Unleashing the Power of
Distributed Intelligence
Beth Rehm, PMP
January 2004
© Copyright 2004, Beth Rehm. All rights reserved.
Beth Rehm, PMP
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20 years experience in Information Technology
Project/program management, process
improvement, software quality assurance, and
leadership
Currently developing a project management
improvement program for SBC Communications
Founder and leader of a project management
Community of Practice at SBC
E-mail: erehm@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 847-458-0401
Part One
Communities of Practice
 What
are they and what is their history?
 Different types of CoPs and why/how they form?
 What value do they add?
Part Two
Case Study: SBC Project Management
Network
 The
evolution of the PMN
 Management, volunteering and technology
 PMN achievements
Part One
Communities of Practice
“Groups of people informally bound together
by shared expertise and passion for a joint
enterprise.”
Etienne C. Wenger & William M. Snyder
As far back as ancient Greece “corporations” of
craftsmen such as metalworkers, potters, and
masons were
common. Members
trained apprentices
and spread
innovations.
 In the Middle ages
artisans in Europe
formed “guilds.”
 Primarily self-employed tradesmen

Individuals From
Multiple Organizations
Company A
Company C
Company B
Within a Single Organization
Group A
Group C
Group B
Typical Organization Structure
CEO
CIO
Software
Development
CFO
Operations
Procurement
COO
Sales
Marketing
Geographical Distribution
Types of CoPs
1. Independent
 self-organizing
 self-governing
 voluntary
2. Sponsored
 initiated,
chartered and supported by management
 expected to produce measurable results
 more formal roles and responsibilities
Characteristics of COPs
Complex, adaptive social systems
 Boundary-spanning
 Informal, self organizing
 Membership is self-selected
 Establish their own leadership
 Set their own agendas

How CoPs add value
Share knowledge
 Provide a forum to solve problems
 Develop and disseminate best practices
 Develop people’s professional skills

Critical Success Factors
Meet a specific need of individuals
 Add value to the business
 Operational support
 Freedom from management interference
 Access to enabling technologies
 Skilled leadership

“Communities of Practice are the next step
in the evolution of the modern, knowledgebased organization.”
American Productivity and Quality Center Report
IBM Global Services
Hewlett Packard
Raytheon
Siemens AG
The World Bank Corporation
Xerox Corporation
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
American Management Systems
Buckman Labs
AT&T
Ford Motor Company
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
SBC Communications
Part Two
Case Study: SBC Project
Management Network
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Company-wide project management CoP
Primary goal is to improve the value of project
management
PMN provides opportunities for networking,
knowledge sharing and professional growth
No cost to members or the company
Evolution of the PMN
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Purpose
Membership growth
Management style and structure
Volunteering
Status
Technology
Purpose
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Initial purpose - to share ideas on how to obtain
free/low cost continuing education
Important output from the first meeting - to create
our own education opportunities and to share
training created in one organization with project
managers in other organizations
Key decision - to expand the purpose of the group
to include educating non-certified project managers
Purpose (cont.)
Additional purpose – networking
 Additional purpose – to promote project
management best practices and standards
 Additional purpose – to encourage project
managers to become certified
 Additional purpose – to promote professional
and ethical behavior by project teams
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Membership Growth
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First conference call 100 certified project
managers (PMPs)
Membership grew to
380 by word of mouth
Expanded to over 1000
members after a
successful publicity
campaign
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Februay
May
November January
Management Style
Initially tried making all members responsible
for decisions by voting
 Found the group responded better to strong
leadership and direction from a single person
 Formed various committees as a way to
organize the volunteers into manageable
teams
 No bylaws or elections
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Management Structure
President
Governance
Committee
Training
Committee
Professional
Practices
Committee
Web Committee
March 2003
Management Structure (cont.)
President
Governance
Committee
Professional
Practices Committee
Communications
Committee
Ethics
Committee
Training Committee
Web Site
Study Groups
Message Board
Seminars
Newsletter
Workshops
Communication
Standards
Panel Discussions
Jan 2004
Volunteering
Many people volunteer in order to learn a new
skill but we require skilled people with
relevant experience
 Approximately 20% of the members volunteer,
but only half of those actively and consistently
contribute
 Set firm expectations for volunteers
 Increased flexibility to join and leave
committees
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Status
Initially invisible to management
 Recognition and support from executives
 Some business units started to rely on the
PMN to provide needed training and
mentoring
 PMN leaders invited to provide expert advice
on various business unit project management
initiatives
 2004 plan to transition from independent to
sponsored – initiated by the PMN
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Technology
Conference call facilities
 Mass e-mail capability
 Web Site
 Microsoft NetMeeting
 Webinar software
 Online message board
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PMN Web Site
PMN Emails
PMN Message Board
PMN 2003 Achievements
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Expanded to over 1000 members and 200 volunteers
Provided 24 training programs and events
Developed and delivered more than 1000 hours of
project management training
2 project management surveys conducted
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Variations in project management definitions across SBC
Survey of Project Offices at SBC
Distributed information about 68 free education events
provide by outside vendors
Inspired management to create several project
management training programs and improvement
initiatives
Questions and Answers
References
Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice: Continuing Success
in Knowledge Management. American Productivity and Quality Center.
2001
Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier. Etienne C.
Wenger and William M. Snyder. Harvard Business Review. Jan-Feb
2000.
Communities of Practice and Organizational Performance. E. L. Lesser
and J. Stork. IBM Systems Journal. 2001.
Building a Case for Communities of Practice: What Makes
Communities of Practice an Economic Imperative? George Pór.
Community Intelligence Labs.