CONTACTS 
0201 - IPS, Livermore                                                                                                                                                     O-00000594 0101
020101 - Ms. Catherine Tonne
0203 - Boston University Metropoliton Coll                                                                                                                                O-00000628 0201
020301 - Mr. Mark A. Gould; Director
020302 - Center for Management Development
0204 - Center for Systems Management, Inc.                                                                                                                                O-00000533 0102
020401 - Mr. John R. Chiorini, Ph.D.; Chief Operating Officer

SUBJECTS
Project World '95, 951211 - 15
Project World Santa Clara Visit Exhibits
Project World, PMI & IEEE                                              06

0605 -
0605 -    ..
0606 - Summary/Objective
0607 -
060701 - Follow up ref SDS 34 0000.
060703 -  ..
060704 - This had the usual software vendors for CPM and budget tools.  It did
060705 - not seem as busy as prior events.  Met several people who might be
060706 - able to contribute at Asilomar.  Heard status of PMI NCC Feb event
060707 - planning.  Saw demonstration of Lotus Notes application, Advisor which
060708 - seems to support project management WBS. Got possible leads to teach
060709 - Communication Metrics.
060710 -
060711 -
060712 -
0608 -

SUBJECTS
Advisor, IPS
Lotus Notes & IBM, 910625

0804 -
080501 -  ..
080502 - Follow up ref SDS 27 0171.
080503 -
080504 - Got a cursory demonstration of a Lotus Notes application called
080505 - Advisor.  Cathy seemed anxious to avoid showing and explaining Advisor
080506 - to me.
080508 -  ..
080509 - Advisor provides "scripts" and templates for typical documents used in
080510 - managing projects.  It seems to interact with CPM and other PM tools.
080511 - It seems to implement a work breakdown structure WBS for technology
080512 - projects, that IPS teaches, probably similar to that of CSM, reviewed
080513 - below.  These capabilities make Advisor complex and difficult to
080514 - learn, reflecting the complexity and risk of projects. IPS training
080515 - likely reduces the learning curve.
080517 -  ..
080518 - Received product documentation at ref OF 1 line 18.
080520 -  ..
0806 -
0807 -
0808 -
0809 - IPS - Cathy Tonne
0810 -
081001 - When I came into the Exhibit Hall, I saw Cathy sitting with several
081002 - people, using a notebook computer.  I asked for the IPS booth so I
081003 - could see Advisor which she said in October, would be on display at
081004 - this event, ref SDS 27 line 182.  Cathy refered me to the IPS booth
081005 - down the isle.  I went there and met Rosanne Sykes who was with
081006 - several other women.  I asked for the demonstration of Advisor.
081008 -  ..
081009 - Rosanne said Cathy was doing this at the table.  I went back and asked
081010 - Cathy about this.  She said she was doing an informal demonstration of
081011 - the program for the two men sitting on either side of her, and who
081012 - were with Intel in Roseville.  Cathy said it was not convenient for me
081013 - to join the demonstration.  I asked if I could come back later.  Cathy
081014 - said there will be no further demonstrations of Advisor at this event.
081015 - One of the Intel guys offered to let me sit in, so I took a seat.
081016 - Initially, the angle of my view was inadequate to see the computer
081017 - screen well enough to understand what was being shown.
081019 -  ..
081020 - After about 10 minutes one of the men said he understood Advisor well
081021 - enough to see how it might contribute at Intel, and so he left.  I was
081022 - able to take his seat and from there could better observe the notebook
081023 - computer screen.
081024 -
081026 -  ..
081027 - Impressive Graphics
081028 -
081029 - Advisor's graphics were very impressive.  Oversized capital letters
081030 - and colors explained various fields, giving the effect of viewing a
081031 - well layed out magazine article or standard business form.  This
081032 - compared favorably to IBM's new information management program shown
081033 - at the Techcon event in October, ref SDS 23 line 195.
081034 -
081036 -  ..
081037 - Scripts, Templates, Integration with CPM
081038 -
081039 - Cathy showed how to open a CPM Schedule from within Advisor.  She
081040 - showed how Advisor lists tasks for typical WBS levels, called
081041 - "scripts," ref OF 1 line 72, and has samples, called "templates," for
081042 - instructions and other documents typically issued to carry out the
081043 - tasks, and then organizing project documents according to primary
081044 - project WBS phases, e.g., Evaluate, Develop, Production.  It seemed
081045 - the demonstration showed that Advisor relates project information to
081046 - CPM schedule activities.  Cathy said, however, the CPM schedule is not
081047 - a control criteria for Advisor.  I guess it is the other way around:
081048 - the IPS standard project WBS is the basis for creating a CPM.
081049 -
081051 -  ..
081052 - Manual and On-line Help under Development
081053 -
081054 - Cathy said there is no manual and no on-line help at this time.  The
081055 - Intel representative asked Cathy to let them know when they get the
081056 - program further developed.  Cathy said their only customer at this
081057 - time is in Texas.  That customer received two days of training by the
081058 - developer of the program.  I thought Cathy had contributed to the
081059 - development, based on our discussions in July at ref SDS 19 line 53.
081060 - It was unclear from the discussion today if Advisor is being used by
081061 - Cathy or anyone else at IPS to support project work.  Cathy introduced
081062 - me to an associate who is the Product Manager for Advisor, or some
081063 - similar role.
081065 -  ..
081066 - About 1700 Cathy said she had to tend the IPS booth.  I asked if she
081067 - could continue the demonstration at the booth?  She said she could not
