Grace PM Excellence AcademyAEC LEAD LLC
Communication Planning

Communication Planning on One Page.

Module 6 · Quick Reference · One Sheet
The big idea

Your work plan already holds your communication plan. Read the effort peaks, the discipline crossings and the client decisions out of it, then put them on a calendar before kickoff.

01Three triggers · what earns a slot on the calendar
Work plan
Where you start
›
01

Work intensity

Where · a phase boundary or a staffing change

Earns a reset of how often you meet, so the cadence stays sized to the work in front of it.

Watch for: one meeting count carried across the whole phase.
›
02

Coordination milestone

Where · a dependency link that crosses 2 disciplines

Earns a working session to resolve the item and to document what was decided.

Watch for: coordination happening by email between the sessions.
›
03

Client decision point

Where · a task that cannot start until your client chooses

Earns a request on the request by date, and a later meeting that closes the decision.

Watch for: a decision requested on the day you need it.
›
Calendar
Every slot earned
02Build it in six steps · everything you need is already in the work planSteps 1 to 3 · read the planSteps 4 to 6 · place the calendar
Read it
Off the work plan
›
01

Plot the effort curve

Mark the weeks where staffing or effort changes the most.

›
02

Mark the crossings

Find every task whose predecessor sits with another discipline.

›
03

Set the decide by dates

Mark every client choice, then date it from the task that waits on it.

›
04

Subtract the latency

Take your client’s answer time off each decide by date.

›
05

Set the density

Choose the minimum frequency you will meet in each zone of the phase.

›
06

Publish the one page plan

Give every touchpoint a date, a length, the people, and one purpose.

›
One page
On the table at kickoff
03Look ahead at the whole phase
04Ask before you need the answer
05Move first

Front of the phase

Decisions get made here

Few sessions, and go deep on each one. Record every decision the day it is made.

Middle of the phase

Effort and overlap peak here

The most sessions. Put a working session on every crossing you marked.

Close of the phase

The work shifts to review

Fewer sessions, and they turn from coordination to review. Protect the review weeks.

Test it on your project

Takes 5 minutes

Count touchpoints in your busiest and quietest month. If the 2 match, you have a calendar.

The calculation
Request by date

Request by date = decide by date − client decision latency

Latency is how long your client takes to answer. Part procedure, part person.

Do this on your project today
Work it backward

Take the next decision your schedule waits on. Write the week the dependent task starts, then subtract your client’s answer time. That week is when you ask.

Get the latency from your last 3 decisions with this client. Working days from ask to answer, longest one wins. Land in a week that has passed and that decision is late now.

Move first · 1 of 2

Get ahead of the work

  • Read the plan before you set a meeting. Crossings are where the work has to talk.
  • Name the routing first. 4 consultants added to 6 takes open channels 15 to 45.
  • Reset the cadence at every phase boundary. One set at kickoff goes stale by the peak.
  • Write the one output on the invitation. If you cannot name it, do not send the invitation.
Move first · 2 of 2

Get ahead of the client

  • Send the choice the day you know. 2 options, a recommendation, and your answer date.
  • Land it 5 working days early. Ahead of any board, council or committee your client faces.
  • Close it or date it. If your client cannot decide in the room, leave with the date they will.
  • Put the decision in writing the same day. A decision nobody wrote down gets made twice.
06Five conversations · each one owes you one output

Giving direction

Owes you a task somebody can start Monday morning. Name the work, the owner, and what done looks like.

Test: could they start without asking again?

Monitoring progress

Owes you a percent complete read against the plan. Ask what is finished, then set it beside the plan.

Test: a number beside the planned number?

Evaluating work

Owes you 1 of only 3 verdicts, in writing, inside the review week: on track, off track, stop.

Test: recorded against the deliverable?

Client communication

Owes you a decision made, or one dated. Bring 2 options, a recommendation, and your answer date.

Test: was it closed, or was it dated?

Maintaining updates

Owes you a record anyone can read without asking. Same day, same place, same format.

Test: could someone not in the room read it?
Remember
Read the plan, place the triggers, subtract the latency, publish the page.Before you send the next invitation, ask one question: what is the one output this conversation owes me?
Grace PM Excellence AcademyCommunication Planning · Quick Reference · 2026