Information and communication design for multi‐disciplinary multi‐national projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to inform information and communication design for multi‐disciplinary multi‐national projects through the presentation of examples and recommendations based on lessons learned. Design/methodology/approach – Experiences from action research involving field study with 20 organizations, together with survey research involving 30 external experts. Findings – Shared understanding in multi‐disciplinary multi‐national projects can be better enabled through the application of information and communication design. Research limitations/implications – The action research involved only two cases. Practical implications – Project participants need to have shared understandings in order to achieve project objectives. There are formidable inherent barriers to shared understanding in multi‐disciplinary multi‐national projects. Generic methods for the communication of information; such as use of gestures, speaking business English, and application of standard process charting; can be ineffective. Particularly, when inherent challenges are exacerbated by the introduction of new technological and/or business concepts. Information design seeks to improve the effectiveness of information. Communication design is concerned with the selection of media most suitable for carrying particular information to specific audiences/recipients. Originality/value – The originality of the research reported in this paper is that it encompasses: inherent challenges in establishing shared understanding; limitations of generic methods for the communication of information; issues underlying information and communication design; as well as two cases of multi‐disciplinary multi‐national projects. The value of this paper is that it includes practical examples to inform information and communication design by personnel in project businesses. Further, practical recommendations for reducing time and cost are provided. Furthermore, these practical recommendations are related to the challenges highlighted by established theory.