081068 - do this because it would conflict with other duties.
081069 -
081071 -  ..
081072 - Brochure
081073 -
081074 - Cathy offered a brochure, ref OF 1 line 16, which we had discussed at
081075 - ref SDS 27 line 182.  A summary explanation of Advisor is at ref OF 1
081076 - line 33.
081077 -
081078 -     "Advisor provides checklists and templates to guide users through
081079 -     the project management process.  Standard project form templates
081080 -     and boilerplate text facilitate the creation of an electronic
081081 -     project notebook. Combined with the capabilities of Lotus Notes,
081082 -     Advisor gives everyone (the project team, project manager, and
081083 -     executive management) an accurate picture of project status at any
081084 -     point in time point in time."
081085 -     ..
081086 -     ISO support
081087 -     
081088 -     The brochure says Advisor can help companies meet goals in ISO
081089 -     certification and/or SEI process maturity, ref OF 1 line 61.
081090 -
081091 -     Presumably IPS training covers accepted management "processes"
081092 -     called out by Drucker, ISO, Hammer, PMBOK and others.  Possibly
081093 -     Advisor's organization of the project record likely supports
081094 -     continual learning objectives, ref SDS 20 line 491.  Industry
081095 -     evidence indicates companies have difficulty implementing the
081096 -     procedures they promulgate for traceability and continual
081097 -     learning, ref SDS 26 line 308.  Cathy did not explain how Advisor
081098 -     meets this challenge.
081099 -
081100 -        An example would be to show how what she learns from the
081101 -        Project World event is integrated into her work flow.  Her
081102 -        colleague was taking notes during the demonstration.  How does
081103 -        Advisor use these notes?   Where is the follow up?
081104 -
081106 -      ..
081107 -     Communications
081108 -
081109 -     The brochure says Advisor assures effective communications
081110 -     throughout an organization, ref OF 1 line 27; using Groupware
081111 -     tools to collect, manage and communicate information within a
081112 -     distributed work group, ref OF 1 line 23.  Evidently Lotus Notes
081113 -     provides the "groupware" tools, ref OF 1 line 68, to manage
081114 -     documents.
081116 -      ..
081117 -     The project manager can maintain a complete picture of the project
081118 -     and automatically communicate critical information to all
081119 -     interested parties, ref OF 1 line 49.
081121 -  ..
081122 - Questions from demonstration and product liturature:
081123 -
081124 -    1.  How does Advisor help people "understand" and maintain shared
081125 -        meaning over time of information created by others, which is
081126 -        implied by "communicate" within a workgroup, and found by a
081127 -        recent study to be the primary ingredient to success, ref SDS
081128 -        35 line 111?
081130 -         ..
081131 -        How does Advisor reveal conflicts between new information and
081132 -        prior understandings, to align communications called for the
081133 -        PMBOK, ref SDS 20 line 690?
081135 -         ..
081136 -    2.  How does the electronic notebook, ref OF 1 line 73, relate
081137 -        information created at different times and by different people
081138 -        within the meaning of ISO 10006 and the PMBOK for traceability
081139 -        and continual learning?  (see "ISO Support" above)
081141 -         ..
081142 -        I got the impression there is a subject index of some kind to
081143 -        integrate time and information, but I didn't see this feature.
081145 -         ..
081146 -    3.  How does work shown in the IPS templates and scripts, get
081147 -        scheduled?  Is there a default CPM of the tasks shown in the
081148 -        IPS task list, that can then be edited to meet the needs of a
081149 -        particular project?  Can scripts be formally defined to clarify
081150 -        scope?
081152 -         ..
081153 -    4.  How does the work of an individual, such as attending a meeting
081154 -        or placing a phone call, going to a seminar, evaluating
081155 -        software, etc., get identified within Advisor's data structure,
081156 -        to show progress on CPM activities?
081158 -         ..
081159 -    5.  How much of the day would a project manager, his boss or the
081160 -        top person in the organization use Advisor?  10 minutes, an
081161 -        hour, 8 hours, 18 hours -- how much time would they spend on
081162 -        the keyboard, getting information, generating instructions,
081163 -        analysing opportunities, discovering problems and taking
081164 -        action? see ref SDS 24 line 206.
081166 -         ..
081167 -        Is Advisor the solution to Ed Elze's concern at IBM that Lotus
081168 -        Notes is used about 12 minutes a day? ref SDS 24 line 255.
081169 -
081170 -
081172 -  ..
081173 - Analysis
081174 -
081175 - The program may not seem amenable to support Transamerica's real
081176 - estate operations which was considered at ref SDS 27 line 178, because
081177 - nominally high tech projects are different.  It seems likely that the
081178 - underlying PMBOK, ISO and other recognized management standards
081179 - implicit in IPS' training actually apply to any project; however,
081180 - there is probably a comparable firm like IPS that is selling a program
081181 - for real estate management that would point out advantages of a
081182 - program dedicated to real estate.
081184 -  ..
081185 - Advisor may be the kind of thing Morris is looking for at Chips to
081186 - support the "strategic fuzzy front end development" process he
081187 - mentioned the other day, ref SDS 28 line 117.  If Advisor has half of
081188 - the elements shown in the CSM materials, it would be adequate.
081189 -
081190 -     [See follow up at ref SDS 37 line 32; also discussion below with
081191 -     CSM.]
081192 -
081193 -
081194 -
0812 -

