An evaluation of project communication management in turkish construction sector

Communication within construction projects is a multilayer phenomenon which involves multiple disciplines and multiple organizational levels, also different perspectives and interpretations. Due to the increasing complexity of construction projects, providing effective communication and coordination through the multiple stakeholders and project participants has become a crucial factor for project success. Project organizations are established within the participants that are working together for that specific projects only, for short period of time. Within these temporary organizations; there are various participants as contractors, subcontractors, design offices, consultants, project management offices, etc. who are appointed to the projects. These organizations are short-term and multi-partnered organizations. Because of the mentioned project organization structure, many stakeholders and participants operate in frequently changing sets of relationships. According to international literature, poor communication between project participants, is seen as one of the most important project risks and managerial problems. However, it is impossible that every project participant to know all information about the project. Therefore, information flows to the correct individual / groups, at the right time, in the right format with the right effect, is the main factor of project success. Within the project process, management plans which are aiming to delivery information to the correct individual / groups, at the right time, in the right format with the right effect, also summarize and elaborate stakeholder's needs and expectations are called "Communication Management Plan". The delivery of necessary and right information to the right audience, at the right time, in the right format can be possible with a "Communication Management Plan" which will be established at the beginnings of the projects, also management and supervision of communication according to "Communication Management Plan" afterwards. This study focused on project communication management in Turkish construction sector. Firstly, the value given to the communication by the professionals in the Turkish construction sector has been investigated and also communication perception of professionals is examined. Besides, It was researched that whether "Communication Management Plan" is used in Turkish Construction Projects and how it is used. Lastly, the needs of the "Communication Management Plan" and "Communication Management" principles defined by the PMI standards by the professionals in the Turkish Construction Sector have been analyzed. As a result of the literature survey and field researches, although it is seen that construction sector professionals generally are giving necessary value to the communication and also they are considering that communication is one of the most critical factors for the project success, it is observed that there is no any standard study about communication in the project organizations. It is also seen that "Communication Management Plan" generally is not used for the Turkish construction projects. In addition, it can be said that Turkish construction professional's need of communication management plan and communication management can be clearly seen in consequence of the questions asked in the survey. It is expected that this study will be a guide for the Project Managers, also informing the Turkish construction sector professionals about the importance of project communication and raising their awareness, as well as shed light to the future researches.