PMI Government Community of Practice
A Reference Guide to Material from
Reinventing Communication for Successful Projects
based on workshops conducted for PMI UK and APM at
Barclays in Glasgow, Intel in Swindon & ETC Venues in London
25 November - 2 December 2014
by Mark Phillips
© 2014 Mark Phillips | ReinventingCommunication.com
2
Source: ReinventingCommunication.com
3Source: ReinventingCommunication.com
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Communication is 90% of our time.
• Communication is not part of the work we do.
• Communication IS the work we do.
Source: Reinventing Communication
5
Communication Determines Project Outcomes
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
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Does the Communication Environment of Your Organization Impact Project
Performance?
YES
Source: ReinventingCommunication.com | Survey of over 200 participants in a project management webinar, November 2014
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Does Your Organization Have a Good Communication Environment?
NO
Source: ReinventingCommunication.com | Survey of over 200 participants in a project management webinar, November 2014
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– SCOPE: Organizations that are highly effective
communicators meet original project goals 80% of the
time. Minimally effective communicators meet original
project goals 52% of the time.
– SCHEDULE: Organizations that are highly effective
communicators are more likely to deliver projects on time:
71% of the time versus 37%.
– BUDGET: Organizations that are highly effective
communicators are more likely to deliver projects on
budget: 76% of the time versus 48%.
Source: PMI, Pulse of the Profession™ In-Depth Report: The Essential Role of Communications, PMI, 2013
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– FAILURE: 1 out of 5 projects are unsuccessful due to
ineffective communication.
– RISK: Of the US$135 million at risk on every US$1 billion
spent on projects, US$75 million, over 50%, is on the line
because of poor communication.
• A bad communication environment creates mistrust among
people and an unproductive work environment.
• A bad communication reduces an organization’s solution
delivery capabilities.
Sources: PMI “Communication: The Message is Clear”, PMI White Paper, December 2013 | Johnson and Johnson, “Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills, 7th
Edition”, Allyn and Bacon, 2000 | Phillips, “Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Projects”, Gower Publishing, 2014
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The communication
environment determines how
people react when bumps
happen in the project.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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The communication environment
determines what has been
surfaced beforehand and what
will be surfaced now.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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A Bad Communication Environment Leads to
Miscommunication on Framing Assumptions
a leading cause of Nunn-McCurdy Breaches
Source: US DOD, PARCA “2013 Report on the Performance of the US Defense Acquisition System”
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A Bad Communication Environment Leads to
Conflict and Mistrust
Source: Reinventing Communication | “The Cost of Conflict” Mark Phillips, EVM Europe 2013 Symposium Presentation
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Conflict and Mistrust Cost Money and Time
Source: Reinventing Communication | “The Cost of Conflict” Mark Phillips, EVM Europe 2013 Symposium Presentation
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Conflict arising during construction projects costs approximately
$11,000 per incident and 161 (20 days) hours of work time.
Managers spend 30% - 42% of their work time dealing with conflict.
For every hour spent resolving conflict, the average project is set
back 3 hours.
If 30% of the time is spent resolving conflict, that’s roughly 700
hours per year. If every hour sets back a project by 3 hours, that
translates into more than 2,100 hours of schedule delay and cost
per year.
And that increases the more sub-contractors and sub systems you
have in the program.
Sources: "The Cost of Interpersonal Conflict in Construction" Julie L. Brockman, Ph.D., Michigan State University, The Center for Construction Research and Training, December
2012 | Construction Management and Resolution by Peter Fenn and Rod Gamesone | “The Cost of Conflict” Mark Phillips, EVM Europe 2013 Symposium Presentation
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Redefinition of Communication on Projects
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
17Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Projects” Gower 2014
18Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Projects” Gower 2014
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An effective budget spend moves the project forward, not simply
making sure the money reached the recipient’s bank account.
The same is true of communication.
Effective communication moves the project forward. It is not simply
that the communication was understood by the receiver.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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As leaders
it is our job to be aware of the
communication environment
as a constraint, work within it and
seek to create
more effective communication
and a
more effective communication environment.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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Communication impacts
scope, schedule, budget and risk.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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How can we improve communication?
Communication Objects and
Communication Object Elements.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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Communication Objects
Communication Objects are the artifacts generated by the
process of communication. A communication object is more than
the information it is meant to contain; it is made up of numerous
elements, including descriptors of the container itself. This is
much like how an in-person conversation between two people is
made up of non-verbal elements as well as the words in the
conversation. Communication Objects encompass the “non-
verbal” elements of communication and are a reflection of the
design of the communication environment.
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014 & ReinventingCommunication.com/glossary
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Measurable
Communication Actions (MCA)
A Measurable Communication Action (MCA) is a single unit of measurement
of communication in an environment. It provides a means to measure and
integrate multiple communication methods, communication elements and
design decisions into a single unit of measurement. It can be made up of a
single method of communication or multiple methods of communication.
