Networked Miscommunication: the Relationship Between Communication Networks, Misunderstandings, and Organizational Performance
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Networked Miscommunication: The Relationship Between Communication Networks, Misunderstandings, and Organizational Performance by John A. Meluso A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Design Science) in the University of Michigan 2020 Doctoral Committee: Professor Jesse Austin-Breneman, Co-Chair Professor Jose Uribe, Co-Chair Professor Scott Page Professor Lynette Shaw John A. Meluso [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8200-8150 © John A. Meluso 2020 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am extremely grateful to all of those who have mentored, supported, and advised me throughout my time at Michigan. A deep and heartfelt thank you to Jesse Austin-Breneman for your support, guidance, and patience with me. I can’t thank you enough for the opportunity and encouragement you’ve given me to study such a diverse set of topics, methods, and disciplines, through the thick and thin. Thank you to Jose Uribe, who warmly ushered me into his world with his never-ending sense of curiosity and support. I would also like to thank Lynette Shaw for giving me a real, proper, and supportive introduction to a world I was haphazardly stumbling around in. And to Scott Page, for your guidance and for inspiring me to strive to make a difference. A great many thanks as well to my lab, Suzanne Chou, Mojtaba Are- zoomand, and Meira Chefitz, for your support, advice, random conversations, and friendship. To Rick Evans, for believing in me, encouraging me to apply to doctoral programs in the first place, and mentoring me wherever on earth we find ourselves. And to my friends both at Michigan and far afield, for your community, love, kindness, and understanding. Finally, thank you to my family. Mom, thank you for always being there for me, especially when I call you at weird hours with whatever random thing I’m feeling or excited about. Anthony and Grace, thank you for being a con- tinued source of inspiration and motivation, because you really are, even when I’m not great about staying in touch. To Cadbury, for all your bunniness, your companionship, your consistency, and for teaching me so much about myself. And thank you, Dad. I know you’re proud of me. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ....................................... ii List of Figures ......................................... vi List of Tables .......................................... vii Abstract ............................................. viii Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................... 1 1.1 Tales of Performance Degradation.........................2 1.2 Mechanisms of Performance Degradation.....................4 1.3 Contribution.....................................6 2 Background ......................................... 7 2.1 Communication...................................7 2.1.1 The Objectivist Approach.........................7 2.1.2 The Intepretivist Approach......................... 10 2.2 Miscommunication................................. 11 2.3 Communication & Miscommunication in Engineering Design........................................ 15 2.4 Research Gap.................................... 17 3 Gaming the System: An Agent-Based Model of Estimation Strategies and their Ef- fects on System Performance ................................ 20 3.1 Abstract....................................... 20 3.2 Introduction..................................... 20 3.3 Related Work.................................... 22 3.3.1 System Engineering Strategies....................... 22 3.3.2 Uncertainty in system engineering..................... 23 3.3.3 Heuristics from the Behavioral Sciences.................. 23 3.3.4 Strategies for Agent-Based Simulations.................. 24 3.3.5 Research Gap................................ 24 3.4 Phase 1: Practitioner Interviews.......................... 24 3.4.1 Methodology................................ 24 3.4.2 Results................................... 25 3.4.3 Qualitative Analysis............................ 26 iii 3.5 Phase 2: Monte Carlo Simulation of an Agent-Based Model........... 28 3.5.1 Model Assumptions............................ 28 3.5.2 Simulation Parameters........................... 31 3.5.3 Results................................... 32 3.6 Discussion...................................... 37 3.7 Conclusion..................................... 38 3.8 Future Work..................................... 39 4 Estimate Uncertainty: Miscommunication About Definitions of Engineering Termi- nology ............................................ 40 4.1 Abstract....................................... 40 4.2 Introduction..................................... 40 4.3 Background..................................... 43 4.3.1 Communication............................... 43 4.3.2 Communication in Engineering Design.................. 44 4.3.3 Miscommunication............................. 45 4.3.4 Parameter Estimation & Uncertainty.................... 45 4.3.5 Research Gaps............................... 46 4.3.6 Study Context............................... 46 4.4 Phase 1: Practitioner Interviews.......................... 47 4.4.1 Interview Methodology........................... 47 4.4.2 Interview Results.............................. 48 4.4.3 Interview Analysis............................. 50 4.5 Phase 2: Practitioner Surveys............................ 54 4.5.1 Survey Methodology............................ 55 4.5.2 Survey Results............................... 55 4.5.3 Survey Analysis.............................. 56 4.6 Discussion...................................... 57 4.7 Conclusion..................................... 58 4.8 Future Work..................................... 59 5 An Agent-Based Model of Miscommunication in Complex System Engineering Or- ganizations .......................................... 60 5.1 Abstract....................................... 60 5.2 Introduction..................................... 60 5.3 Background..................................... 63 5.3.1 Communication & Miscommunication.................. 63 5.3.2 Complex System Modeling Methods................... 63 5.3.3 Design of Experiments........................... 67 5.4 Methodology.................................... 68 5.4.1 System Construction............................ 68 5.4.2 Artifact Construction............................ 68 5.4.3 Engineer Construction........................... 71 5.4.4 Communication & Miscommunication Modeling............. 72 5.4.5 Model Schedule.............................. 73 iv 5.4.6 Model Assessment, Verification, & Validation............... 73 5.4.7 Monte Carlo Simulation.......................... 74 5.4.8 Responses to Critiques........................... 75 5.5 Results........................................ 75 5.6 Analysis....................................... 78 5.6.1 Simulation Requires Sufficiently-Complex Functions........... 78 5.6.2 Ackley Function Revealed Variation.................... 79 5.6.3 Hypothetical Examples: Variation in Practice............... 80 5.6.4 Model Validation.............................. 82 5.7 Discussion...................................... 82 5.8 Conclusion..................................... 84 5.9 Future Work..................................... 84 6 Discussion .......................................... 86 6.1 Summary of Findings................................ 86 6.2 Implications..................................... 87 6.2.1 Opportunities to Improve Communicative Effectiveness......... 87 6.2.2 Cooperative Cultures May Outperform Competitive Cultures....... 89 6.3 Relationship to Existing Theory.......................... 91 6.4 Limitations..................................... 91 7 Conclusion .......................................... 93 Bibliography .......................................... 95 v LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2.1 Terminology definitions................................. 18 2.2 Factor Diagram & Research Gap............................. 19 3.1 Spacecraft development Agent-Based Model information flow diagram........ 29 3.2 Subsystem and system estimate utilities......................... 33 3.3 Subsystem and system estimate uncertainties...................... 34 3.4 Monte Carlo simulation mass displacement histograms................. 36 3.5 Monte Carlo simulation mass displacement mean and variance............. 36 4.1 Estimate definition categories.............................. 50 4.2 Interview and survey estimate definition responses by subsystem, position, and phase. 52 5.1 Undirected network representations........................... 65 5.2 Complex system agent interaction............................ 69 5.3 Selected objective functions............................... 70 5.4 Complex system design convergence.......................... 74 5.5 Estimate definition performance confidence intervals.................. 80 5.6 Ackley function performance.............................. 81 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE 2.1 Terminology of miscommunication........................... 13 3.1 Spacecraft subsystem nomenclature and parameter values............... 29 3.2 Spacecraft subsystem and system results......................... 35 4.1 Estimate definition interview and survey responses................... 51 5.1 Complex system Monte Carlo simulation descriptive statistics............. 76 5.2 Objective function cycle and performance median comparisons............ 77 vii ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I introduce and define the concept of networked miscommunication — un- intentional, aggregated effects of communication practices throughout an organization — and demonstrate