Start with the stakeholder, not the communications channel
Do not begin by listing meetings, emails and reports. Start with the person or group. What do they need to know or decide, and what does the project need from them?
Stakeholder management comes first when you still need to understand a person's position, concerns or involvement. Once you know what needs to happen, the communication plan records the information, format, timing and owner that support it.
What to include in a simple communication plan
Keep recurring communication purposeful
A weekly meeting is only useful if there is a reason for it to exist. If the same update can be read in two minutes, do not automatically turn it into a 30-minute call. Use meetings for discussion, decisions and problems that need people to work through them together.
On the other hand, a difficult decision, disagreement or change in expectations may need a conversation rather than another status email.
Match the detail to the audience
A delivery team may need detailed actions and dependencies. A sponsor may need the position, decisions required, major risks and whether anything threatens the agreed outcome. Users may need to know what is changing, when and what they need to do.
Sending everybody the same update is easy for the project manager but often unhelpful for everyone else.
Include communication around bad news
Your plan should not only cover routine updates. Think about who needs to know quickly if a major milestone slips, a risk becomes an issue, a decision changes or a dependency fails.
Agreeing that route in advance makes it easier to communicate clearly when the project is under pressure.
Review it when the project changes
Communication needs change with the project. A plan created at the start is not something to file away. Update it when stakeholders, decisions, delivery phases or risks change.
Related PMZ guide
Check who needs each communication
Follow your organisation's confidentiality, security and formal reporting requirements where they apply.