The methods can be added together, giving all methods equal weight, or
different methods can be weighted when combining them into an MCA. The
weighting can reflect variables such as the relative value management places
on each form of communication or the strictness with which communication
design decisions are enforced for each method of communication. It can
reflect the phase of the project or the expected activities for that period of
time. It can be tweaked to increase sensitivity towards one method of
communication over another to facilitate management awareness of
unpredicted behavior.
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014 & ReinventingCommunication.com/glossary
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Communication Evaluation Exercise
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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Where do you spend your
communication time?
Write Down the Top 10
Communication Objects/
Measurable Communication Actions
You Generate
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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Communication Objects
(Specific MCA’s)
© 2014 Mark Phillips
Communication Effectiveness Assessment
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Why Do You Generate It?
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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Communication Objects
You Generate (MCA’s)
Why Do You Generate It?
© 2014 Mark Phillips
Communication Effectiveness Assessment
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Why Do You Generate It?
Is it moving the project forward?
Are these the most important places to
spend your communication time?
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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Communication
Objects You
Generate (MCA’s)
Why Do You
Generate It?
Project Goal
How Important is the
communication to
advancing the
project goals?
(A,B,C,D,E)
[A is most important]
How effective is the
communication in
advancing the
project goals?
(1,3,5,11,21)
[1 is most effective]
© 2014 Mark Phillips
Communication Effectiveness Assessment
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Make all A’s into A1’s.
Focus your time on A1’s.
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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We can improve the effectiveness of our
communication by understanding
Communication Object Elements
and how they impact our communication.
Change the Elements to Improve Communication
Source: Reinventing Communication
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Communication Object Elements
Communication Object elements are the full range
of measurable aspects of a communication object and
are descriptors of a communication object.
They play an important role in how communication
object are used, telling us about the communication
environment and the people in the environment. They
are generated by applying an analytic tool or method to
communication objects.
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014 & ReinventingCommunication.com/glossary
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Elements of Communication Objects
Time of Day
Day of the Week
How Much You Broadcast to an Audience
Is it a Boundary Object?
And more…
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
36Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014, Image used with kind permission of Seth Godin..
37Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014, Image used with kind permission of Seth Godin..
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Slide on amount broadcast
to audience.
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014, Image used with kind permission of Seth Godin.
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Communication
Objects You
Generate (MCA’s)
Time of Day Sent Day of the Week
Sent
How often is this
communication
sent?
© 2014 Mark Phillips
Communication Effectiveness Assessment
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Make Changes to Specific Elements
and Log Effectiveness as of specific
status dates.
Log what works to generate
communication best practices.
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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Communication
Objects You
Generate (MCA’s)
How Important is
the communication
to advancing the
project goals?
(A,B,C,D,E)
How effective is the
communication in
advancing the project
goals?
(1,3,5,11,21)
STATUS DATE
XXXXXX
Change in
Object
Element to
MCA?
How effective is the
communication in
advancing the
project goals?
(1,3,5,11,21)
STATUS DATE
XXXXXX
© 2014 Mark Phillips
Communication Effectiveness Improvement Log
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Create a time phased plan of expected
communication by specific MCA’s.
This is Planned Communication (P COM).
Track Planned Communication (P COM) against
Actual Communication (A COM).
Interpret Communication Variances (COM V).
See reinventingcommunication.com/glossary for definitions.
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
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10
14
18
22
1 2 3 4
Am
ou
nt o
f C
om
mu
nic
ation
(Nu
mb
er
of E
ma
ils)
Planned
Actual
Weeks
At Week 4, Actual is less
than Planned
Communication by 5
emails
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
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From “Reinventing Communication” by Mark Phillips, Gower 2014
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
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Boundary
Objects
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Boundary Object Assessment Exercise
List the different boundary groups on your projects.
Work in groups to discuss their effectiveness and
ways to improve their effectiveness.
What characteristics should they have?
Are they the same objects for each group?
See reinventingcommunication.com/glossary for definitions.
© 2014 Mark Phillips
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Communication Determines Project Outcomes
Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014
49
We talked about impact on
scope, schedule, budget and risk.
Communication impacts
competitive advantage and
long term survivability.
Source: Reinventing Communication
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Improve Communication.
Improve Project Outcomes.
Improve Long Term Survivability.
Source: Reinventing Communication
PMI Government Community of Practice
Companion Material
Related Book Sample on SlideShare http://www.slideshare.net/mpmobile/reinventing-communication-by-
mark-phillips-book-sample-download-34496231
Glossary of Terms http://reinventingcommunication.com/glossary/
Interview Discussing the Conceptshttp://www.project-management-podcast.com/index.php/podcast-
episodes/episode-details/574-episode-282-reinventing-project-
communication
Twitter: #reinventcomms
© 2014 Mark Phillips | ReinventingCommunication.com
PMI Government Community of Practice
reinventingcommunication.com
Questions?
Let’s Connect@markphillipspm
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markphillipspm
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