You’re struggling to meet deadlines with your team. How can you improve communication?

Deadlines are a common source of stress and frustration for many teams, especially when working on complex projects that require coordination and collaboration. Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, delays, errors, and conflicts that undermine your team’s performance and morale. How can you improve communication within your team and with other stakeholders to meet your deadlines more effectively? Here are some tips based on the principles of information architecture, the discipline of organizing and structuring information to make it easy to find, understand, and use.

1 Define your goals and scope

Before you start working on any project, you need to have a clear and shared understanding of what you are trying to achieve, why, and how. This means defining your goals, scope, deliverables, and success criteria with your team and your clients or sponsors. You should also agree on the roles and responsibilities of each team member, the timeline and milestones, the budget and resources, and the communication channels and frequency. Having a well-defined project plan and scope statement can help you avoid scope creep, conflicts, and unrealistic expectations.

Add your perspective

Abdalla Nasr

Pharmaceutical Sales Manager
Report contribution
من الأمور التي تساعدني في مثل هذه الأعمال. تحديد خطه زمنيه على أساس واقعي مرن قابل للتحقيق محدد بزمن معين ومتفق عليه . وتقسيم تلك الخطة إلى خطط وخطوات أصغر ومراجعة ماتم إنجازه بشكل دوري وتسجيل النتائج وتقييمها . وتصحيح الخطأ بشكل سريع . وجميع ذلك يتم باستخدام كل الوسائل والتسهيلات المتاحة.

Translated

Like
Scott Allen

UX & Product Design Leader
Report contribution
Every designer and researcher I've worked with never completes a project, they simply run out of time. We all have the desire to keep revising, tweaking, and updating our deliverables until they're perfect. However, that ideal deliverable is always just out of reach. To counter these habits, we have to work towards clearly defined goals and scope. These put a framework and timeline around what we're delivering, and allow us to walk away from the canvas with a sense of completion knowing that we're "done."

Like
Denis Dubowski

Shopify Developer
Report contribution
Bei einem engen Zeitrahmen für ein großes Webprojekt führten wir einen Workshop durch, um Ziele, Umfang, Rollen und Verantwortlichkeiten klar zu definieren. Das Vermeiden von Konflikten und "Scope Creep", das Setzen von Meilensteinen und das Stärken des Teamgefühls waren zentral. Dies führte zu klarer Kommunikation und realistischen Erwartungen gegenüber Stakeholdern, was den Projekterfolg sicherte.

Translated

Like

2 Use visual tools and methods

One of the best ways to communicate complex information and ideas is to use visual tools and methods, such as diagrams, sketches, wireframes, prototypes, or mockups. Visual tools can help you illustrate your concepts, structure your content, show the relationships and dependencies among elements, and solicit feedback from your team and stakeholders. You can use tools like flowcharts, mind maps, sitemaps, or user journeys to map out your processes, workflows, or user scenarios. You can also use tools like wireframes, prototypes, or mockups to show how your design or solution will look and function.

Add your perspective

Scott Allen

UX & Product Design Leader
Report contribution
Not everyone can mentally visualize complex information. As a child in math class, I had to draw word problems out before I was able to solve them. At least half of adults are similar and require visual representations of information in order to understand. Nowadays there are fantastic tools like Miro and Mural that make these visuals easy for everyone to build, but don't be afraid to just pick up a whiteboard marker and start sketching processes, layouts, or diagrams.

Like

3 Document and share your work

Another key aspect of effective communication is to document and share your work regularly and consistently. Documentation can help you capture your decisions, assumptions, rationale, and findings, as well as provide guidance and reference for your team and stakeholders. You should document your research, analysis, design, testing, and evaluation methods and results, as well as any changes or updates to your project plan or scope. You should also share your work with your team and stakeholders frequently and solicit their feedback and input. You can use tools like wikis, blogs, or online platforms to create and store your documentation and share it with others.

Add your perspective

4 Establish feedback loops

Feedback is essential for improving your work and ensuring that it meets the needs and expectations of your team and stakeholders. However, feedback can also be a source of confusion, frustration, or conflict if it is not given or received properly. To establish effective feedback loops, you need to define the purpose and scope of the feedback, choose the appropriate format and timing for it, and give and receive it constructively. For example, consider who are the relevant and qualified people to give feedback, whether you will use written or verbal feedback, formal or informal feedback, positive or negative feedback, specific or general feedback, and be respectful or critical. Additionally, think about when you will ask for feedback and how often.

Add your perspective

Sanchit Gupta

Designer @ Your Company Name Here, Ex-MGM Resorts, Ex-Walmart
Report contribution
Communication is the key. Work with your team, try to understand why deadlines are being missed, it might be something personal, higher expectation, or involvement of other stakeholders. If the issue is addressable, work with relevant parties to address, if the issue is not addressable, empathize with the team and work with your leadership to realign expectations. Bottom line, build confidence with your team that you are on their side, make them comfortable to share their issues with you, while you share your limitations with them. Its a team sport, not individual.

Like

5 Review and revise your work

The final tip for improving your communication and meeting your deadlines is to review and revise your work regularly and systematically. This can help you identify and fix any errors, gaps, inconsistencies, or inefficiencies in your information architecture, design, or solution. Before starting a new task or deliverable, review your project plan and scope to make sure you understand the requirements and expectations. While working on a task or deliverable, review your work-in-progress for quality, accuracy, clarity, and usability. And once you finish a task or deliverable, review your final product to compare it with your goals, scope, and success criteria. By following these steps, you can improve communication within your team and with other stakeholders, as well as increase the chances of meeting deadlines with quality work. Communication is essential for any information architect; it can make or break the success of a project.

Add your perspective

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

You’re struggling to meet deadlines with your team. How can you improve communication?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define your goals and scope

2 Use visual tools and methods

3 Document and share your work

4 Establish feedback loops

5 Review and revise your work

6 Here’s what else to consider

Information Architecture

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Information Architecture

More relevant reading

You’re struggling to meet deadlines with your team. How can you improve communication?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define your goals and scope

2 Use visual tools and methods

3 Document and share your work

4 Establish feedback loops

5 Review and revise your work

6 Here’s what else to consider

Information Architecture

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills