Communication Plan/Message Example

University of Texas at Arlington

Network Switch Refresh Project

This project was a campus-wide network upgrade that replaced aging network switch infrastructure with newer hardware. 

I created a more than one-year-long communication plan for work being done and sent messages to occupants in more than 99 buildings on campus.

I used Trello to host my communication plan and manually sent four messages to building occupants: a notice, reminder, day of reminder and survey.

On this page you can find examples of messages I sent to the Thermal Energy Plant and a link to the Network Switch Refresh project website that I created.

Unforeseen Challenges

The Network Switch Refresh was a significant project that spanned a considerable amount of time. Unforeseen circumstances such as weather issues, missing parts, or late shipments can complicate the original schedule.

In this instance, I needed to inform building occupants about a newly selected time for the work to be conducted.

Why so many messages?

Due to the busy nature of campus life, students, faculty, and staff may easily miss, disregard, or overlook important messages. My project manager and I wanted to prevent complaints from anyone who might be unaware of ongoing work in their building and the resulting internet downtime.

Survey

I created a survey on the Network Switch Refresh using QuestionPro. It was important to gauge how building occupants were affected by the work done so that OIT could better assist them in the future.