SUBJECTS
PMI NCC Event Planning
Feb Event, Speakers
Planning, Theme
Sherrill McDonald, Kaiser

1206 -
120701 -  ..
120702 - Followed up ref SDS 33 GH8L.
120704 -  ..
120705 - I met Sherrill McDonald and asked about progress with the Feb PMI
120706 - event reported by Ahmet in the Newsletter.  Sherrill said a speaker
120707 - who was coming in from LA has indicated difficulty meeting the event
120708 - schedule.  They are recruiting more speakers.
120710 -  ..
120711 - I mentioned the similarities between the scope for PMI's Feb event and
120712 - a PMA event in December, ref SDS 33 line 94. Sherrill said the PMI
120713 - Event team could change the theme and content of the Feb event to
120714 - avoid duplication, although claims and dispute resolution require
120715 - continual training.  He feels the Feb PMI event is distinguished by
120716 - focusing on disaster recovery, ref SDS 33 line 84.  We recalled the
120717 - 1994 Asilomar event showed how "partnering" facilitates "disaster"
120718 - recovery, ref SDS 9 line 47.  The membership found that material
120719 - helpful.  It would also be helpful to hear about disaster avoidance,
120720 - which was another dimension of the 1994 Asilomar event.
120722 -  ..
120723 - I noted the subject of productivity measurement and improvement sounds
120724 - very interesting, and asked if this relates to tasks like excavation,
120725 - pouring concrete, framing; or administrative stuff like submittals,
120726 - procurement; or executive performance like more productive meetings
120727 - called for by Eric Jennett in his Jan 1994 PM Network article (p. 6)
120728 - at ref SDS 7 line 219.  Sherrill said this has not been worked out
120729 - yet.
120731 -  ..
120732 - I asked if the event would treat the conflict between traditional
120733 - contract management practices to notify parties of performance
120734 - failures, and partnering principles to improve productivity through
120735 - better relations among the stakeholders, per ref SDS 12 line 42?  This
120736 - impacts internal management where there is strong cultural pressure to
120737 - cooperate.  Sherrill feels Kaiser used this to advantage on projects
120738 - where they were both the design engineer and the contractor.  I
120739 - mentioned concerns that have surfaced in the Information Technology
120740 - sector where balancing the desire to cooperate and the need for
120741 - accountability which a contract provides, have caused communication
120742 - difficulties ref SDS 29 line 126, that impact performance, ref SDS 18
120743 - line 266.
120745 -  ..
120746 - Sherrill feels these concerns could be addressed in the Feb event.
120747 - They are developing the scope now.
120748 -
120749 -
120750 -
120751 -
120752 -
1208 -

