1. Project
Management
in Noisy
Environments
Alex Dominguez
jadoming@mail.unitec.mx
Universidad Tecnológica de México
Conference at POMS, Boston, May 2006

2. 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 project
generates
among parties
•Commentaries
•Opinions
•Rumors
•Gossips
These expressions
interfere in the
transmission and
understanding
of messages

3. 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. 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
Noise
Sender Receiver

5. 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%2
0Strategy.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

6. 6
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. 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

8. 8
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.

9. 9
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

10. 10
Project manager attention to noise over
time
Project time
Project manager
attention to noise
High
Low
Project time
Project manager
attention to noise
High
Low

11. 11
What to do: Preventive actions
Anticipate noise
Keep
stakeholders informed
Set up a “hotline”
communication channel
Anticipate parties’ anxiety
Strive to increase and
maintain trust and credibility
Tailor each communication
Be judicious about
communication openness
Fill voids by complementing and
repeating information given
Monitor possible effects of noise with respect to
external events, stakeholder attitudes, and parties´ behavior

12. 12
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 problem
I 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?

13. 13
What to do: Corrective actions

14. 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

15. 15
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

16. 16
Questions and some answers