Document number: PGM.PLAN.0004 Version: 4.0

Delivery of Automated Systems for Healthcare (DASH) Program

Communications Management Plan

ATTM 016

PGM.PLAN.0004 – Communications Management Plan Ver.4.0

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. PURPOSE

1.2. SCOPE

1.3. GOALS

1.4. ASSUMPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

1.4.1. Assumptions

1.4.2. Constraints

1.5. PLAN MEASUREMENT

1.6. PLAN MAINTENANCE

2. PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

2.1. STAKEHOLDER CONTACT LIST

2.2. PROJECT TEAM COMMUNICATIONS

2.3. MEDIA CONTACT PROTOCOL

3. INFORMAL COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS

4. FORMAL MEETINGS

4.1. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

4.2. FORMAL MEETING STANDARDS

4.2.1. Agenda

4.2.2. Meeting Facilitation

4.2.3. Meeting Recaps

4.2.4. Attendee Selection

4.2.5. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

4.3. REGULARLY SCHEDULED FORMAL MEETINGS

5. FORMAL PROJECT REPORTS

5.1. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

5.2. REGULARLY SCHEDULED REPORTS

6. GOVERNANCE AND PLAN MAINTENANCE

APPENDIX A GLOSSARY OF TERMS

1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose

The purpose of the Communications Management Plan is to document the communication needs of the project stakeholders and how they will be met. The plan defines the regularly occurring communications used to facilitate the successful completion of the project.

This plan is intended to work in conjunction with other project plans and is subsidiary to the DASH Project Management Plan. Each project/sub-project managed by the DASH Program will customize their communications solution by completing matrices for meetings and reports and by updating the Master Stakeholder List for the new project.

1.2. Scope

This plan addresses the management of DASH project communications, including internal and external, horizontal, and vertical, and formal and informal communications. Any outreach communication about business processes, changes or policy updates will be handled by the framework as described in PGM.PLAN.0013 - DASH Organizational Change Management Plan.

1.3. Goals

Effective communications management seeks to improve the execution of the project in the following ways:

• Provide the right information to the right stakeholders at the right time

• Ensure all project stakeholders understand their involvement in project communications

1.4. Assumptions and Constraints

1.4.1. Assumptions

The following assumptions were made when producing this plan:

• Stakeholders will actively participate in defining communications needs, project communications, and exchange of information

• Project stakeholders have consistent and reliable access to the internet and electronic mail and are trained in its use

1.4.2. Constraints

The following constraints apply to the execution of this plan:

• There are currently no constraints

1.5. Plan Measurement

For communications management to succeed it is necessary to monitor communication effectiveness and adjust in areas that are not as effective as desired. Daily interaction between DASH Program and Vendor management allows frequent informal evaluation of project communications effectiveness.

Depending on the complexity of the communications for each project, other methods may also be used to monitor communications effectiveness. These methods may include lessons learned, survey results, or stakeholder feedback. The ongoing results of this monitoring will be reported and discussed with the individual project managers to determine if corrective actions are necessary.

1.6. Plan Maintenance

The DASH Program Director is the owner of this plan. This is a formally approved document that will continue to evolve during the project. It will be reviewed on a minimum annual basis and updated as needed to reflect current communications requirements and activities address areas identified by process improvement efforts.

2. Project Stakeholders The project stakeholders are comprised of the following groups:

• Project team which consists of personnel assigned to the project by SCDHHS and personnel of the project Vendors and their sub-contractors

• SCDHHS Executive Management

• Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V)

• Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs)

• Medicaid Providers

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

The project team will determine through a series of surveys or dialog what the stakeholder informational needs are for the project. These may include information related to milestones, activities, schedules, issues, deliverables, budget, and training. The results of these needs will be documented in project plans, documents, or deliverables, as deemed necessary or appropriate by the project team. Assessment of informational needs will be an ongoing process.

The project team will review the effectiveness of project communications and the communications management process on an as-needed basis or on a pre-determined cadence set by the project team. If there are any agreed upon changes as a result of the review, this plan will be updated as appropriate.

2.1. Stakeholder Contact List

The DASH Program SharePoint site contains the Stakeholder Contacts List. Stakeholders include all project participants that attend meetings, participate in design sessions, attend training, etc. Communications related information maintained about stakeholders includes:

• Program/Project*

• Name, title, department, and organization

• Phone Number

• Email

• Notes

* to have a new program/project added contact the DASH Program Coordinator

The following functionality is available for the Stakeholder Contacts List:

• Version history for up to 50 changes is available as an action related to the Last Name column

• Standard SharePoint list views are supported

• Standard list filtering is supported and can be used to filter for a specific program/project

• Delete is available but should only be used for stakeholders added in error/duplicates.

