Project spam

Generating internal information overload

This is a true story. Project spam is very rare and totally opposite to very often behavior not propagataing important information around. Imagine project leader sending lot of technical documentation about his project on huge mailing list. Let’s say to 200 recipients. Day after day huge amounts of data are coming, specifications, sheets, proposals, minutes of meetings and etc. 

What happens next? 

First, management not deeply involved asks for exclusion from further communication. Experts from other departments will also avoid mails and will stop to open documents. 

After a while nobody will read project information since they figured out it is not in their domain. Many from mailing list will feel information overload and will suffer from project blindness. Whatever comes from project leader spammer it will be not considered.

What is quite negative project blindness might cause important information to be overlooked and not to be reacted on it. Project leader sent information but responsible persons failed to act. So, it is their mistake and should suffer form consequences for poor performance. But, is it really so?

Project leader (spammer) might make information overload for two reasons, does not understand own project (not a specialist but is a project administrator) or in case of fear of loosing position, buying alibi for own actions and making own promotion as hard worker perception.

What would happen if anybody would send bunch of materials to almost everybody? It would cause total internal information overload in company. That’s why rotten apples need to be recognized and warned for inappropriate behavior.

Of course it is nice to now what happens around and to be part of information flow but what is the point of ingesting so much information if data synthesis is not follow reciprocally data quantity growth.

Related posts, articles and documents:

• Reporting Information Tsunami
• Information System and Decision Making
• Information paradox
• Information Overload - Problems and Solutions