SUBJECTS
Education, institutional courses, General
Locate Decision Maker
Attend seminars, and other product demos to
Sales discussions
Computer Shows/Seminars
SDS Explanation

1808 -
180901 -  ..
180902 - Followed up work at ref SDS 10 line 51. Had an interesting discussion
180903 - with John Chiorini about CSM's project management training services.
180905 -  ..
180906 - I was pleased to talk to John after visiting a lot of software
180907 - vendors.  When he said CSM provides training and not more software, I
180908 - hoped to encounter a more receptive ear for Communication Metrics.
180909 - Firms who sell software have difficulty grasping how communication
180910 - control adds value to their cost and schedule control products, per
180911 - analysis of Kerzner lecture at ref SDS 13 line 173.
180912 -
180914 -  ..
180915 - Communications & Risk Management
180916 -
180917 - Initially, I mentioned the article in the December 1995 Project
180918 - Management Journal (reviewed at ref SDS 35 line 93):
180919 -
180920 -                The Role of Project Risk in Determining
180921 -                     Project Management Approach
180923 -  ..
180924 - John had read the article.  He recalled findings from a study reported
180925 - in the article that "communications" is the major determinant of
180926 - project success. ref SDS 35 line 111   I asked how CSM teaches
180927 - communications as part of risk management?  John said CSM recommends
180928 - fax, email and LAN systems so everybody is informed promptly. I asked
180929 - how CSM supports ISO requirements for traceability and continual
180930 - learning to improve communications? ref SDS 20 line 623.
180932 -  ..
180933 - John showed a document called:
180934 -
180935 -                    Commercial Project Cycle
180937 -  ..
180938 - It has four primary WBS steps (Study, Develop, Verify, Operate) with
180939 - detailed activities for new product development, ref OF 9 line 19,
180940 - similar to the Cal Tech materials received at ref SDS 2 line 88, and
180941 - the Advisor program (discussed above).  These steps reflect PMBOK
180942 - criteria in section 2.1 (ref OF 5 line 814).  Another CSM chart shows
180943 - technical apsects of product planning. These are high quality graphics
180944 - called ClearCycle, and are offered by CSM as a service for a fee to
180945 - its clients.  [These charts are considered separately at ref SDS 38
180946 - line 91.]
180948 -  ..
180949 - CSM brochures do not mention the "processes" set out in the PMBOK
180950 - section 3.1:
180951 -
180952 -              Initiate, Plan, Execute, Control, Close
180953 -
180954 -     ...which are endemic to "projects." ref OF 5 line 1565, see ref
180955 -     SDS 19 line 290; similar to ISO 10006, per ref SDS 20 line 308.
180957 -  ..
180958 - The CSM WBS seems to reflect objectives Morris cited for Chips to
180959 - support product development, ref SDS 28 line 127.
180960 -
180961 -     [See follow up on this at ref SDS 37 line 33.]
180962 -
180963 - I asked which part of the "Commercial Project Cycle" helps people
180964 - understand and follow up from one day to the next and from one meeting
180965 - to the next the correlations and implications of information generated
180966 - and received by performing the "activities" shown in the chart?
180968 -  ..
180969 - John said he did not understand this question.
180971 -  ..
180972 - I noted his chart appears to entail a lot of meetings, calls and
180973 - documentation to share information, similar to the Cal Tech project
180974 - management manual, ref SDS 1 line 139.  John said meetings, calls and
180975 - documents are the essence of management.  That is why CSM recommends
180976 - using email and LAN systems to keep everybody informed.
180977 -
180979 -  ..
180980 - Too Much Information Causes Mistakes
180981 -
180982 - I explained the concept in the New World Order paper that people tend
180983 - to commingle information from multiple sources such as meetings, phone
180984 - calls and email, when the flow of information exceeds the mind's
180985 - ability to integrate new information with existing information and
180986 - organizational objectives, ref OF 12 line 75.  These errors are
180987 - overlooked by human biology, due to mental blind spots, with the
180988 - result that people feel strongly they understand things that in fact
180989 - are misunderstood, resulting in errors that cause delays, extra cost
180990 - and failures.  What process does CSM teach to measure communications
180991 - for misunderstanding, cited in the PMJ article as the major cause of
180992 - project problems? ref SDS 35 line 166  How does CSM avoid the risk of
180993 - error from information flowing too quickly?
180995 -  ..
180996 - John said CSM teaches using common vocabulary.  He said communication
