ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNDER SIX PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Communication problems are pointed out as one of the main causes of project failures in the literature. Communication in project management has been impacted by the tools of Information Technology. However, how these tools meet the communication and collaboration needs of project teams still needs to be better understood. This paper presents the results of a structured literature review on communication tools and project management based on the classification and analysis of 56 articles. The results show a concentration on the use of the Media Richness and Media Synchronicity theories that characterize the area. Stakeholders recognize the importance of communication to project outcomes, but project managers do not follow or prioritize processes and good communication practices. The knowledge of project leaders in the use of communication media and skills in adapting teams to technologies are success factors for the projects. Social media tools have been little studied to support communication in projects. Through the analysis of the literature, six perspectives emerged on how communication tools are approached in the project management: project communication needs, barriers to communication, media adoption, team communication in specific phases of the project, communication processes and media characteristics. In addition to providing a general characterization of this intellectual production, the study describes the main results of the empirical works and an agenda for future research on communication in project management.

Keywords

• Communication Tools
• Information and Communication Technology
• Social Media
• Project Management
• Literature Review