CONTACTS 
0201 - SRI International
020101 - Mr. Jack Park;
020103 - CALO Project

SUBJECTS
Co-evolution History SDS Development  Snergy POIMS Technology Intell

2303 -
2303 -    ..
2304 - Summary/Objective
2305 -
230501 - Follow up ref SDS 54 0000, ref SDS 53 0000.
230502 -
230503 -
230504 -
230505 -
230506 -
230507 -
230509 -  ..
2306 -
2307 -
2308 - Progress
2309 -
230901 - Co-evolution Synergy Tools Practice SDS Intelligence Support
230902 -
230903 - Follow up ref SDS 54 6A3I.
230904 -
230905 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Gary responding to Jack's letter on
230906 - 070907. ref SDS 54 6A3I
230907 -
230908 -              [...below, Jack responds to Gary's request for ideas on
230909 -              creating another SDS capability. ref SDS 0 9T4R
230910 -
230911 -    1.  A very good assessment of the situation.
230913 -         ..
230914 -    2.  == Discipline and Tools ==
230915 -
230916 -        Indeed, SDS is an example of what Doug Engelbart refers to as
230917 -        the co-evolution of tools and techniques. ref DRT 1 AV57
230919 -         ..
230920 -    3.  SDS started as a replacement for a paper journal that Rod had
230921 -        gotten into the practice of keeping.  Rod's approach changed as
230922 -        the tool improved, and he improved the tool to match his
230923 -        evolving practice.  That continues today. ref DRT 1 ZP6H
230925 -  ..
230926 - History of SDS is reported on 000723. ref SDS 23 0008  Schedule and
230927 - diary are explained. ref SDS 23 CW4G
230929 -  ..
230930 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
230931 -
230932 -    4.  It is clear to me that neither the practice nor the tool is
230933 -        ultimate in any sense.  Both have the distinct advantage of
230934 -        having evolved over a couple decades through direct use by
230935 -        someone interested in the capabilities. ref DRT 1 UP6N
230937 -  ..
230938 - SDS evolved to improve productivity handling daily working information
230939 - for solving problems, i.e., for decision support, using conventional
230940 - tools, and to achieve improvements that came within reach through
230941 - synergy of tools and practice, as Gary notes.
230943 -  ..
230944 - Interest in better management productivity was focused by experience,
230945 - reported on 000723. ref SDS 23 0001  Mere interest is not enough.
230946 - Enabling forces must align people with the right mix of talent and
230947 - time, explained in POIMS.
230949 -  ..
230950 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
230951 -
230952 -    5.  The discipline is based on a cycle of "plan, perform, report"
230953 -        and the 8 steps of communication metrics. ref OF 6 685K,
230954 -        ref DRT 1 FQ7J
230956 -         ..
230957 -    6.  While SDS was evolved to support this discipline, it seems
230958 -        clear that the discipline would be of enormous value no matter
230959 -        what tool was used.  Indeed, without this discipline, SDS is of
230960 -        greatly lessened value. ref DRT 1 LL5O
230962 -  ..
230963 - Generally the discipline of SDS implements practices taught in MBA
230964 - class, presented in books and seminares on good management, explained
230965 - in POIMS.
230966 -
230967 -
230968 -
230969 -
230970 -
2310 -

SUBJECTS
Framework Candidate Technologies Gary Asks Jack for Clues to Build A

4403 -
440401 -  ..
440402 - Request Guidance on Tools Support Critical Mass SDS Capabilities
440403 -
440404 -
440405 -    7.  == Candidate Frameworks ==
440406 -
440407 -        I would be very interested in candidate frameworks.  I haven't
440408 -        found any with what I consider a critical mass of elements.
440409 -        Any frameworks with any of the elements is worthy of study in
440410 -        hope that a combination of features can be made to provide
440411 -        desired support, ref DRT 1 AV63
440412 -
440413 -              [...below, Jack lists some "frameworks" for building
440414 -              another SDS capability. ref SDS 0 9T4R
440415 -
440416 -        1.  Chronology.  Date-indexed storage - being able to locate
440417 -            material by dates.  Gelernter's LifeStreams had that but
440418 -            not much else.