To remove a stakeholder from a project, deselect the project but do not delete the stakeholder

• Stakeholder Contacts List is only modifiable by DASH Program staff. Non-DASH staff should contact the SCDHHS Project Manager or the DASH Program Coordinator for update assistance

2.2. Project Team Communications

The project team consists of personnel assigned to the project by SCDHHS, and personnel of the Vendors and their sub-contractors.

The SCDHHS-assigned staff must be able to communicate directly with the Vendors and their sub-contractors so that timely decisions can be made. For example, the DASH Test Manager must be able to communicate directly with the Vendor Test Manager concerning any topics relating to the functionality of the system. Likewise, the Vendor staff must be able to communicate with the SCDHHS-assigned staff to expedite the resolution of questions, action items and issues.

To ensure consistent information flow, the SCDHHS-assigned staff on the project team should be included in all communications initiated by the Vendors or Vendor sub-contractors to other project stakeholders.

Communications requiring immediate response will be handled via email and/or phone calls indicating the timeframe required for response.

2.3. Media Contact Protocol

Given the scope and complexity of the projects managed by DASH Program, it is possible that these projects may receive periodic inquiries from the press and other news media. No project team member should respond to an inquiry from the media. In the event of such an inquiry, the team member contacted will immediately inform the Office of Communications and the DASH Program Director of the attempted inquiry. Unless otherwise directed, team members should not respond to any inquiries from the media.

3. Informal Communications and Reports Informal communications are an important part of this project. Although many ideas, problems, and solutions are discovered this way, such communications are not a replacement for those mandated by formal procedures.

Project members must be careful to inject the outcomes of informal communications into project processes. For example, if informal discussions between project team members uncover a risk to the project, the team members should report the risk in accordance with the Risk Management Plan.

A variety of reports and other project communications will be produced by third parties and delivered in an ad hoc manner. Generally, they will be stored in the Project Repository.

4. Formal Meetings

4.1. Roles and Responsibilities

The following are the specific roles and responsibilities of team members participating in formal meetings. Roles and responsibilities are captured in Table 1.

Table 1: Roles and Responsibilities

Role Responsibility Convener • Reserves meeting location

• Prepares materials, if needed

• Delivers the agenda

• Invites the appropriate attendees

• Communicates any changes to the meeting, including rescheduling

Facilitator • Provides independent assistance and guidance to all meeting attendees

• Plays a non-advocate role or position with the agenda topics or meeting activities

• Suggests the order and structure of the meeting discussions

• Helps the attendees follow the agenda and stay focused on a common task

• Clarifies, summarizes, and tests for consensus or agreement

Scribe • Records and transcribes notes to electronic format

• Stores notes and any accompanying documents in the Project

Repository

• Accepts feedback from the attendees concerning the recap of the meeting

• Resolves any issues with the assistance of the Convener

Invitee/Attendee • Arrives at meetings on time, brings required materials, and prepares to participate as required

• Completes preparation for required participation

• Notifies the Convener for any meeting absences

• Sets mobile phone to silent/vibrate mode or turns mobile phone off during the meeting

4.2. Formal Meeting Standards

4.2.1. Agenda

Designated formal project meetings must have an agenda developed and distributed prior to the meeting time. The agenda must contain the following meeting information:

subject, date of meeting, location, time, individual who is calling the meeting, the facilitator or chairperson, scribe, list of invitees and attendees, objectives and goals of the meeting, any information that should be read prior to the meeting, any information that should be brought to the meeting, agenda topics, and topic presenters. The agenda can be included in the meeting request in lieu of a separate document.

4.2.2. Meeting Facilitation

The meeting agenda should indicate how long the meeting will last. If a critical project decision must be made before a meeting concludes then the agenda should indicate that the meeting will continue until resolution so the attendees now what to expect. For meetings that have a specified start and end time strictly stick to the time allocated on the meeting agenda.

It is the responsibility of the meeting facilitator or chairperson to keep the discussion on topic. Important side discussions should be recognized and, in most cases, scheduled for another meeting; an Action Item is a good place for recording these items.

4.2.3. Meeting Recaps

Designated meetings must have an assigned scribe to record meeting notes (recap). The meeting Convener is responsible for approving meeting documentation. Attendees are responsible for reviewing the recap and informing the issuer of any corrections required. If any correction is disputed by attendees, the Convener will be the final arbiter.

