CONTACTS 
0201 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers         415 977 8501 fax 8483
020101 - San Francisco District
020102 - Mr. Thompson F. Keesling, Architect; Assistant Chief
020103 - Construction Operations Division

SUBJECTS
COE Evaluation Communication Metrics
USACE CESPN CSB Review
Wider Use Communication Metrics
Experience, Need Broader Base
SAD Tests New Methods
HQ Review CEMP
HQ Support Local Command Review
Environmental Management

1210 -    ..
1211 - Summary/Objective
1212 -
121201 - Follow up ref SDS 35 0000, ref SDS 34 0000.
121202 -
121203 - Merry offered ideas on quality control to ensure an accurate and
121204 - relevant record, which is the aim of Communication Metrics.
121205 -
121206 - Talked to Tom about meeting with Merry to discuss her ideas in
121207 - preparation for a telecon with Jim Lovo tomorrow.
121208 -
121209 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0000 with link to this record for further review
121210 - on this matter.
121211 -
121212 -     [Also today, sent this to Jim Lovo based on his comments about
121213 -     claims in our discussion. ref SDS 36 8388]
121214 -
121215 -     [On 990111 Tom advised that Merry and Erik want to see how the
121216 -     Subject Index works. ref SDS 37 2754]
121217 -
121218 -
1213 -
1214 -
1215 - Discussion
1216 -
121601 -  ..
121602 - Received Clarification District Counsel's Letter on 981022
121603 -
121604 - Follow up ref SDS 35 8232.
121605 -
121606 - Received ref DRT 2 0000 dated 990104 from Merry Goodenough, counsel
121607 - for the San Francisco District.  Merry clarifies objectives for
121608 - quality assurance in para 6 of her letter on 981022, ref DRP 4 1933,
121609 - which was received on 981027. ref SDS 19 3366   Merry responds to
121610 - Tom's letter, ref DRT 1 0000, also, sent yesterday, per discussion
121611 - with Tom on planning for telecon with CEMP-EC scheduled for tomorrow.
121612 - ref SDS 35 3568
121613 -
121614 -
121615 -  ..
121616 - Communication Metrics Provides Many Checks to Ensure Accuracy
121617 -
121618 - Merry cites concern that note-taking by concensus results in managers
121619 - concealing bad news to present a favorable "spin," ref DRT 2 2704  and
121620 - also that the note-taker's interpretation may compound the problem of
121621 - "spin" that causes an inaccurate and/or irrelevant record.
121622 -
121623 - In any group there is always tension between accuracy, accountability,
121624 - and personal feelings and aspirations.  Fear of accountability was
121625 - reviewed on 980405. ref SDS 17 5065  Momentary feelings cause people
121626 - to recall different "truths" and to regard alternate expressions as
121627 - hostile, intending to harm, rather than a reflection of different
121628 - personal experience.  This is a challenge of leadership in forging
121629 - effective communications, i.e., to build shared meaning.  New tools
121630 - and skills of Communication Metrics help do a better job of resolving
121631 - these tensions in a manner that protects the interests of the agency.
121632 -
121633 - With respect to accuracy, CESPN managers Max Blodgett, Leonard SooHoo,
121634 - Marc McGovern, and Herb Cheong all issued memos stating the record
121635 - prepared under Communication Metrics was accurate. ref DRP 1 5543 They
121636 - maintained that, at least for a short-while, Communication Metrics
121637 - helped them make better decisions.  That is the purpose of the process
121638 - initially, as discussed on 960920. ref SDS 4 4261
121639 -
121640 - Contract notice provisions establish a duty for opposing parties to
121641 - correct the record.  An example is the letter to the contractor on
121642 - 961015, ref DIP 1 8456, which was reviewed with the Contractor in a
121643 - meeting on 961029. ref SDS 7 0919
121644 -
121645 - Communication Metrics is not a "concensus" record because it is
121646 - electronically integrated into related control criteria, so that
121647 - conflicts are readily apparent.
121648 -
121649 - The unique environment of Communication Metrics links related history
121650 - that enables everyone to assess and be alerted to conflicts between
121651 - new information and relevant evidence in prior events, calls,
121652 - meetings, memos, letters, contracts, regulations and so on.  Since the
121653 - record is continually aligned, it has a greater chance of being
121654 - accurate and the history restrains the impulse to engage in excessive
121655 - "spin."  For example a legal brief presents a perspective on the
121656 - record intended to guide the finder of fact toward judgement, but it
121657 - cites the record and that restrains excessive inaccuracy (in most
121658 - cases).
121659 -
121660 - Skilled analysis, like a skilled lawyer, arranges facts to tell a
121661 - coherent, consistent story that helps people see causation based on
121662 - chronology and alignment with controlling forces. The technology aides
121663 - this skill so that good intelligence can be provided in time to avoid
121664 - extra expense and delay that otherwise result in claims which require
121665 - expert lawyers to "discover" what happened years later.  This may be
121666 - why Jim Stout suggested on 961015 that Communication Metrics be used
121667 - on the Oakland Harbor project. ref SDS 6 8830
121668 -
121669 -
121670 -  ..
