🌐Overview

Strong project management keeps your team aligned through consistent, transparent communication. A clear communication plan minimizes confusion, clarifies expectations, and builds trust. This is key for distributed teams and part-time faculty who juggle various roles and responsibilities.

Thoughtful accountability structures aren’t about control; they’re about support. In complex, multi-phase OER projects, delays and detours are inevitable. Resilient projects track progress early, surface issues before they escalate, and respond collaboratively. Accountability supports intentional teamwork grounded in clarity, compassion, and shared purpose.

Create a system to document meeting agendas, decisions, and follow-ups to keep every team member informed and aligned. Use shared folders (Google Drive, Notion, OneDrive, etc.) to centralize communication and provide a reliable record for everyone to reference when questions come up.

✔️ Shared Project Tracking Systems

Tracking systems help project leads see what’s done, what’s pending, and where support is needed. Whether you use a simple Google Sheet or robust platforms like Trello, Notion, or Airtable, the system should include

Clear task breakdowns from the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Start and end dates for tasks.
Assigned roles and leads.
Linked dependencies and milestones.
Status indicators (e.g., not started, in progress, delayed, completed).

Tracking systems also help visualize progress over time. Consider including

Predecessor and Successor Tasks. Identify task dependencies. For example, a task like peer review can’t start until draft writing is done.
Milestone Flags. Mark important checkpoints, such as “First Draft Complete” or “Accessibility Review Passed.” This helps the team stay focused on key goals.
Slack or Float Periods. Build flexible time buffers between tasks to absorb delays without pushing back the timeline.
Embedded Communication Logs. Record major updates or decisions (e.g., revised deadlines, content changes) in the tracker. This ensures transparency and reduce miscommunication.

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✔️ Project Check-In Rhythms

Meeting rhythms provide a regular space for course correction, idea exchange, and morale-building. Here are several patterns to consider

Weekly or biweekly standing check-ins. Good for short timelines or high-intensity work periods.
Milestone check-ins. Focused on key deadlines like the rough draft, accessibility check, and final edits.
Role-specific syncs. For example: accessibility leads check in monthly with the project manager.

In each check-in, include

A quick status update by each contributor.
Timeline reflection—on track, delayed, or ahead?
Open space for blockers or capacity shifts.
Next steps and who owns them.
Assigning a rotating facilitator can also build team ownership.

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✔️ Documented Communication Plans

Accountability lives and dies by communication. Project leads should maintain a shared folder (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) with

Meeting agendas and notes.
Key decisions and rationale.
Email threads or updates.
Version-controlled draft folders.

A simple Communications Plan document helps clarify

Who receives updates, and how often.
Where updates are posted or stored.
How feedback is documented and responded to.

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🛠️Toolkit: The Communication Management Plan template provides a customizable framework for defining your audiences, key messages, timelines, and communication channels. We recommend that project leads draft this plan at the start and revisit it at key milestones to keep it relevant. Even for projects that feel informal, clear communication protocols reduce burnout and support transparency, especially as teams grow or change.

Communication Management Plan (accessible Word Doc)
Communication Management Plan (Google Doc)
Communication Management Plan (PDF)

Additional tracking tools that you might find helpful include

Team Meeting #1 Agenda Sample

Team Agenda Sample (Accessible Word Doc)
Team Agenda Sample (Google Doc)
Team Agenda Sample (PDF)

Individual Workplan Tracking