CONTACTS 
0201 - Corps of Engineers, SFD                                                                                                                                            O-00000632 0202
020101 - Mr. Thompson F. Keesling, Architect; Assistant Chief
020102 - Construction Operations Division
0202 - Corps of Engineers, SFD                                                                                                                                            O-00000632 0401
020201 - Mr. Thomas Benero; Chief
0203 - Corps of Engineers, SFD                                                                                                                                            O-00000632 0302
020301 - Mr. Herb Cheong,; Project Manager
020302 - Project Management Division
0204 - Corps of Engineers, SFD                                                                                                                                            O-00000632 0101
020401 - LTC. XXX Thompson; District Engineer

SUBJECTS
Increase Budget, Port of Oakland, Port of Richmond
Tom Keesling, Modify Welch Contract
Experience SDS/Communication Metrics Only
Difficult to Understand
Evaluation, COE Decision to Use
Evaluation Communication Metrics
Budget, 22 Meetings
COE Discover Comm Metrics Scope
Distinguished from Other Systems/Methods

1811 -
1811 -    ..
1812 - Summary/Objective
1813 -
181301 - Follow up ref SDS 16 0000, ref SDS 15 0000.
181302 -
181303 - Yesterday on 961030 Herb Cheong requested an SDS demonstration for
181304 - Port of Oakland. ref SDS 17 XZ3N
181306 -  ..
181307 - Before the meeting started with the Port of Oakland, I introduced
181308 - myself to the DE.  LTC Thompson said he would like a demonstration of
181309 - SDS, and an explanation of Communicaiton Metrics.  He asked Herb to
181310 - schedule it with his secretary, Sharon.  It will occur before we do
181311 - the demo for the Port. Herb indicated the presentation could include
181312 - senior SFD people, as well as the DE.
181313 -
181314 -     [On 961118 SDS was demonstrated for District Engineer, LTC
181315 -     Thompson. ref SDS 23 0000 56
181317 -  ..
181318 - While meeting with the Port to prepare for meeting with the Contractor
181319 - on the Oakland Harbor project, Herb set a date for me to demonstrate
181320 - SDS and explain Communication Metrics to the Port on 961121.
181321 -
181322 -
181324 -  ..
1814 -
1815 -
1816 - 1313 discussion with Tom Keesling, Herb and Tom Benero
1817 -
181701 - After the meeting with the Contractor and the Port, Tom Keesling, Tom
181702 - Benero and Herb Cheong continued to review the results of the meeting
181703 - in the conference room.
181705 -  ..
181706 - Communication Metrics for Completion Oakland Harbor Project
181707 -
181708 - I raised the objective discussed with Herb and Tom Keesling of funding
181709 - the remainder of the Welch contract on the Oakland project, per Tom
181710 - Benero's report at a meeting on 961024 that the DE told the Port of
181711 - Oakland that SFD intends to use Communication Metrics to completion of
181712 - the Oakland Harbor project, ref SDS 16 line 71.
181714 -  ..
181715 - Herb indicated he feels this should be continued through the end of
181716 - the Oakland contract for the reasons at ref SDS 17 line 104, and that
181717 - it should include administrative support, per discussions at
181718 - ref SDS 17 line 123.
181719 -
181721 -  ..
181722 - Port of Richmond Project, Communication Metrics
181723 -
181724 - Tom Keesling discussed continuing the Welch application of SDS and
181725 - Communication Metrics through completion of the Oakland project, and
181726 - that COE should use this method for the Richmond project that now
181727 - looks like it will be let for bids the first part of next year, per
181728 - ref SDS 16 line 82, and at ref SDS 10 line 106.  That would require
181729 - different budget authority.
181731 -  ..
181732 - Tom Benero said that with Herb's concurrance, Tom Keesling should
181733 - submit a request for modification on a particular form, or
181734 - alternatively simply submit a memorandum explaining the particulars of
181735 - the changes in budget and scope to be implemented.
181737 -  ..
181738 - Tom Keesling and I met separately later and he asked me to write up a
181739 - scope change and a preliminary estimate.
181740 -
181741 -     [On 961104 prepared contract and budget amendment for Com Metrics.
181742 -     ref SDS 19 00000
181743 -
181744 -
181745 -
181746 -
1818 -

SUBJECTS
People Discover Scope SDS Application to Daily Management through Ex
Diary Improves Mental Acuity Memory Reasoning Creativity Innovation

2304 -
230501 -  ..
230502 - Experience with SDS Reveals Broader Scope Than Expected
230503 -
230504 - Follow up ref SDS 8 9A9O.
230505 -
230506 - Tom Keesling advised that experience over the past two (2) months
230507 - shows that Communication Metrics is a broader scope than he and others
230508 - at the Corps of Engineers originally contemplated in entering the
230509 - contract on 960913, ref SDS 6 3322, (similar to Bill DeHart's comments
230510 - on 941004 at PG&E, ref SDS 1 8899, reflected later in Bill's
230511 - evaluation report to management on 941230, ref DRP 1 3333).