121671 - Subject Index Guides Organization of Record to Ensure Relevancy
121672 -
121673 - Merry makes a good point about the need for careful planning in the
121674 - beginning to catagorize information for relevance, similar to legal
121675 - practice in organizing a case for trial. ref DRT 2 1230
121676 -
121677 -     [On 990111 Tom advised that Merry and Erik want to see how the
121678 -     Subject Index works. ref SDS 37 2754]
121679 -
121680 - Organization of the record is critical to the success of Communication
121681 - Metrics, as set out in the prototype scope of services CESPN prepared
121682 - as Appendix E in the report issued on 970328. ref DRP 1 8556
121683 -
121684 - Planning is required, as Merry suggests.  Effective organization takes
121685 - focused attention and input from key people.  Communication Metrics
121686 - supports this planning with expertise and unique tools, as shown in
121687 - Appendix E of USACE's report issued on 970328, which came from work
121688 - begun on 960921. ref SDS 5 3521
121689 - ..
121690 - Tom's memo on 981223 to Bob Gordon at CEMP-EC explains the
121691 - planning that he and I did to create the Subject Index for the Oakland
121692 - Harbor project, ref DRP 14 0408, so that information was organized
121693 - according to relevant issues. ref SDS 33 5486
121694 -
121695 - Merry saw some of the subject index for the Oakland Harbor project in
121696 - a meeting on 970217. ref SDS 9 8830
121697 - ..
121698 - "Relevance" means what was communicated in relation to...
121699 -
121700 -              1.  requirements
121701 -              2.  commitments
121702 -              3.  objectives
121703 -
121704 - Requirements are in law, regulation, codes, contracts, policies,
121705 - procedures and guidelines.
121706 -
121707 - Commitments are in memos, correspondence, meetings and calls.
121708 -
121709 - Objectives are in budgets, schedules and action items.
121710 -
121711 - If a claim or change order arises, that becomes a "relevant" issue.
121712 -
121713 - Communication Metrics provides tools that can uniquely capture this
121714 - complex array on a daily basis, and then later pull out only
121715 - information that is relevant to an inquiry, as Merry requested on
121716 - 970417. ref SDS 11 8033
121717 -
121718 - The ability to manage complex details with linked summaries, gives
121719 - rise to the notion of "intelligence," as defined in the POIMS paper.
121720 - ref OF 1 6011
121721 -
121722 - Communication Managers develop expertise in preparing a useful record
121723 - by using control criteria like contracts, regulations, Work Breakdown
121724 - Structure (WBS), a Critical Path Schedule (CPM) or a chart of
121725 - accounts, as prepared by an accountant.  Working with line managers,
121726 - like the RE, Chiefs, and others responsible for performance, provides
121727 - the planning Merry calls for to ensure a relevant record.  It can also
121728 - be helpful to obtain review from counsel, as was done with Jim Stout
121729 - on 961015. ref SDS 6 3395
121730 -
121731 -
121732 - Concurrent Discovery Provides Quality Control
121733 - Communication Metrics Provides Good Intelligence, Not Perfection
121734 -
121735 - We can never avoid some inaccuracy, just like a transcript can have
121736 - inaccuracies.  The goal is to provide tools and a process that has a
121737 - greater chance of producing useful "intelligence" for daily management
121738 - and that also protects long term interests in the event of litigation.
121739 -
121740 - Like the law, we cannot get perfection.  But, we can do a better job
121741 - by adding an "intelligence" role supported by specialized tools.
121742 -
121743 - Technology makes it possible to apply legal processes concurrently, so
121744 - that some measure of the "intelligence" that lawyers discover in a
121745 - static record, after the fact, can be applied in time to avoid
121746 - mistakes that lead to conflicts.  This is the idea of Concurrent
121747 - Discovery explained in the New World Order ... paper, ref OF 3 2536,
121748 - that helps managers deal with the growing complexity of the 21st
121749 - century, per analysis on 960620. ref SDS 3 1101
121750 -
121751 - As noted in CESPN-CSB memo on 981103, more experience and input from
121752 - everyone can sharpen the ability to ensure accurate and relevant
121753 - information by adding metrics to communications. ref DRP 5 3496
121754 -
121755 -
121756 -
1218 -
1219 -
1220 - 1329 visited Tom
1221 -
122101 - Advised of telecon with CEMP this morning in which Jim indicated plans
122102 - for calling tomorrow with ideas for a letter to the District that
122103 - supports continued testing of Communication Metrics. ref SDS 36 6095
122104 -
122105 - Tom indicated that a constructive signal from HQ to the District could
122106 - be helpful in the manner that encouraged development of RMS in the Los
122107 - Angels District.
122108 -
122109 - We considered meeting with Merry to show the planning that was done to
122110 - set up the Oakland Harbor project structure so that information would
122111 - be organized according to relevant subjects, per her idea above....
122112 - ref SDS 0 5551
122113 -
122114 - Tom called and left a message for Merry about meeting to review ideas
122115 - on quality assurance.  He also forwarded my letter this morning that
122116 - transmits this record. ref DIT 1 3248
122117 -
122118 -     [On 990111 Tom advised that Merry and Erik want to see how the
122119 -     Subject Index works. ref SDS 37 2754]
122120 -
122121 -
122122 -
122123 -
1222 -