CONTACTS 
0201 - Kwan Henmi                           415 777 4770 fax 5102
020101 - Mr. Denis Henmi; Executive Vice President

SUBJECTS
Proposal, Contract & Support
Kwan Henmi, General
Ignorance, Fear, Denial
Overhead Percentage Direct Cost

0806 -    ..
0807 - Summary/Objective
0808 -
080801 - Follow up ref SDS 10 0000, ref SDS 9 0000.
080802 -
080803 - Denis said their SFIA work is about to get underway.  He clarified
080804 - status of trying Communication Metrics.  More work is needed to define
080805 - this role under Risk Management and Quality objectives for budgeting
080806 - purposes.
080807 -
080808 -
080809 -
080810 -
0809 -
0810 -
0811 - Discussion
0812 -
081201 -  ..
081202 - Turner Should Not Cite KH re Communication Metrics
081203 -
081204 - I asked Denis about citing Kwan Henmi's proposal to SFIA in support of
081205 - a request by Turner to use Communication Metrics, per my letter on
081206 - 960418, ref DIP 12 0000, submitted at ref SDS 10 0000.
081207 -
081208 - Denis said he has read my letter and saw the idea to cite Kwan Henmi
081209 - as a negotiating step, per discussion with Kevin on 960418. ref SDS 10
081210 - 0854
081211 -
081212 -  ..
081213 - Denis advised that KH has not encountered communication problems like
081214 - Turner reported on 960405. ref SDS 7 7461.  Denis has heard that there
081215 - are problems, but has not attended any meetings yet, and so he feels
081216 - Turner should not cite Kwan Henmi in its dealings with SFIA.
081217 -
081218 -      [See follow up where SFIA managment team was fired due to poor
081219 -      performance, ref SDS 15 line 110.]
081220 -
081221 -  ..
081222 - Meeting with SFIA on Communication Metrics
081223 -
081224 - We recalled our meeting last month on 960313 when Denis was worried
081225 - about complex organizational structure at SFIA which requires careful
081226 - analysis and ability to follow up that are enabled by Communication
081227 - Metrics. ref SDS 6 9943  Today, I asked about setting up the meeting
081228 - with SFIA? Denis said he did not have time to do this earlier because
081229 - planning for a vacation crowded out time to plan for good management
081230 - on the SFIA projecet.
081231 -
081232 -  ..
081233 - Denis said he now has more time and so will schedule a meeting between
081234 - Welch and SFIA, per planning on 960315. ref SDS 6 5J3L
081235 -
081236 -     [See follow up at ref SDS 13 line 117.]
081237 -
081238 -
081239 -  ..
081240 - Kwan Henmi is Beginning Work on SFIA
081241 -
081242 - Denis said their situation with SFIA has progressed enough now for
081243 - them to begin work on the project.  It was unclear from our discussion
081244 - if the prior problems have been solved on scope, risk management, and
081245 - subconsultant work, which concerned Denis last November, ref SDS 4
081246 - line 60.
081247 -
081248 - I congratulated him on the long struggle, and asked if this means I
081249 - have an assignment?
081250 -
081251 -
081252 -  ..
081253 - Communication Metrics Not Submitted to SFIA, Foreign Term
081254 -
081255 - Denis said KH did not submit Communication Metrics in their proposal
081256 - to SFIA because it is a foreign term.  This responds to my letter at
081257 - ref DIP 11 0001, submitted on 960108. ref SDS 5 0000.
081258 -
081259 -      [On 960913 contract with Corps of Engineers to perform work that
081260 -      shows the scope of Communication Metrics. ref SDS 16 3322, on
081261 -      961205, ref SDS 17 3425, and 961223. ref SDS 19 5849]
081262 -
081263 -      [On 970418 received report from Corps on Communication Metrics,
081264 -      including scope of services. ref SDS 21 3368]
081265 -
081266 -  ..
081267 - Budget for "documentation" of meetings and record keeping was
081268 - submitted, instead of proposing Communication Metrics, because
081269 - everybody is familiar with these functions that nobody is able to
081270 - perform using conventional technologies that everybody likes.
081271 -
081272 -      [On 990713 Morris submitted the NSF proposal on Com Metrics to
081273 -      colleagues at Intel, and they reported that adding intelligence
081274 -      to information is funny and alien, which aligns with foreign.
081275 -      ref SDS 29 2150
081276 -
081277 -      [On 020823 SDS support for working intelligently uses arcane
081278 -      language and unusual acronyms. ref SDS 30 NS9M
081279 -
081280 -  ..