440420 -             ..
440421 -        2.  Context.  A topic system.  Subject Maps with sets of
440422 -            records as instances with support for intersections of
440423 -            multiple topics (SDS is weak on intersections).  Even clean
440424 -            (key, value) tagging would help. ref DRT 1 AV6J
440426 -             ..
440427 -        3.  Connection.  The ability to hyperlink at a granular level.
440428 -            Purple Wiki supported this nicely. ref DRT 1 AV69
440430 -         ..
440431 -    8.  These are the cornerstones of the SDS approach.  Other useful
440432 -        elements have been added.
440433 -
440434 -              [...below, homilies describe SDS and combine to leverage
440435 -              complexities of human intelligence. ref SDS 0 OF3F
440436 -
440437 -        1.  Contacts.  We often reference events by the people who were
440438 -            there or information based on who we learned it from.
440439 -            ref DRT 1 AW3S
440441 -             ..
440442 -        2.  Schedule. This is chronology extended into the future.
440443 -            ref DRT 1 PO4O
440445 -             ..
440446 -        3.  Action Items.  This is context carried into the future for
440447 -            planning. ref DRT 1 YO5G
440449 -             ..
440450 -        4.  Structured editing.  The basic record is an outline with
440451 -            anchors on the paragraphs. ref DRT 1 4Q4G
440453 -         ..
440454 -    9.  It is clearly possible to envision and therefore develop a tool
440455 -        that supports the discipline behind SDS while not being SDS.
440456 -        While there are numerous subtleties in SDS as it has evolved
440457 -        over time, building a tool that can be used to continue the
440458 -        co-evolution of tool and discipline is clearly doable -- it is
440459 -        the logistics that hamper, as always. ref DRT 1 4Q5L
440461 -  ..
440462 - Envisioning tools to support the discipline aided by SDS has proved
440463 - difficult.
440465 -  ..
440466 - Subconscious mental processing drives intelligence.  Mentalease
440467 - converts information into knowledge on "automatic pilot," and
440468 - therefore escapes study to grasp the difference between information
440469 - and knowledge, shown by case study on 020608. ref SDS 37 CC6J
440470 - Intelligence that makes "assumption" fast and easy seems "free."
440471 - Front-end investment of time and expense to capture the record and
440472 - "connect the dots" for understanding cause and effect therefore seems
440473 - like unnecessary overkill, explained in NWO. ref OF 13 ZQ6K  However,
440474 - people pay a price for mistakes relying on assumptions from first
440475 - impressions. see POIMS, ref OF 4 6J9J
440477 -  ..
440478 - Developing SDS-type support for knowledge/intelligence/Communication
440479 - Metrics to improve management has proved difficult, shown by Jack Park
440480 - advising on 011003 that years of research have not yielded any clues.
440481 - ref SDS 34 O74L  Case study at that time showed many well funded
440482 - projects have failed. ref SDS 34 QX8Q  Follow up study 2 years later
440483 - on 020608 seems to support the same point. ref SDS 37 QV5G
440485 -  ..
440486 - For example, on 950927 Intel gave up on the goal for technology to aid
440487 - management. ref SDS 8 7732
440489 -  ..
440490 - After the meeting in Las Vegas on 941114, ref SDS 3 0001, IBM tried
440491 - to convert Lotus Notes into SDS-type support, reported on 950607.
440492 - ref SDS 7 6006
440494 -  ..
440495 - On 001130 IBM gave up because engineers could not agree on what
440496 - knowledge means, i.e., scope and functions beyond wordprocessing,
440497 - calendars, spreadsheets, pictures, contacts already available with
440498 - Lotus Notes. ref SDS 27 F26K
440500 -  ..
440501 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440502 -
440503 -   10.  Where do we get the time, energy, and skill set to devote to
440504 -        the effort, and enough interested people to help evolve the
440505 -        result?  The Blue Oxen folk started out well, and some
440506 -        interesting things came out of that effort, but most of those
440507 -        are now stagnant.  Continuing evolution (possibly involving
440508 -        starting over a few times) could well have produced results.