230513 -  ..
230514 - Tom's analysis support's Max's planning on 960924 to increase exposure
230515 - of Com Metrics at USACE, ref SDS 8 IJ7S, by exercising leadership
230516 - ordering Tom to use Com Metrics support for weekly progress meetings
230517 - on the Oakland Harbor project. ref SDS 8 NQ3O  At that time, Tom was
230518 - not aware SDS could be applied to improve productivity of meetings.
230520 -  ..
230521 - Tom feels experience getting Com Metrics support over the past 2
230522 - months enabled discovering a broader range of support than he expected
230523 - in preparing the original contract, and that therefore the scope of
230524 - the follow on contract should be expanded, per planning above.
230525 - ref SDS 0 O25L  He will talk to Max about expanding the scope of Com
230526 - Metrics, and including a provision to train District staff.
230527 -
230528 -     [On 961206 Max requested that scope of extended contract include
230529 -     training and support for Contract Administration that implements
230530 -     the Federal Acquisition Act (FAR). ref SDS 26 1204
230532 -      ..
230533 -     [On 970418 received report on Com Metrics issued by COE,
230534 -     ref SDS 28 3368, with a scope of services for using SDS on future
230535 -     projects. ref SDS 28 2644
230537 -      ..
230538 -     [On 980803 Max reported declining productivity of meetings,
230539 -     ref SDS 30 4712, and difficulty getting his colleagues to accept
230540 -     Com Metrics support where he does not have authority to order
230541 -     support, ref SDS 30 2546, as he did on 960924.
230543 -  ..
230544 - Difficulty understanding value added by SDS, even after nearly a year
230545 - of disucssions and demonstrations reflects a significant challenge
230546 - developing advertising materials reported on 950427. ref SDS 2 9558
230547 -
230548 -     [On 020530 IT engineer reports experience using SDS shows this
230549 -     method works better than expected. ref SDS 31 Y89F
230551 -      ..
230552 -     [On 030830 Gary reports similar experience at aerospace company.
230553 -     ref SDS 32 V66H
230555 -      ..
230556 -     [On 040615 people not aware SDS supports preparing technical
230557 -     documents after 3 years reading about SDS, working with
230558 -     foundational documents, and using SDS on the job for 2 years.
230559 -     ref SDS 33 6X5J
230561 -      ..
230562 -     [On 040915 people not aware SDS supports root cause analysis after
230563 -     3 years reading about SDS and 2 years using SDS. ref SDS 35 OX89
230565 -  ..
230566 - What seems to have occurred is that Tom's initial belief on 960913 in
230567 - setting goals to evaluate SDS, ref SDS 6 3322, was that Communication
230568 - Metrics could be used on isolated events, like a particular class of
230569 - meetings held once a week.  We originally discussed using it for the
230570 - DMMO meetings, ref SDS 4 5584.  Later, once on board, Tom resisted
230571 - using Communication Metrics for progress meetings on the Oakland
230572 - Harbor project.  On 960924 Max provided leadership that empowered Tom
230573 - to discover that SDS adds intelligence support to align communications
230574 - with objectives, requirements and commitments. ref SDS 8 4454  Without
230575 - leadership to empower people by directing that action be taken which
230576 - people are resisting, one can discover anything, because ignorance,
230577 - fear and denial prevent doing the work that demonstrates performance
230578 - essential for discovery that fears are unfounded.
230579 -
230580 -     [On 961112 considered wider application to new automated systems
230581 -     in the District ref SDS 21 8452.]
230583 -      ..
230584 -     [Discussion on 961105 with Tom White on discovering value of Com
230585 -     Metrics for working intelligently. ref SDS 20 1220
230587 -      ..
230588 -     [On 961104 at ref SDS 19 8845 identified meetings and discussions
230589 -     that are required to give meaning to the basic 22 meetings; later
230590 -     meeting with Tom Benero on why only 2 months were funded for a 6
230591 -     month contract? ref SDS 24 8555
230593 -      ..
230594 -     [On 961204 reviewed why it takes time for people to understand,
230595 -     and acquire faith in the value of investing intellectual capital.
230596 -     ref SDS 25 2052
230598 -      ..
230599 -     [On 961206 Tom Keesling and Max Blodgett plan to expand SDS
230600 -     support after gaining experience to discover scope of
230601 -     applications. ref SDS 26 1204
230603 -      ..
230604 -     [On 961223 by COE Chief Counsel, John Eft, who had not experience
230605 -     with SDS recommended that Com Metrics could be replaced with
230606 -     litigation support available from other sources, ref SDS 27 5849
230608 -      ..
230609 -     [On 970418 COE published report on Com Metrics describing unique
230610 -     support for intelligence. ref SDS 28 3368
230612 -      ..