081281 - But the airport reduced his fee from 14% to 9% on the grounds that
081282 - other architects have accepted 9% so there is no basis to pay an
081283 - additional 5% to KH.  So evidently it didn't really do any good to
081284 - avoid using Communication Metrics to provide "intelligence" for the
081285 - project. ref OF 1 0582
081286 -
081287 -  ..
081288 - We recalled how this record relates to discussion on 951205 when Denis
081289 - reported on budget talks with SFIA about the risk of the SFO program,
081290 - ref SDS 4 4693 and previously on discussions with Kevin about the cost
081291 - of the Welch proposal at ref SDS 3 1035.
081292 -
081293 -      [On 960911 SFIA managment team was fired due to poor performance,
081294 -      ref SDS 15 9043.]
081295 -
081296 -      [On 970620 report that new SFIA management team has not improved
081297 -      communications, ref SDS 23 8945.]
081298 -
081299 -      [On 970418 a report issued by  the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
081300 -      explains Communication Metrics is an "intelligence role" which is
081301 -      different from traditional documentation, ref SDS 22 2103.]
081302 -
081303 -      [On 970830 analysed difference between documentation and business
081304 -      intelligence produced by Communication Metrics, ref SDS 24 0140.]
081305 -
081306 -      [On 980405 fear of accountability from "documentation" was
081307 -      reviewed. ref SDS 27 5065]
081308 -
081309 -      [On 981007 Gensler fears Communciation Metrics. ref SDS 28 2775]
081310 -
081311 -  ..
081312 - Experience at SFIA Shows Communication Metrics is Needed
081313 -
081314 - We considered Turner's experience with SFIA management reported on
081315 - 960405, ref SDS 7 7461, indicates that Denis' assessment on 951109
081316 - about the need for Communication Metrics was correct, ref SDS 2 0990.
081317 -
081318 - Turner's independent disclosure supports Denis' comments on 960313
081319 - about the need for better management by SFIA. ref SDS 6 9943  This
081320 - record is strong grounds for KH to request that SFIA approve a 2%
081321 - increment in the KH fee structure in order to start their project on a
081322 - solid footing with Communication Metrics under the reasoning in the
081323 - Turner proposal, see ref DIP 1 8954 and also at ref DIP 1 8945.
081324 -
081325 - The alternative is to proceed until the project is in trouble, then
081326 - scramble to solve it.  That strategy conflicts with the accounting
081327 - practices Denis said KH has adopted.  When we met in March, Denis
081328 - advised that KH has found it must insist on strong accounting controls
081329 - in order to avoid getting into trouble, ref SDS 6 1568.
081330 - ..
081331 - Why insist on accounting control, but not insist on
081332 - communication control that avoids cost and schedule overruns?
081333 -
081334 -      [See follow up where SFIA managment team was fired due to poor
081335 -      performance, ref SDS 15 9043.]
081336 -
081337 -
081338 -  ..
081339 - KH Needs Higher Fee Due to Higher Risk of Multi-Project Interface
081340 -
081341 - The reason set out at our original meeting on 951109 for funding Kwan
081342 - Henmi's project at a "high risk" rate to pay for Communication Metrics
081343 - was because Kwan Henmi's work is complex due to a lot of interfaces
081344 - with other projects and government agencies. ref SDS 2 1048.  This
081345 - project condition requires more coordination that takes more time and
081346 - care to ensure accurate understandings and timely follow up, ref SDS 2
081347 - 0085.
081348 -
081349 -      [On 960911 SFIA managment team was fired due to poor performance,
081350 -      ref SDS 15 9043; Denis reported his project has been successful
081351 -      without Communication Metrics, ref SDS 15 8954.]
081352 -
081353 -
081354 -  ..
081355 - Communication Metrics will be "Foreign" until it is Used
081356 -
081357 - We considered the Welch goal to get Communication Metrics put forward
081358 - so it is not a foreign term.  Even when rejected, the process of
081359 - submitting it enables people to ask about it, discuss it, and become
081360 - familiar with the meaning, so that later the term is not foreign. As
081361 - Judge Perluss remarked from the bench, we all have to start somewhere.
081362 - Accountant, architect, street sweeper, lath operator, were all foreign
081363 - terms at one time.
081364 -
081365 -      [On 960425 submitted letter confirming these understandings. see
081366 -      ref SDS 11 0000.]
081367 -
081368 -      [On 960709 Communication Metrics was foreign to Dave
081369 -      Buoncristiani and prevented him from discussing Concurrent
081370 -      Discovery at Asilomar. ref SDS 14 8567 205]
081371 -
081372 -      and on Lynn Conway's
081373 -      efforts to mainstream SVGA technology, ref SDS 14 line 287.]
