniques to create and deliver your communication reports.