180997 - problems occur when terminology is applied differently by people.  He
180998 - feels though that this is not enough to avoid misunderstandings.  A
180999 - commitment during a meeting or phone call can conflict with a contract
181000 - requirement, schedule objective, regulation or any number of prior
181001 - commitments, even when terminology is commonly applied.  I agreed, and
181002 - mentioned reports of organizations hiring psychologists to treat
181003 - interpersonal problems caused by failed communications, ref SDS 29
181004 - line 122.  I mentioned reports that project managers are viewed with
181005 - disdain due to failed communications, ref SDS 18 line 266.
181007 -  ..
181008 - John asked what I think needs to be done?
181009 -
181011 -  ..
181012 - Communication Metrics
181013 -
181014 - I explained the idea of Communication Metrics where a new team member,
181015 - perhaps "Communication Manager," is now needed to align communications
181016 - with prior understandings and commitments, as called out in the PMBOK,
181017 - ref SDS 20 line 690 and ref SDS 14 line 241.  The simple way to
181018 - explain this task is that someone must convert information into
181019 - knowledge.
181020 -
181021 -     [On 001219 steps using SDS new way of working. ref SDS 53 QT6F
181023 -  ..
181024 - John asked why existing team members cannot do this?  Why can't the
181025 - project manager or a project engineer, or the president of the company
181026 - keep track of their communications?
181027 -
181029 -  ..
181030 - Everybody is Too Busy in the New World Order
181031 -
181032 - I mentioned a lot of executives feel...
181033 -
181034 -                    There isn't enough time
181035 -
181036 -     ...to check the record and evaluate continuity of understandings
181037 -     called for by ISO and the PMBOK.  They use "20 80" executive
181038 -     management to avoid being innundated by information and hope they
181039 -     don't overlook anything important, ref SDS 16 line 205.  Cal Tech,
181040 -     however, reported this strategy did not work on the "O" Ring
181041 -     problem that caused the Space Shuttle disaster.  Some executives
181042 -     strive to hire smarter people to improve communications.  Robert
181043 -     McNamera reports this did not work in the Kennedy Administration.
181044 -     He said there wasn't enough time to align communications even
181045 -     though they had many of the smartest people available. ref SDS 16
181046 -     line 245.  Similar results occurred in Iran-Contra and later with
181047 -     the Travelgate episode.
181049 -      ..
181050 -     I did not mention contacts with CSM last year where documents were
181051 -     lost and follow up failed, ref SDS 10 line 48.
181052 -
181054 -  ..
181055 - Communication Metrics Overcomes
181056 - Resistance to Change - Feel Good Management
181057 -
181058 - I noted that the forces of too little time and political pressures
181059 - cause well meaning people to slip back into familiar work patterns
181060 - after they are trained.  John said they have found this usually occurs
181061 - within 1 - 3 months after training.  That is why CSM recommends follow
181062 - up training and periodic audits.
181064 -  ..
181065 - I suggested a better solution is to provide a Communication Manager to
181066 - ensure work is linked back to identified tasks and objectives, which I
181067 - call the Subject Index.
181068 -
181070 -  ..
181071 - New Kind of Automated Tool - SDS
181072 -
181073 - John asked if the Communication Manager needs new tools?
181074 -
181075 - I mentioned asking Joel Koppleman about this when Primavera reported
181076 - its CPM tools were inadequate.  Joel could not think of anything,
181077 - other than hiring more truthful project managers, to improve
181078 - communications, ref SDS 15 line 319.  It appears the SDS program,
181079 - which organizes chronological informtion according to subject so it
181080 - integrates time, information, people and documents, can support
181081 - Communication Metrics. I mentioned the possibility that Advisor by IPS
181082 - (discussed above) may be able to support Communication Metrics.
181084 -  ..
181085 - John said he would like to read the New World Order paper.
181086 -
181087 -       [Submitted the paper at ref SDS 39 line 33.
181088 -
181090 -  ..
181091 - Opportunity to Train Communication Engineers
181092 -
181093 - I explained the need for organizations to teach managers how to
181094 - perform Communication Metrics, and it occurred to me that CSM could do
181095 - this.  I asked how I could go about getting this opportunity evaluated
181096 - at CSM under its criteria for "Opportunity Assessment" shown in the
181097 - Commercial Project Cycle?
181098 -
181099 -
181100 -
181101 -
1812 -