Meeting recaps must be drafted within 3 business days of the meeting unless during the meeting the Convener specifies otherwise. The recaps will be reviewed, approved, and distributed as soon as possible after the draft is complete.

The following information should be recorded and published for all meetings.

• Meeting Title: title or topic of the meeting

• Date: date the meeting was held

• Time: time the meeting started and ended

• Location: place where the meeting was held

• Convener: individual or group who initiated the meeting

• Facilitator: individual who presided or chaired the meeting

• Scribe: individual who is documenting the minutes of the meeting

• Invitees/Attendees: individuals invited or present at the meeting

• Purpose: the objectives and goals of the meeting

• Materials Reviewed: identify any documents or information reviewed during the meeting

• Agenda/Recap: identify the major points of items discussed or presented and any decisions reached

• Action Items: record any activities to be performed, the individual who is responsible for completing the activity, and the target completion date

• Additional Information: identify the date, time, and location of the next meeting if applicable and other meeting related items

The approved template for meeting agenda/recaps can be found on the project SharePoint site at Controlled Documents/Templates (TMPL)/ PGM.TMPL.0011 - Meeting Agenda-Recap Template.docx.

4.2.4. Attendee Selection

Convener should give careful thought to who the attendees are and limit them to those with a specific contribution to the meeting. Meeting invites should be created with “Allow Forwarding” turned off (for instructions on how to restrict forwarding see this How To document: How To - Restrict Forwarding Meetings.docx ). The exception to this rule would be a meeting where invitees are specifically instructed to forward the meeting to other attendees. It is required that meetings between the Vendor and the user community be coordinated through and attended by a member of DASH Program, except as specifically authorized by the DASH Program Manager or designee.

4.2.5. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Formal project meetings are subject to the South Carolina FOIA open meetings requirements.

The full text of the SC Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) can be found at: Code of Laws

- Title 30 - Chapter 4 - Freedom Of Information Act (scstatehouse.gov).

4.3. Regularly Scheduled Formal Meetings

Projects will include a series of regularly scheduled meetings. These meetings will be used to gather and discuss information, plan activities, identify issues and risks, and assign action items.

The agendas for these meetings are typically fixed, and prior notification is handled on a per meeting basis.

It is understood that the IV&V team is invited to and may attend any project meeting. Each project will have a SharePoint meetings calendar. The project meetings calendar should be invited to regularly scheduled formal project meetings.

The project will create a spreadsheet of the regularly scheduled formal meetings for the project named “XXX.REPT.NNN - Project Meeting Inventory.xlsx” (where XXX is the project identifier and NNN is the formal document sequence number). This spreadsheet will be stored in the Project Repository in the Documents/Presentations and Communications/Communications Inventory” folder. To request a new meeting inventory report, the SCDHHS Project Manager will submit an InBox for the creation of a new report document. The approved template for project meetings can be found on the project SharePoint site at Controlled Documents/Templates (TMPL)/PGM.TMPL.0019 – Project Meeting Inventory.xlsx.

https://schhs.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/HIMSP/Shared%20Documents/Project%20Documents/How%20To/How%20To%20-%20Restrict%20Forwarding%20Meetings.docx?d=we403ecfe8d4348ef94cd41b39ab7d11b&csf=1&web=1&e=Dp7GUd https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.php https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.php

Spreadsheet columns include:

• Meeting Name

• Invitees (SCDHHS Project Manager, Vendor Project Manager, Team Leads, etc.)

• Frequency (Ex. Weekly, Monthly, Bi-Weekly, As Needed)

• Expected Duration (30 min, 1 hour, Until Decision Made)

• Purpose (brief purpose for report)

• Location of Meeting Recap (folder in SharePoint where meeting recap is stored)

Sample Meeting Inventory

5. Formal Project Reports

5.1. Roles and Responsibilities

The following are the specific roles and responsibilities of team members contributing to project reports. Roles and responsibilities are captured in Table 2.

Meeting Name Invitees Frequency Expected Duration

Purpose Location of Meeting Recap

Weekly Status Meeting DASH Program Director, DASH Program Manager, SCDHHS PM, Vendor PM, DASH PMO Manager, SCDHHS Functional Leads, Vendor Functional Leads

Weekly 1 hour Documents/Meeting, Status, Metrics, Reporting/SCDHHS - Vendor Weekly Status Meeting

Joint Review Committee (JRC) Meeting

DASH Program Director, DASH Program Manager, SCDHHS PM, Vendor PM, SCDHHS Business Analysts, and other team members as needed

As needed 1 hour Identify requirements and functionality additions and changes

Requirements Subsite:

Documents/JRC/

Risks and Issues Meeting DASH Program Director, DASH Program Manager, SCDHHS PM, Vendor PM, and other team members as needed

Bi-Weekly 1 hour Risk/Issue discovery and review

Project Mgt Subsite:

Documents/Risk and Issue Review Team

Test Strategy Meeting DASH Program Director, DASH Program Manager, SCDHHS PM, DASH Test Manager, DASH Test Lead, Vendor PM, Vendor Test Manager, SCDHHS Business Analysts, and DASH Testers, others as needed.

