Abstract
Effective communication in projects is critical in achieving project success within scope,
cost, time and with an acceptable level of quality. The lack thereof or ineffective
communication would result in project failure. Project failure goes beyond an
‘unsuccessful project’, but has an inherent effect on the organisation and the end
customer.
The key objective of the current research is to assess the effectiveness of internal
communication during the development of energy infrastructure projects at Eskom
Transmission and to understand the communication gaps that exist which ultimately
hinder project success. In doing so, the research will answer questions relating to the
key requirements for effective communication in a project environment as well as to
understanding the state of existing project communications processes, which include
key aspects of project stakeholder management, at the power utility. Project
stakeholder management was a subset of the project communications management
knowledge area in earlier editions of the PMBOK® Guide and was seen as a critical area
of project communications that could not be ignored.
The quantitative research methodology was used and the process followed was adapted
from the Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®). An online
survey was used as the data collection tool. The survey results indicated that lack of
effective communication was considered by the vast majority to be a critical factor
contributing to projects being delivered late as well as to the escalation of project costs
due to scope creep. Existing project communications processes, including the processes
of identifying and prioritising stakeholders, did not possess the required levels of
maturity. The best communications medium for stakeholder engagements is not always
defined and the feedback rate of project communications sent or received is also poor.
Project stakeholders the majority of the times do not show active engagement in...
M.Ing. (Engineering Management)