SUBJECTS
Training Executives What they Want, Not to
Executive Training on What People will Buy,

2104 -
210501 -  ..
210502 - Executive Training Consultants Don't Want New Ideas
210503 -
210504 - John said that as Chief Operating Officer, he feels our discussion
210505 - today shows that CSM would not take up this opportunity, because it is
210506 - outside their strategic objectives?
210507 -
210508 - I asked how increasing CSM's market potential by offering new training
210509 - in the most important aspect of management, conflicts with CSM's
210510 - strategy?
210512 -  ..
210513 - John said CSM wants to train people in skills recognized by its
210514 - customers and leading institutions, and in which CSM is already
210515 - competent, rather than increase its competency so it can offer new
210516 - communication skills needed for the New World Order.
210518 -  ..
210519 - I pointed out that existing skills are not working.
210521 -  ..
210522 - John said their customers are willing to pay for them anyway.  He
210523 - asked me to submit the NWO paper though for review.
210524 -
210526 -  ..
210527 - Authority of Project Manager - Internal
210528 -
210529 - We considered briefly the need to support the project manager on
210530 - internal projects, as occurs in technology work.
210531 -
210532 - John feels a formal procedure, akin to conventional contract
210533 - management practices should vest the project manager authority to
210534 - communicate effectively, per PMJ study findings, ref SDS 35 line 349.
210536 -  ..
210537 - Without authority supported by the Board or other stakeholder
210538 - interest, there is no effective means to compel performance and no
210539 - metric by which to take corrective action.  This means the work is not
210540 - using "project management" and will likely not produce the desired
210541 - results, ref SDS 18 line 267, ref SDS 18 line 243.
210543 -  ..
210544 - John explained a procedure CSM recommends.  I did not grasp his idea.
210545 -
210546 -
210547 -
2106 -

SUBJECTS
MIT Sloan School of Management
Boston University
Continual Learning

2505 -
250601 -  ..
250602 - Followed up work at ref SDS 21 line 62 and ref SDS 32 line 117.
250604 -  ..
250605 - Boston University
250606 -
250607 - I stopped at Boston University's booth that was promoting their
250608 - Project Management training courses.  Their brochure shows they teach
250609 - the PMBOK, recognizing that since the 1980's project management has
250610 - emerged as a profession.  Therefore, Boston University may want to
250611 - lead the way to a new profession of Communication Management.  Their
250612 - brochure says they teach "communications."  What does this include,
250613 - per discussions with Golden Gate University?
250615 -  ..
250616 - I asked to whom a proposal could be submitted to teach a course on
250617 - Communication Metrics.
250619 -  ..
250620 - Mark A. Gould introduced himself and offered his card.  He is the
250621 - Director, Center for Management Development.  He asked about where
250622 - Communication Metrics has been taught.  I cited the proposal under
250623 - consideration at George Washington University, per ref SDS 32 line 89.
250625 -  ..
250626 - Mark asked me to submit the same proposal to him for consideration at
250627 - Boston University.
250628 -
250629 -
250631 -  ..
250632 - MIT Sloan School of Management
250633 -
250634 - Met Rochelle Weichman, Director, MIT Management Technology Program.
250635 -
250636 - I asked about teaching a course on Communication Metrics.  Rochelle
250637 - suggested contacting JoAnne Yates, Ph.D. via internet at:
250638 -
250639 -               http://web.mit.edu/sloan/www
250641 -  ..
250642 - I mentioned experience with "communication" people at universities has
250643 - yielded poor results because their focus is leadership, trying to
250644 - encourage action, as in making a sale.  Communication Metrics is
250645 - concerned about the maintaining shared meaning over time, and aligning
250646 - communications with prior understandings, so that information conveyed
250647 - is worthwhile, per ref SDS 14 line 109.  I mentioned discussions with
250648 - Jane at Wharton, ref SDS 17 line 189.
250650 -  ..
250651 - We considered who at MIT might be interested in moving the world
250652 - forward by developing a new academic discipline.  Rochelle suggested
250653 - contacting:
250654 -
250655 -                         Peter Senge
250656 -                         Center for Organizational Learning
250658 -        ..
250659 -       [Did this at ref SDS 40 line 29.]
250660 -
250661 -            ...cited in the MIT Sloan Fellows Program on page 23 under
250662 -            Research Centers.  The back of the brochure shows:
250663 -
250664 -                     MIT Sloan School of Management
250665 -                     Office of Executive Education
250666 -                     50 Memorial Drive
250667 -                     Suite E52-101
250668 -                     Cambridge, MA  02142 1347
250670 -                      ..
250671 -                     617 253 7166
250673 -             ..
250674 -            Should be able to contact Senge at this number.  The
250675 -            Fellows program seems aimed at experineced managers looking
250676 -            to improve their skills, who are the target audience for
250677 -            Communication Metrics.
250678 -
250680 -     ..
250681 -    I recalled Peter Senge is cited in research on a management system
250682 -    called the "Learning Organization," which seems to reflect ideas in
250683 -    ISO management requirements for "Continual Learning," per ref SDS
250684 -    20 line 491.  This background indicates he may support the new
250685 -    management science of Communication Metrics which is the only
250686 -    practical way to accomplish "Continual Learning" for the reasons at
250687 -    ref SDS 20 line 527.
250688 -
250689 -
250690 -
250691 -
2507 -