440509 -        ref DRT 1 KW6I
440511 -  ..
440512 - Eugene's work with explicit links, and Jack's work with CALO and Iris
440513 - can be aided by applying those tools to perform daily work.  Their
440514 - work product in email has no connections to prior work to provide
440515 - context, expand span of attention, and verify accuracy of
440516 - representations.
440517 -
440519 -  ..
440520 - Framework Requested to Build Technology Like SDS
440521 -
440522 -
440523 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440524 -
440525 -   11.  It seems to me that SDS and Rod's work provide a rich data
440526 -        source on things that have been tried, why they were tried, and
440527 -        whether they worked or not.  I really want to see a tool with
440528 -        the majority of the capabilities of SDS built in a way that it
440529 -        can be more easily experimented with and evolved.  From a
440530 -        technology perspective it's a large but not insurmountable
440531 -        problem.  Such a project could be started from any available
440532 -        framework that did a good enough job of one or more of the
440533 -        pieces. For example:, ref DRT 1 Z27F
440534 -
440535 -              [...below, Jack lists some "frameworks" for building
440536 -              another SDS capability. ref SDS 0 9T4R
440537 -
440538 -        1.  Starting with an editor with outline (nested lists)
440539 -            capability, one could add hyperlinks and date-organized
440540 -            storage to achieve an editable eStreams organization.  This
440541 -            starts with chronology and connection.
440543 -             ..
440544 -        2.  Starting with a searchable Subject Map implementation with
440545 -            editable records as instances, add date-retrieval and
440546 -            enhance the editor to support hyperlinks.  This starts with
440547 -            context and adds chronology and connection. ref DRT 1 EP6O
440549 -             ..
440550 -        3.  It would even be possible to start with something like
440551 -            Purple Wiki and add date-indexing and an enhanced category
440552 -            system.  Not my favored approach, but it could be done.
440553 -            ref DRT 1 EP75
440555 -         ..
440556 -   12.  Other approaches are clearly possible. ref DRT 1 EP8P
440558 -  ..
440559 - Background on other efforts at Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, etc.,
440560 - are cited above. ref SDS 0 RN9W
440562 -  ..
440563 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440564 -
440565 -   13.  Given a sufficiently rich experimental platform and even a few
440566 -        people willing to exert the discipline to attempt to use it as
440567 -        intended, I think evolution could be rather swift, at least
440568 -        comparatively. ref DRT 1 549M
440570 -         ..
440571 -   14.  While the sheer mass of information that SDS encompasses can be
440572 -        overwhelming, the principles on which SDS is based and the
440573 -        discipline that has emerged through use are relatively simple.
440574 -        Some of the difficulties that SDS encounters are the result of
440575 -        its implementation heritage, but others are the result of open
440576 -        issues that any system for attempting to organize knowledge is
440577 -        going to run into. ref DRT 1 J44H
440579 -  ..
440580 - SDS principles can be expressed as simple homilies...
440581 -
440582 -        1.  plan the work and work the plan.
440583 -        2.  integrate people, process, time. ref OF 7 1116
440584 -        3.  scientific method:  plan, perform, report.
440585 -        4.  integrate time:  past, present, future
440586 -        5.  integrate chronology, context, connection
440587 -        6.  everything in the right place at the right time.
440588 -        7.  personal organizational integrated memory and management
440590 -  ..
440591 - Building tools with user interface that makes the structure of
440592 - knowledge useful to people, noted by Jack Park on 001130, ref SDS 28
440593 - H17O, requires complementary functions that apply left and right brain
440594 - for efficient application to augment intelligence can become complex.
440595 -
440596 -            [On 071212 Morris framing a vision for a new technology
440597 -            platform to implement SDS theory and practice. ref SDS 55
440598 -            ST3J
440600 -  ..
