Project Management in Noisy EnvironmentsAlex Dominguez

jadoming@mail.unitec.mx

Universidad Tecnológica de México

Conference at POMS, Boston, May 2006

2

Projects and reactions

A project is an endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result

A project tends to breakdown an established set of rules of how work has been executed in past

A projectgeneratesamong parties

•Commentaries•Opinions•Rumors•Gossips

These expressionsinterfere in thetransmission andunderstanding of messages

3

Project manager communication model (Max Wideman www.maxwideman.com)

Project

Manager

Clients and sponsors

provide direction and

financial support

Project team and providers

require leading, planning

and coordination

Managers, other project

managers, and personnel

require coordination and

support in negotiations

Top managers provide

organizational support

and stimulus

Informal

communication

Formal

communication

Direction and

clarification

Progress

reports

Progress and

prevision reports

Project

guidelines

Organization

policies

Status and

prevision reports

Project

direction

Status

reports

4

Noise in Project Management

Noise is produced

As a result of parties expressions

When certain parties do not receive the corresponding project messages they expect from other parties

When messages received do not correspond to project facts

NOISE compromises the original meaning of messages

Encode

Decode

Encode

Decode

Message

Feedback - Message

Medium

Noise

NoiseSender Receiver

5

Some literature

1. Brenner, R (2002). Responding to Rumors. www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/020424.shtml

2. Brenner, R (2003). There is no Rumor Mill. www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/030326.shtml

3. Burgess, H. and M. Maiese. Rumor Control. www.beyondintractability.org/m/rumor_control.jsp

4. Clements, J. and C. Drake. Dealing with Rumors. www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/stepicom/sld-1681.html.

5. Daniel, M. Rumor Management Strategy. http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/mgm/danielm/Rumor%20Management%20Strategy.htm.

6. DiFonzo, N. and P. Bordia. How Top PR Professionals Handle Hot Air: Types of Corporate Rumors, Their Effects, and Strategies to Manage Them: A study to the Institute for Public Relations. www.instituteforpr.com/pdf/1999_rumor-study.pdf

7. PD Webapge. Rumors/Urban Legends. http://home.att.net/~eccentricstar/cs_rumors.html

8. Yang, S. The Human Communication Process. www.wam.umd.edu/~suyang/Ch%201_Spring05.ppt

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Noise effects in project progress trend

threshold Time

Project

progress

(a) Temporary disruption Project

progress

Time

(b) Change of rate or direction

Time

Project

progress

(c) Displacement

Time

Project

progress

(d) Disruption

threshold

threshold threshold

threshold Time

Project

progress

(a) Temporary disruption

Time

Project

progress

(a) Temporary disruption Project

progress

Time

(b) Change of rate or direction

Time

Project

progress

(c) Displacement

Time

Project

progress

(d) Disruption

threshold

threshold threshold

7

Bandwagon effect produced by noise

About bandwagon effect People often do (or believe)

things because many other people do (or believe) the same

It does not represent the way parties behave individually, but as a group having a random behavior

Consequences on noise It becomes stronger and

more difficult to stop over time

It is random and persistent obscuring or reducing the message's clarity

Time

Project

progress

threshold

overshoots

planned trend

noise

Time

Project

progress

threshold

overshoots

planned trend

noise

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Noise categorization according to noise sources

Type of Noise Source

Environmental

noise

Outside interference that prevents project manager from gaining

project messages

Physiological-

impairment noise

Interference caused by parties’ physical problems that can block

his/her effective sending or receiving of project messages

Syntactical noise Interference caused by parties’ incorrect use of communication

language rules (e.g., grammar)

Psychological

noise

Interference produced by parties’ stress, frustration, irritation, etc.

Intellectual noise Interference caused by parties’ great amount of opinions and

points of view about project messages

Cultural noise

(influence)

Interference produced by parties’ preconceived, unyielding

attitudes due to cultural group belonging. Being “closed-minded”

Organizational

noise (confusion)

Interference caused by the way messages are arranged in order

Semantic noise Interference caused by words meaning, such as project

management or project technical jargon, dialect, etc.

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Noise categorization according to rumor intentions

Type of Noise Intension

Intentional

noise

It is generated to achieve a purpose

Premature

noise

It is an early version of what will eventually become the truth

Malicious

noise

It is generated to damage project manager, some

stakeholders, or to tend relations among them

Outrageous

noise

It is composed of stories so unbelievable that most parties

think they cannot have been made up

Nearly true

noise

It is built around a kernel of truth

“Birthday”

noise

It comes around as regularly as birthdays

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Project manager attention to noise over time

Project time

Project manager

attention to noise High

LowProject time

Project manager

attention to noise High

Low

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What to do: Preventive actions

Anticipate noise

Keepstakeholders informed

Set up a “hotline”communication channel

Anticipate parties’ anxiety

Strive to increase andmaintain trust and credibility

Tailor each communication

Be judicious aboutcommunication openness

Fill voids by complementing andrepeating information given

Monitor possible effects of noise with respect to external events, stakeholder attitudes, and parties´ behavior

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What to do: Corrective actions –Questions to be answered

What type of noise is this?

Is this any truth to it?Does it point to a problemI need to fix?

Is the issue important to stakeholders?Which ones?Why?

Are stakeholders paying attention to noise?What is their response to it?Do they want to hear something from me about it?

Can I provide information that might dispel noise?Do I need to be more open with

information in general?

What is the underlying concern or anxiety

expressed by noise?Can I do anything constructive

to address it?

What is the state of my relationship with parties

influenced by noise?Could/should I do anything to

improve that relationship?

Are there credible third parties who might help

dispel noise?

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What to do: Corrective actions

14

Challenges

Expect to encounter harmful noise during all of the project management phases

Take into account that noise often starts from the very first conception of project

Be alert to the possible negative effects of noise within

Consequences to project and project management

Stakeholder attitudes

Third party behaviors

Formulate a plan to prevent and correct noise

Inhibit noise activity and its associated effects by

Reducing and/or placing bounds upon uncertainty

Reducing belief in noise through effective formal communications

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Constraints

Resources for rapid response to noise are rarely budgeted

This is always certain if project is managed with limit resources

Stakeholders and sponsors pay insufficient attention to communication versus attention to “technical priorities”

Rapid respond to noise is not always possible if project is decentralized

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Questions and some answers