SUBJECTS
Email Does Not Improve Productivity,
Email Information Overload Not Enough Time to Think Weichman Rochell

4804 -
480501 -  ..
480502 - She Reads Her Email Conscientious Diligent Good Management
480503 -
480504 - Follow up ref SDS 28 0000, ref SDS 28 0000.
480506 -  ..
480507 - The discussion with Rochelle Weichman (see MIT Sloan School of
480508 - Management, above, ref SDS 0 0670) revealed an interesting new phrase
480509 - emerging to describe people who are considered conscientious.
480510 - Rochelle Weichman, who is a Director of Technology Management at MIT
480511 - described a colleague, JoAnne Yates, Ph.D. as:
480512 -
480513 -                    She reads her email!
480514 -
480515 -    ...her tone of voice carried the emotion:  awsome, somebody is
480516 -    actually able to do this.  I have heard this phrase used before but
480517 -    it had not struck me as exceptional.  Again, Rochelle's tone
480518 -    conveyed that reading email is exceptional.
480519 -
480521 -     ..
480522 -    Email Causes Information Overload Not Enough Time to Think
480523 -    Information Density Drives Management Toward Entropy
480524 -    Too Noisy Too Many People Not Enough Time to Read Write Email
480525 -
480526 -    Setting someone apart because "She reads her email," implies a lot
480527 -    of people are not reading their email, per example at PG&E when
480528 -    Mike Emery transferred about 60 email to me at the time he was
480529 -    taking over for Bill DeHart and wanted me to do something with it,
480530 -    ref SDS 11 line 110.  Constant email is like being in a room where
480531 -    everybody is talking.  It is too noisy, so everything is tuned out
480532 -    to focus on a narrow band of information.  HBR reports, however,
480533 -    that nobody has time to read their email correspondence, reviewed
480534 -    on 940510. ref SDS 8 5567  On 950927 Dave Vannier reported problem
480535 -    of limited time for too many meetings and email at Intel.
480536 -    ref SDS 22 E93K  Dave advised that email is Intel's least effective
480537 -    business system. ref SDS 22 5849
480538 -
480539 -         [On 960410 General Hatch discussed problem of "noise,"
480540 -         ref SDS 46 7739; email is a challenge, Hank has a backlog of
480541 -         over 300 email messages on his computer. ref SDS 46 5839
480543 -          ..
480544 -         [On 960325 Morris does not have time read email, ref SDS 44
480545 -         6692
480547 -          ..
480548 -         [On 960721 Morris reported having a "bunch" of email there has
480549 -         not been time to read. ref SDS 47 0096
480551 -          ..
480552 -         [On 960319 Asilomar event preparations and agenda seeks
480553 -         solution to information density that overwhelms people by
480554 -         overloading span of attention. ref SDS 43 8830
480556 -          ..
480557 -         [On 970728 people at Intel get 70 email per day. ref SDS 48
480558 -         7U6L
480560 -          ..
480561 -         [On 980722 Morris Jones at Intel tries to avoid a backlog
480562 -         reading and responding to email. ref SDS 52 HQ7L
480564 -          ..
480565 -         [On 980613 tsunami storm of information density in email,
480566 -         calls, and meetings overwhelms people nobody has time to
480567 -         think. ref SDS 51 3499
480569 -          ..
480570 -         [On 050722 aerospace manager 300 unread email giving up on
480571 -         communication not enough time to read, wants verbal briefings,
480572 -         but not enough time. ref SDS 54 GT5H
480574 -     ..
480575 -    What does this say about reliance on the Information Highway in the
480576 -    New World Order to improve productivity, hoping that fewer people
480577 -    can do more work? (see Chips ref SDS 18 line 161) What does it say
480578 -    about the quality of management? (see Ford ref SDS 30 line 82)
480579 -    What does it say about the prospects for more reengineering when
480580 -    the issues and work reflected by unread email begin to reduce
480581 -    earnings?
480582 -
480583 -        [See 971011 report by U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers that found
