communication channels

The majority of a project manager’s time is spent communicating. The project management environment is dynamic, and when stakeholder preferences or numbers change, so do the channels and demands for communication.

Therefore, you must understand how to calculate the number of communication channels and the communication channel formula.

The Number of Communication Channels in a Project

The number of communication channels in a project shows how complex the communication in the project is. It directly depends on the number of stakeholders. The number of communication channels increases as the number of stakeholders grows.

As seen in the graphic below, the number of communication channels demonstrates how many different ways project stakeholders can communicate with one another.

graph showing number of communication channels

Application of Number of Communication Channels in a Project

The number of communication channels reveals the level of communication complexity. Though it has no significance in smaller projects, project managers need the information to develop a communication management plan for larger projects.

To engage stakeholders, project managers must determine the number of communication channels and create a communication strategy.

Calculating Communication Channels Using Communication Channel Formula

The PMI has mentioned the following communication channels formula in the fifth edition of the PMBOK Guide:

Number of Communication Channels = N x (N – 1)/2

Where N = Number of project stakeholders

However, the sixth and seventh editions of the PMBOK Guide discuss the communication channel; it did not mention the communication channel formula.

Example of Calculating the Communication Channels

Your project has 12 stakeholders, including the project team. Calculate the total number of communication channels for the project.

The number of stakeholders = 12

Now, we can use the communication channel formula to calculate the communication channels.

Number of communication channels = NX(N-1)/2

= 12 (12-1)/2

= 12×11/2

= 66

Note that as the number of stakeholder increase, the amount of communication channels also increases, as shown in the below diagram:

graph showing relation between communication channels number and number of stakeholders

Summary

Project managers are able to engage stakeholders more effectively and create communication strategies thanks to communication channels. Because the number of communication channels increases proportionately with the number of stakeholders, the process of communication will become more difficult and will demand a higher level of attention from those involved in the project.

Fahad Usmani, PMP

I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.