Communicating with the project team, stakeholders, clients is always the key to have a successful project. Even if the project is late and over budget, if the communication is constant then the Project Manager will not be the one blamed.

I think it is important to mention that project communication is faced with obstacles, it is not always as easy, and should never be taken for granted. That’s what separates Project Managers from Real Project Managers.

http://www.tablegroup.com/books/dysfunctions/

If people can overcome fear of speaking out by building trust, there’s a much greater chance of these things being addressed.

As it is, I suspect that many people are more concerned with getting through the day or the next promotion to stick their necks out. But perhaps I’m just cynical?

Studying of a number of projects where qualifiable measurements could be reviewed to provide some kind of indicator would be interesting. E.g.

1. how often did the supplier recommend an alternative to a client’s requirement?
2. how often did the client force through their requirement/how often was the supplier’s recommendation used.

If these were studied alongside project budget and other success criteria, could a useful picture be established?