440601 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440602 -
440603 -   15.  The general notion from "Miscellaneous" that electronic
440604 -        indexing allows us to file information in as many places as we
440605 -        choose is definitely correct.  That is the reason that any SDS
440606 -        Record Segment can be "filed" under as many subjects as the
440607 -        author considers appropriate.  As a record is retrieved by any
440608 -        indirect means, new retrieval paths or "filing locations" can
440609 -        be added to the record, facilitating its retrieval in a similar
440610 -        context in the future. ref DRT 1 VE5F
440612 -         ..
440613 -   16.  == Sharing, Privacy, and Collaboration ==
440614 -
440615 -        One area in which a new tool would need enhancement is in the
440616 -        way that information is shared or not as the author chooses.  I
440617 -        want a way to control sharing across multiple groups.  The
440618 -        closest model I have is a series of email lists or multiple RSS
440619 -        feeds.  I can post anything to one or all or none.  What I
440620 -        don't want to share stays private, and anything I want to share
440621 -        can be shared with only those who are interested. ref DRT 1
440622 -        4F5O
440624 -  ..
440625 - Sharing options may turn out to be complicated.
440626 -
440627 -
440629 -  ..
440630 - Self-interest Drives SDS Support for Health Care Medical Practice
440631 -
440632 -
440633 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440634 -
440635 -   17.  A new tool should support interactive collaboration better than
440636 -        SDS does.  SDS is a local system that can extend to a local
440637 -        internet.  While it has provision for publishing in HTML for
440638 -        the web, its records are not shared in the sense of supported
440639 -        any sort of shared edit.  Implementing something like a wiki
440640 -        with access control lists might be a start.  There would be an
440641 -        entire set of records, but access controls would provide each
440642 -        user with a view into the total that is only that subset that
440643 -        others are willing to share with him. ref DRT 1 JG6O
440645 -  ..
440646 - Would like to see an example of tools for "interactive collaboration"
440647 - that improve productivity, i.e., turn out "quality" product in less
440648 - time.
440650 -  ..
440651 - Morris has described people adding notes to Microsoft Word documents,
440652 - and describes this as "collaboration."  Jack Park has proposed people
440653 - editing SDS records online.
440655 -  ..
440656 - SDS has a different purpose -- manage the record of work performed,
440657 - i.e., notes entered in a wordprocessing file, and how they relate to
440658 - prior work, objectives, requirements, and commitments, build
440659 - associations for making connections that aid decision support, so that
440660 - whatever is written can be effectively implemented, and tracked to
440661 - refine accuracy of knowledge and quality of the work.
440663 -  ..
440664 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440665 -
440666 -   18.  == Social Setting ==
440667 -
440668 -        In the mid 70's Doug Engelbart said something to the effect
440669 -        that the technology available with Augment and its related
440670 -        tools was advanced beyond our ability to develop teams of
440671 -        engineers capable of using them. ref DRT 1 HF3O
440673 -         ..
440674 -   19.  That is more true today.  With all the marvelous advances in
440675 -        technology and the internet, the composite still seems to fall
440676 -        short of what Doug was able to achieve, while providing vastly
440677 -        more potential than was conceivable. ref DRT 1 YF4L
440679 -         ..
440680 -   20.  It isn't clear to me how much the various experiments with
440681 -        groups and social computing of various forms has taught us.  We
440682 -        know now what we knew when we started -- in any volunteer group
440683 -        (and, I suspect, and paid group), only a few people
440684 -        participate, and fewer still really contribute.  Nobody seems
440685 -        to know why or to have a way around the problem. ref DRT 1 8H5H
440687 -         ..
440688 -   21.  It is clear that there is a difference between a discussion
440689 -        group and a task group.  Successful Open Source software
440690 -        projects demonstrate the power of even small task groups as
440691 -        well as the problem of keeping such a group together and on
440692 -        track.  So far, it seems that a charismatic, visionary leader
440693 -        who can spark enthusiasm in others and keep a project having a
440694 -        single vision is one workable approach (The Cathedral and the
440695 -        Bazaar by Eric S.  Raymond).  There have been cases where
440696 -        numbers of contributors have self-organized to develop a piece
440697 -        of software. (I need to read that work again.), ref DRT 1 OH6F
440699 -  ..