081374 -
081375 -      [See efforts at Corps of Engineers to understand Communication
081376 -      Metrics on 960913 ref SDS 16 line 138, on 961205, ref SDS 17 line
081377 -      126, and 961223, ref SDS 19 line 226.]
081378 -
081379 -      [See US Army Corpos of Engineers report on Communication Metrics
081380 -      evaluation, meaning and scope of services, ref SDS 20 line 75.]
081381 - ..
081382 - We have to start by explaining that Communication Metrics
081383 - extends the traditional practice of meeting notes and record keeping,
081384 - by applying technology to create a "metric," similar to cost and
081385 - schedule control, that ensures accurate understandings and timely
081386 - follow up which is not possible by any other means.
081387 -
081388 -
081389 -      ..
081390 -     Information Highway Needs Solution
081391 -
081392 -     The need for a new and stronger solution arises from a new work
081393 -     environment, called the Information Highway, which Denis described
081394 -     in our meeting last October as:
081395 -
081396 -       ...difficulty project managers have keeping up with increased
081397 -       flow of information.  Fax and e-mail ... make it difficult for a
081398 -       project manager to integrate new information with contracts,
081399 -       schedules, budgets, commitments from meetings, correspondence
081400 -       and calls, ref SDS 1 line 129.
081401 -
081402 -
081403 -      ..
081404 -     Need for Communication Metrics is Not Foreign
081405 -
081406 -     Mistakes, losses and frustrations caused by the difficulty from
081407 -     increased information flow, are not foreign, ref SDS 1 line 129,
081408 -     although it takes a directed thought to identify them as a body of
081409 -     work which can be accomplished by Communication Metrics.
081410 -
081411 -
081412 -     Budget to Succeed to Avoid Failure by Other Architects
081413 -
081414 -     The fact that other architects have not included Communication
081415 -     Metrics in their budgets reflects that it is "foreign," i.e., they
081416 -     have not figured out the solution.  Their omission may account for
081417 -     delays and conflicts in the SFIA program which Denis reported in
081418 -     March, and Turner reported in April, ref SDS 7 line 302. Why
081419 -     budget to fail, simply because others don't know the solution.
081420 -
081421 -
081422 -  ..
081423 - Communication Metrics for SFIA Program Needs Trial at Project Level
081424 -
081425 - Denis said our meeting last month was to introduce Communication
081426 - Metrics at the SFIA level, rather than for his specific project.
081427 -
081428 - He feels his work does not need the communication support in the Welch
081429 - proposal.
081430 -
081431 - We did not review the record for that meeting at ref SDS 6 9943.
081432 -
081433 - I noted that if I represent SFIA, then this would direct the spotlight
081434 - of SDS toward protecting the interests of SFIA.  KH may prefer to use
081435 - SDS to avoid making mistakes.  I also indicated that OKA will most
081436 - likely oppose having Welch represent SFIA because that would comprise
081437 - accountability for OKA, which it does not want.
081438 -
081439 -      [On 961206 Corps of Engineers was pressured because the Port of
081440 -      Oakland feared the spot light of SDS. ref SDS 18 5002.]
081441 -
081442 -      [On 960911 SFIA managment team was fired due to poor performance,
081443 -      ref SDS 15 9043; Denis reported his project has been successful
081444 -      without Communication Metrics, ref SDS 15 8954.]
081445 - ..
081446 - The larger point, however, is that SFIA will rightfully ask why
081447 - not use Communication Metrics on a single project, and if it works as
081448 - well as hoped, then adopt it more widely.  This means doing some work,
081449 - pilot project, to demonstrate effectiveness.
081450 -
081451 -      [On 960913 began pilot project to test Communication Metrics at
081452 -      the Corps of Engineers, ref SDS 16 3322 and on 961205. ref SDS 17
081453 -      00000]
081454 -
081455 -
081456 -  ..
081457 - Overcome Cultural Resistance to New Ideas
081458 - Introduce Communication Metrics to Kwan Henmi
081459 -
081460 - The impression from our discussion today is that Denis wants to use
081461 - Communication Metrics, but he has encountered resistance from others
081462 - at KH on budgeting for the effort because it is a new method that is
081463 - difficult to explain and has a "foreign" name.
081464 -
081465 - This reflects the challenge Denis cited in the meeting with Bill
081466 - DeHart and I on 951109, on the need to educate the KH staff about the
081467 - challenge of the work at SFIA. ref SDS 2 0880 and ref SDS 2 1360.
081468 -
081469 - A discussion with Kevin on 960418 evinced some resistance to enhancing
081470 - conventional management with Communication Metrics. ref SDS 10 7599
081471 -
081472 - ..
081473 - There are two options:
081474 -
081475 -     1.  ..
