Is email an effective tool in communication in a project? and why?

Hello Joefil,

That is an interesting way of phrasing it.  Email is one of the communication tools in project management but it may not necessarily an effective tool if one is not able to articulate well in the language used in communicating, or one has not yet established a working relationship.

I am a little old-fashion, when a project is at its infancy or when it comes to an important decision making point or an important juncture of a project life-cycle, it pays to meet face to face.  What the email lacks is the ability for one to look the other in the eye, read the body language, listen to the tone of voice or even share a joke.  Once a working relationship has been established and an understanding between the two or more person established, then the email tool takes on a different meaning.  By this I mean that both parties are able to  read between the lines and come an understanding, any further need for clarification would be just a phone call away.

The other thought that comes to mind is an audit trail that email provides and which can be logged into the decision register or reference in the risks/issue register etc.  

May I ask what were your thoughts on this when you posed this question?

I think that emails are an effective way of communication , but an effective way to document the communication 

I think that discussion should be done face to face or by calls then action items & decisions should be dcumneted by mail .

E-mail is formal commuincation effective way in communication for many things to be discussed. In e-mail also have provided with more tools  like we can put reminder. In decision making process should be done in face to face, call etc and shall be documented by e-mail or others report form.