230613 -     [Discussion on 971017 on need to build faith in Communication
230614 -     Metrics, ref SDS 29 0941.]
230616 -      ..
230617 -     [On 040709 Gary wants to expand using SDS for engineering
230618 -     management, based on experience managing documents for the ASB
230619 -     filing on SDS that used the SDS plan, perform, report
230620 -     "intelligence" cycle; ref SDS 34 RG7H
230622 -  ..
230623 - Tom may have thought that the Claim Team meetings would be a good
230624 - vehicle for this evaluation, per our meeting on 960621, ref SDS 5
230625 - 8849, since Communication Metrics improves claim support.
230627 -  ..
230628 - However, claim and litigation support are not expressly stated in the
230629 - Contract, perhaps because COE wanted flexibility to apply the method
230630 - more broadly, based on actual experience.  There was genuine
230631 - uncertainty about how Communication Metrics would work in the
230632 - beginning, similar to the debris removal problem being discussed with
230633 - the Contractor today in the Todd and Schnitzer Wings, ref SDS 13 9951,
230634 - and also similar to the uncertainty about how much material is to be
230635 - dredged, evidenced by estimates from 5.5M CY to recent reports of 7.1M
230636 - CY.
230637 -
230638 -     [See later Claim Team meeting, ref SDS 11 8860; and later report
230639 -     at ref SDS 18 8847.]
230640 -
230642 -  ..
230643 - Initial Budget of 22 Meetings Omitted "Intelligence" Role
230644 -
230645 - Belief that the method can be used on isolated meetings, which, under
230646 - Communication Metrics theory, is incorrect, may have led to Tom's
230647 - original estimate that assumed attendance at one meeting per week
230648 - times 4 weeks times 6 months equals 24 meetings, which was then
230649 - reduced to 22 meetings for convenience of doing mathematics so the
230650 - target budget number was approximated, ref SDS 6 3322.
230652 -  ..
230653 - There was not a realization at that time, because there was no
230654 - experience with the methodology, that the value of Communication
230655 - Metrics comes from integrating correlations of interaction among the
230656 - full range of daily activity impacting the work, and integrating those
230657 - correlations with Time and Document management.  These correlations
230658 - give information meaning (i.e., "intelligence), which is the objective
230659 - of Communication Metrics, rather than the traditional notion of taking
230660 - notes to produce "minutes of meetings."
230662 -  ..
230663 - While this value of building and maintaining shared meaning was stated
230664 - during negotiations, ref SDS 3 8659, it could not be "known" by COE
230665 - until sufficient experience with the process was gained, generally a
230666 - period of 4 - 8 weeks, as at PG&E, ref SDS 1 8899.  The challenge of
230667 - grasping this new concept is evident in discussions with Marcus
230668 - Tikotsky, ref SDS 12 6621. Similarly, Max, ref SDS 7 9530, Monti
230669 - Jaggers, ref SDS 14 7740, Tom White ref SDS 22 1678, and others have
230670 - required exposure to SDS in order to discover the scope of
230671 - Communication Metrics. see on 961105. ref SDS 20 1220
230673 -  ..
230674 - Tom may have originally associated Communication Metrics with ordinary
230675 - litigation support [which was John Eft's initial perception later in
230676 - December, ref SDS 27 5849], based on our discussions concerning
230677 - difficulties getting the barge Antone delivered and its impact on job
230678 - performance, ref SDS 5 8849.
230680 -  ..
230681 - Initially, Communication Metrics was limited to the weekly Claim Team
230682 - meeting which, based on the frequency of that meeting, may have
230683 - resulted in only 22 or 24 meetings over the 6 month period of the
230684 - contract.  If use of Communication Metrics had been limited to that
230685 - single class of meetings, then the original estimate of 22 meetings
230686 - may have been correct.  However, after a few weeks of starting the
230687 - Welch Contract, Max asked that Communication Metrics be used on the
230688 - weekly Progress Meetings at the Oakland Project Office, for the
230689 - reasons at ref SDS 9 line 292, which he indicated could lead to wider
230690 - application.  This has occurred.
230692 -  ..
230693 - A key factor that increased the effort under the Welch contract has
230694 - been the Contractor's conduct.  An example is the Navy Sewer Line,
230695 - where the Contractor has made claims for additional payment that
230696 - required investigation and careful management to determine the
230697 - Contractor's reasoning and factual reliance.  Investigation has
230698 - indicated the Contractor's claims are incorrect, however, the work
230699 - entailed to investigate and issue notices that show Contractor error
230700 - and that COE has met its duty to mitigate damages, may not have been
230701 - contemplated in the original 22 hours.
230702 -
230703 -     [See application of this idea in formulating a new budget on
230704 -     961104. ref SDS 19 8845.]
230705 -
230706 -
230707 -
230708 -
230709 -
230710 -
230711 -
230712 -
230713 -
230714 -
230715 -
230716 -
230717 -
230718 -
230719 -
230720 -
2308 -