081476 -     2. Educate KH Staff
081477 -
081478 -        Do the Action Items Denis requested to educate KH staff about
081479 -        Risk Management, and the dominant impact of communication in
081480 -        meeting that risk.
081481 -
081482 -        Begin per original plan ref SDS 2 line 131, with Bill DeHart
081483 -        explaining to Kevin how SDS was used at PG&E to accomplish
081484 -        Communication Metrics and how it turned around a failing
081485 -        project for Bill, resulting in strong approval from the State
081486 -        Department of Water Resources.
081487 -
081488 -     3.  ..
081489 -     4. Denis Use Communication Metrics for a Few Months
081490 -
081491 -        Instead of trying to educate KH staff, Denis would do what Bill
081492 -        DeHart did, isolate SDS from everyone else, and just use Welch
081493 -        as a Communication Manager for himself on the grounds that his
081494 -        other duties at KH, require this support.
081495 -
081496 -        After several months of experience, KH staff will find SDS is
081497 -        not threatening and will want to use it.  Let them come to
081498 -        Denis and ask for it, rather than he push it off on them.
081499 -
081500 -
081501 - Denis said communication support is not as important for KH as it is
081502 - for the SFIA management team, presumably OKA.  He feels KH can perform
081503 - its work adequately, if SFIA communicates effectively, per the point
081504 - above that the "communication" issue at SFIA is programmatic, rather
081505 - than project specific.
081506 -
081507 -     [Denis' view was supported by Steve Rule at Turner who said the
081508 -     next day, that SFIA needs Communication Metrics more than Turner's
081509 -     team, ref SDS 12 8563.  He also advised they are changing project
081510 -     managers on their SFIA work.]
081511 -
081512 -     [On 980307 Andy Grove cites need for leadership to help its
081513 -     people, including top management, recognize new realities and
081514 -     admit to themselves the need to improve. ref SDS 26 1657
081515 - ..
081516 - I disagree for the reasons discussed originally that the KH
081517 - project intersects with many other projects and so presents a more
081518 - complex environment with attendant risks of error, losses,
081519 - frustrations that warrant better communication support, ref SDS 2 line
081520 - 423.  Apart from increased complexity Denis' point in October that the
081521 - Information Highway makes project management more difficult, warrants
081522 - use of Communication Metrics, ref SDS 1 line 129.
081523 -
081524 -      [See follow up where SFIA managment team was fired due to poor
081525 -      performance, ref SDS 15 line 86; Denis reported his project has
081526 -      been successful without Communication Metrics, ref SDS 15 line
081527 -      94.]
081528 -
081529 - Denis said he will have an internal project launch meeting in a week
081530 - or so I can attend to begin creating the record.
081531 -
081532 -
081533 -  ..
081534 - Analysis:  Defer Welch
081535 -
081536 - I guess my sense is that Denis feels uncomfortable going forward at
081537 - this time.  If we procede there is a strong likelihood the unease will
081538 - be relieved by success using Communication Metrics.  Why wait until
081539 - disaster strikes, or until everybody agrees the situation is a mess,
081540 - before doing something about it.  In that case, they will have a huge
081541 - problem that nothing can fix.  But, we have had 5 months to prepare
081542 - and have done nothing, so it indicates the psychological burden of
081543 - using this SDS stuff is significant.
081544 -
081545 -     [On 980307 Andy Grove's book "Only the Paranoid Survive" cites
081546 -     difficulty managers have admitting to themselves the magnitude of
081547 -     the problems they face, and so recognition does not occur until it
081548 -     is too late. ref SDS 25 3740 and ref SDS 25 5517]
081549 - ..
081550 - In order for SDS to work its magic it has work consistently over
081551 - a period of time.  Denis does not seem ready to try this, so I don't
081552 - want to encourage a half-hearted effort that will not be helpful, and
081553 - will be divisive.
081554 -
081555 -
081556 -
0816 -

SUBJECTS
General

0904 -
090401 - I asked about his vacation.  He said it was hectic, but very
090402 - enjoyable.  They visited Hong Kong and mainland China.  Their
090403 - relatives in China are not extremely worried about the takeover next
090404 - year, but many are seeking passports (or maybe he said citizenship) in
090405 - other countries so if things go awry when the Chinese take over,
090406 - there is a chance to emigrate.  He liked the trip they took to an area
090407 - in China similar to the US Rocky mountains.  I recalled when Millie
090408 - and I visited Epcot Center in Florida and attended the China exhibit
090409 - which resembles the circular theater showing the US, at Disnyland.  We
090410 - were impressed by how much of the China countryside resembles the US.
090411 -
090412 -
090413 -