A well-designed building starts with well-designed communication. Project communication protocols define who talks to whom, about what, through which channels, how often, and in what format. Without them, critical decisions get made in hallway conversations that nobody documents, submittals sit in email inboxes for weeks, and RFIs bounce between parties with no clear chain of responsibility.

For the ARE, you need to understand the different types of project communications (formal vs. informal, written vs. verbal, internal vs. external), the standard frequencies for recurring communications (weekly OAC meetings, monthly progress reports, submittal review cycles), and the documentation standards that protect the project team legally and operationally.

The communication plan is the project manager's tool for preventing the chaos that naturally develops when 15 or 20 entities need to share information. Owners, architects, consultants, contractors, subcontractors, and regulatory agencies all operate on different timelines and priorities. The plan establishes protocols at the start of the project and creates accountability for response times, documentation formats, and distribution lists.

Good protocols do three things. They keep information flowing to the right people at the right time. They create a defensible record of decisions and directives. And they prevent the misunderstandings that turn into disputes, claims, and litigation. When conflicts arise months or years later, the quality of the project's communication records often determines who prevails.