GRACE · Module 6 · Communication Planning

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Build the communication plan from the Module 5 work plan. Decide how coordination routes before setting any cadence. Schedule against coordination milestones and client decision points. Set density by phase. Present the result at kickoff.

Build it in seven steps

Plot the effort curve by phase. Use the phasing already in the work plan.
Mark every dependency that crosses a discipline. Each one becomes a coordination milestone with a named output.
Decide how coordination routes. Count the parties who must coordinate directly. Where that count is high, name discipline leads and route exchanges through them before setting any density.
Mark every client choice the schedule depends on. Calculate the decide by date backward from the dependent task.
Subtract client decision latency. The result is the request by date. Put it on the calendar, not the decide by date.
Set touchpoint density by zone. Fewest in the opening, most through the middle, fewer and review heavy at the close.
Name an owner, an audience, and a written output for every touchpoint. Publish on one page.

The three triggers

A touchpoint goes on the calendar for one of these reasons. Nothing else earns a slot.

Trigger	Where to find it	What the touchpoint must produce
Coordination milestone	A dependency link between tasks held by different disciplines	The exchange the next task needs, recorded the same day
Client decision point	Any task that cannot start until the client chooses	A decision, with options and a recommendation presented
Effort step change	A phase boundary or a staffing increase in the work plan	A reset of density, attendance, and reporting depth

Sizing the load before setting the cadence

Count the parties who must coordinate directly, then decide whether they coordinate as a group or through leads. This decision sets how much calendar the project needs.

Channels, everyone coordinating directly = n(n−1)/2

Channels, coordination routed through leads = about n − 1

Parties coordinating directly	Channels held open	Channels if routed through leads	What this means for the calendar
4	6	3	A single weekly session can carry the load
8	28	7	Direct coordination already exceeds what one project manager can schedule
12	66	11	No achievable meeting count covers it. Change the structure, not the cadence

Decide by, request by

Request by date = decide by date − client decision latency

Decide by date = start date of the dependent task − preparation time

Observe latency rather than assume it. Check the last three decisions of similar size with the same client and use the longest.

Decision size	Who is involved on the client side	Plan the latency at
Single point, technical	One named client staff member	Grace to confirm the house benchmark
Cost or scope affecting	Client project manager plus a budget holder	Grace to confirm the house benchmark
Public or governed	A board, a council, or a committee that meets on a fixed cycle	Next scheduled meeting date, plus one cycle for deferral

Three audiences, three jobs

The project team

Needs. The next handoff, the current constraint, and who is waiting on whom.

Cadence. Follows the effort curve. Highest through the middle zone.

Output. A written exchange or a closed question. Not a status summary.

The client

Needs. Decisions framed with options, a recommendation, and a decide by date.

Cadence. Set by decision points, not by a standing invitation.

Output. A decision recorded, or a documented assumption with its risk priced.

The firm

Needs. Margin position, schedule variance, and any decision now overdue.

Cadence. Monthly, aligned to the billing cycle from Module 3.

Output. A position, an exception, and an ask if one is required.

When a decision slips

Choose deliberately and record the choice. Proceeding silently is the only wrong answer.

Option	Use when	Cost to record
Hold the work	The dependent work is large and rework would be expensive	Schedule slip, stated in days, raised the same week
Proceed on a documented assumption	The likely answer is clear and the rework exposure is bounded	The assumption in writing, plus the priced rework risk
Reduce the decision	A smaller choice unblocks the work while the larger one continues	The reduced scope of the decision, confirmed by the client

On a live project

What to do

Read the plan for cross discipline dependencies before setting any meeting.
Name the routing before naming the meetings.
Write a decide by date next to every client choice.
Reset density at every phase boundary.
End every touchpoint with one written output.

What to watch for

The same meeting count in the quietest and busiest months.
A decision requested on the date it is needed.
Coordination happening by email between scheduled sessions.
Review time that appears in the schedule but not in the calendar.

What to avoid

Setting the cadence at kickoff and leaving it untouched.
Answering a rising coordination load by adding meetings alone.
Treating volume of communication as evidence of alignment.
Raising a decision only once it has become an escalation.
Carrying an open decision without a written owner and date.

The one page plan

Touchpoint	Trigger	Audience	Owner	When	Written output
Discipline coordination working session	Coordination milestone	Project team	Project manager	At each cross discipline handoff	Recorded exchange or closed question
Decision review	Client decision point	Client	Project manager	Request by date	Decision or documented assumption
Phase transition reset	Effort step change	Project team	Project manager	Each phase boundary	Revised density and attendance
Firm reporting	Billing cycle	Firm	Project manager	Monthly	Margin, variance, exceptions

Test a cadence against a real effort curve in the Communication Load Curve. Module 7 covers presenting this page at kickoff.