440700 - Self-interest dynamics can sometimes drive extra efforts using tools
440701 - to improve results, for example personal health care.  People can
440702 - sometimes be moved to make the doctor/patient partnership, called out
440703 - for example by Kaiser's Healthwise Handbook, reviewed on 990625,
440704 - ref SDS 13 4185, an effective instrument to relieve serious medical
440705 - problems rather than a mere cliche, illustrated by the record on
440706 - 061018. ref SDS 49 0001
440708 -  ..
440709 - Self-interest to support medical case management was presented to Jack
440710 - Park in a letter on 070729, ref SDS 51 TB3V, and earlier on 070126
440711 - proposing support for doctor/patient partnership. ref SDS 50 0E6P
440713 -  ..
440714 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440715 -
440716 -   22.  In spite of all the rhetoric about social networking and the
440717 -        like, it isn't clear to me that we know very much fundamental
440718 -        about how groups form, organize themselves, and function to set
440719 -        and achieve goals. ref DRT 1 XH7G
440721 -         ..
440722 -   23.  Any tool is only as good as it is used, and getting groups to
440723 -        invest the time to capture a record of events and to add to it
440724 -        sufficient metadata to be able to find that record again, and
440725 -        then to use what has been captured to help inform current
440726 -        decisions is a major hurdle facing anyone who wants to help
440727 -        groups improve.  I have complained to Rod on numerous occasions
440728 -        that SDS provides a tool for doing things that nobody is
440729 -        interested in doing. ref DRT 1 GI7L
440731 -         ..
440732 -   24.  As an example, I present the way most meeting are run in a
440733 -        typical organization.  There is nearly universal agreement on
440734 -        how it *should* go:
440735 -
440736 -        1.  Publish and agenda in advance.  Allow (and expect) people
440737 -            to prepare to discuss the subjects on the agenda.  The
440738 -            agenda includes old business (action items, unresolved
440739 -            issues), current business (the material on the agenda for
440740 -            this meeting), and new business( matters for following
440741 -            meetings - starts to prepare future agendas). ref DRT 1
440742 -            RJ8K
440744 -             ..
440745 -        2.  Take and publish minutes of the meeting, tracking
440746 -            discussion, decisions, and action items. ref DRT 1 TP6I
440748 -             ..
440749 -        3.  Follow up on the decisions and action items from the
440750 -            meeting. ref DRT 1 YJ9N
440752 -         ..
440753 -   25.  Good luck on finding anywhere this prescription is even roughly
440754 -        followed.  I have sat in meetings where the guideline were
440755 -        posted on the wall and were completely ignored. ref DRT 1 EK4F
440757 -         ..
440758 -   26.  Given that, how do you get a group to exhibit the discipline
440759 -        required to organize current knowledge with only the hope that
440760 -        it will prove useful in the future? ref DRT 1 RK4K
440762 -  ..
440763 - See comment on self-interest dynamics in health care. ref SDS 0 FH3M
440765 -  ..
440766 - Another solution is to hire a communication analyst.
440768 -  ..
440769 - Gary's letter to Jack continues...
440770 -
440771 -   27.  Here we see again that tools without process and discipline are
440772 -        not helpful. ref DRT 1 TM5F
440774 -         ..
440775 -   28.  Microsoft Word is a truly bad example of an knowledge
440776 -        management tool, but if the meeting discipline were practiced
440777 -        and the agenda, note, actions, and everything were maintained
440778 -        in Word and made available on a network, that organization
440779 -        would benefit more that it would if every desktop had the best
440780 -        tool we can envision that was never used. ref DRT 1 TM5J
440782 -         ..
440783 -   29.  == Now What? ==
440784 -
440785 -        Can you recommend candidate frameworks (implemented or
440786 -        conceptual) that can be examined for fitness with respect to
440787 -        the ideas of SDS?  Rod and I have looked at a number of
440788 -        possibles, but I doubt that we have the breadth of knowledge in
440789 -        this area that you do. ref DRT 1 DN6G
440791 -         ..