480584 -        Communication Metrics improves cost effectiveness by expanding
480585 -        the span of attention, and therefore the span of control,
480586 -        yielding ROI savings in the range of 10:1. ref SDS 49 5775
480587 -
480589 -     ..
480590 -    People Have Given Up on Communications
480591 -
480592 -    This recognizes a lot of people have given up on the role of
480593 -    "communications" by middle managers (e.g., project managers) as
480594 -    observed by Peter Drucker reviewed on 931130. ref SDS 6 3851  They
480595 -    hope direct communication can be more effective per discussion with
480596 -    Morris on 950705 about substituting email for middle managers.
480597 -    ref SDS 18 7409  HBR reports, however, that nobody has time to read
480598 -    their email correspondence, reviewed on 940510. ref SDS 8 5567
480600 -     ..
480601 -    After the PMI dinner this evening, Elias asked me to drive Dave
480602 -    McClure back to San Francisco.  Driving back Dave told me how he
480603 -    has not driven his car in a year. He has been able to get around
480604 -    without it.  He took a bus to the train station, took the train to
480605 -    Santa Clara, and was able to take light rail to the Convention
480606 -    Center.  Then he got me to drive him home, even though I was
480607 -    planning to take 680 to Concord this evening.
480609 -     ..
480610 -    He mentioned having been in Saudia Arabia doing a short PM training
480611 -    assignment for Aramco. Dave said that in 5 years all software will
480612 -    be done on the internet.  I asked him what he means.
480614 -     ..
480615 -    Dave described a concept where people will log onto the Interent
480616 -    and use tools on it to craft messages, do spreadsheets, view
480617 -    material jointly with colleagues spread out geographically.
480618 -
480620 -     ..
480621 -    High Expectations for Information Highway
480622 -
480623 -    He cited a project in Saudia Arabia that is trying to send drawings
480624 -    via email to reduce transmittal from 4 days to a few hours; Dave
480625 -    feels this increase productivity significantly.
480626 -
480627 -    I asked about how consistently he has experineced success in
480628 -    transmitting large files via internet?  He said there are problems
480629 -    now and you need backup systems, but the problems should be
480630 -    resolved soon.  I mentinoed my experience that when old problems
480631 -    are resolved new ones seem to arise that prevent the anticipated
480632 -    improvement in productivity from occurring.  Dave said he has had
480633 -    this same experience.
480634 -
480635 -        [See later example with Turner at ref SDS 45 line 267.]
480636 -
480638 -  ..
480639 - Information Gridlock Has Arrived
480640 -
480641 - This evidence shows more information in the New World Order is
480642 - creating the gridlock discussed in the POIMS paper ref OF 11 line 14,
480643 - and in the NWO, linked back to the Van Kasper review, ref SDS 4 line
480644 - 195.
480645 -
480646 -     [See later discussion with Morris at ref SDS 41 line 241.]
480647 -
480648 -
480649 -
4807 -

SUBJECTS
PMI NCC Event Program, July, Speakers, General

4903 -
490401 -  ..
490402 - Followed up work at ref SDS 31 line 326.  Met Leonard White at the
490403 - booth for...
490404 -
490405 -                  Productivity Management Group, Inc.
490406 -                  160 Lawrence Bell Drive, Suite 122
490407 -                  Williamsville, NY  14221 7897
490409 -                   ..
490410 -                  716 633 0621
490412 -  ..
490413 - Leonard is the president of PMG, and he had a speaker's ribbon pinned
490414 - to his coat.  I asked about his firm and his topic at the Project
490415 - World event.
490417 -  ..
490418 - Leonard explained his firm does similar stuff to CSM, reviewed above.
490420 -  ..
490421 - I explained Communication Metrics per discussion with CSM, above, and
490422 - mentioned our need for a speaker to close the Asilomar event.  Leonard
490423 - said he would like to be considered for this assignment, and asked me
490424 - to send him the NWO paper and the event agenda.
490425 -
490426 -     [Did this at ref SDS 42 line 35.]
490427 -
490428 -
490429 -
4905 -