Once per test phase

2 hours Required for start of each testing phase to level set expectations for upcoming test.

Testing Subsite: Documents/Test Strategy Meetings

Test Checkpoint Meeting DASH Test Manager, DASH Test Lead, Vendor Test Manager

As needed 1 hour Review testing progress, outstanding items, etc.

Documents/Meeting Agendas and Recaps (yyyymmdd - name of meeting)

Other Meetings Variable As needed There will be other meetings that involve project communications

Variable

[PROJECT NAME HERE] MEETINGS

Table 2: Roles and Responsibilities

Role Responsibility

Author • Produces, tracks, secures authorization of, and distributes project reports to Recipients

• Delegates, if necessary, Author responsibilities to other project members

• Prepares and processes feedback received from report Recipients

Contributor • Provides content or supporting information for the published report

Reviewer • Proofreads and validates report content, providing feedback to the Author

Approver • Provides authorization to distribute report to the appropriate Recipients

Note: Approval is performed in accordance with the document management procedures; most reports are approved using the informal method.

Recipient • Uses the report contents to remain informed

• Provides feedback

• Makes decisions, if appropriate

• Guides the performance of project activities

5.2. Regularly Scheduled Reports

Each project will create a spreadsheet of the regularly scheduled reports for the project named “XXX.REPT.NNN - Project Reports Inventory.xlsx” (where XXX is the project identifier and NNN is the formal document sequence number). This spreadsheet will be stored in the Project Repository in the Documents/Presentations and Communications/Communications Inventory” folder. To request a new reports inventory report, the SCDHHS Project Manager will submit an InBox for the creation of a new report documents. The approved template for project meetings can be found on the project SharePoint site at Controlled Documents/Templates (TMPL)/PGM.TMPL.0018 – Project Reports Inventory.xlsx.

Spreadsheet columns include:

• Report Name

• Primary Author(s) (Others may also be contributors but report should have a primary author)

• Audience (Management, Team Members, External groups, etc.)

• Frequency (Ex. Weekly, Monthly, Bi-Weekly, As Needed)

• Purpose (brief purpose for report)

• Repository Location (folder in SharePoint where report is stored)

Sample Report Inventory

6. Governance and Plan Maintenance The DASH Program Director is the owner of this plan and has the ultimate decision-making authority to update and approve the plan. As a part of process improvement (e.g., assessments, lessons learned), this plan and the overall approach will continue to evolve. At a minimum, this plan will be reviewed annually and updated as needed.

Report Name Primary Author(s) Audience Frequency Purpose Repository Location Weekly Status Report SCDHHS PM, DASH PMO

Manager, Vendor PM, SCDHHS Functional Leads, Vendor Functional Leads

SCDHHS/Vendor Management, Other Team Members

Weekly Documents/Meeting, Status, Metrics, Reporting/SCDHHS - Vendor Weekly Status Meeting/

Monthly Status Report DASH Program Director Executive Management

Monthly Provide a summary of project progress to Agency Exectutives

Documents/Meeting, Status, Metrics, Reporting/Status Reports/

Other Reports Variable TBD As Needed There will be other reports that involve project communications

TBD

[PROJECT NAME HERE] REPORTS

Appendix A Glossary of Terms

Term Definition Agenda A written document that contains the following meeting information: title, date of meeting, location, time, individual who called the meeting, the facilitator or chairperson, list of invitees, purpose or goals of the meeting, agenda topics, and topic presenters.

Formal meeting A planned meeting involving project stakeholders with a published agenda and meeting recap.

Informal communication A meeting called extemporaneously to deal with day-to-day project matters.

Organizational Change Management (OCM)

A framework for managing the effect of new business processes, changes in organizational structure or cultural changes within an enterprise.

Project Repository Set of document libraries on the project SharePoint site.

Recap A written summary of the discussion, activities, and actions discussed in a meeting.

Stakeholder Contacts List A list maintained by the project team that contains information on project stakeholders. (DASH Project SharePoint site Stakeholder Contacts List).

4.3. Regularly Scheduled Formal Meetings