440792 -   30.  Would you be interested in exploring the analysis of features
440793 -        from SDS and other frameworks with the intention of evolving a
440794 -        set of "desirements" (not quite requirements) and examples of
440795 -        places where they have been used? ref DRT 1 TN6O
440797 -         ..
440798 -   31.  Rod feels strongly that SDS is the most comprehensive and
440799 -        advanced framework for supporting these principles that exists.
440800 -        I think he is likely correct by definition -- the principles
440801 -        and the framework evolved together, so why wouldn't that be
440802 -        true. ref DRT 1 0P3K
440804 -         ..
440805 -   32.  I would love to see the entire field revisited with what Rod
440806 -        has learned (and documented) over a couple decades to develop a
440807 -        system that implements as much of what we feel meets a set of
440808 -        desires as possible. ref DRT 1 5P4G
440809 -
440810 -
440811 -
440812 -
440813 -
4409 -

SUBJECTS
SDS Enables Elephant Memory Candidate Frameworks Knowledge Managemen

7903 -
790401 -  ..
790402 - SDS Technology Considered in Relation PhD Thesis Knowledge Management
790403 -
790404 - Follow up ref SDS 54 6A3I.
790406 -  ..
790407 - Received ref DRT 2 0001 from Jack responding to Gary's letter received
790408 - earlier today, per above. ref SDS 0 414H
790409 -
790598 -  ..
790599 - A big challenge using an "engine" to index text is that alot of text
790600 - needs associations with subjects for which there no words in the text.
790601 -
790602 -
790603 -
790604 -
790605 -
790606 -
7907 -

SUBJECTS
Knowledge Management Clueless Technology Development Slow Applying D

A103 -
A10401 -  ..
A10402 - Wheel Avoid Reinvent Apply Existing Tools Where Possible
A10403 - Quality Control Refractor Often Refine Accuracy Daily Work
A10404 - Refractor Critical Refine Accuracy Continual Quality Improvement
A10405 - Jack Knowledge Management Topic Maps Applies Powerful Technologies
A10406 -
A10407 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 another letter from Jack to Gary extending
A10408 - explanation of exciting work with proven Knowledge Management
A10409 - technologies for topic maps...
A10410 -
A10436 -  ..
A10437 - Jack's letter today reflects plans at SRI to avoid "reinventing the
A10438 - wheel" by searching the Internet for existing Knowledge Management
A10439 - technologies cited on 000324, ref SDS 16 JY4F, and again on 011003,
A10440 - ref SDS 34 AS4O  Examples include...
A10441 -
A10442 -        WBI................................ 000324, ref SDS 16 7568
A10443 -        Crit............................... 000420, ref SDS 18 4911
A10444 -        SlashDot........................... 000427, ref SDS 19 3685
A10445 -        Squishdot.......................... 000503, ref SDS 20 3465
A10446 -        DOM, DDOM.......................... 000504, ref SDS 21 3640
A10447 -        Python, Java, JDOM, EasySax........ 000504, ref SDS 21 3994
A10448 -        Gnutella........................... 000504, ref SDS 21 4868
A10449 -        Zope............................... 000504, ref SDS 21 3944
A10450 -        Wiki............................... 000614, ref SDS 22 0895
A10451 -        DOS and SmallTalk Augment
A10452 -        Clients............................ 001017, ref SDS 24 9626
A10453 -        Knowledge Management template
A10454 -        proven tools....................... 020610, ref SDS 38 FM8N
A10455 -        Grove.............................. 020822, ref SDS 42 HR5G
A10456 -        Groove............................. 020822, ref SDS 42 Q99G
A10458 -  ..
A10459 - Today, Jack adds to the list...
A10460 -
A10461 -        Jamwiki.................................... ref SDS 0 PU5W
A10462 -        Wikiword................................... ref SDS 0 PU6T
A10463 -        Tagomizer.................................. ref SDS 0 PU7W
A10464 -
A10548 -
A10549 -
A10550 -
A10551 -
A10552 -
A10553 -
A10554 -
A10555 -
A10556 -
A10557 -
A106 -