THE WELCH COMPANY
Thanks for the information on your research project. I've attached comments, as well as notes of our discusson on Aug 18.
Your observation about "front-end investment" draws a powerful correlation between results at the end and investment of management talent in the beginning. Front-end investment is not supported because it seems mysterious and speculative. Communication Metrics builds a history from which "lessons learned" can be culled, essentially an encyclopedia of chronologies on specific issues, that offers a clear target for front-end analysis. While I am cognizant of the willfully blind to ignore opportunity, having a body of knowledge of what worked and what did not, offers a better chance for front-end investment to succeed.
Have you had a chance to contact the Corps of Engineers about the Communication Metrics report, per our discusison on Aug 18?
Sincerely,
THE WELCH COMPANY
Rod Welch
Enclosures
THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602; San Francisco, CA 94111-2496; 415 781 5700
M E M O R A N D U M FROM: Rod Welch
August 27, 1997 03 00050 97082702a
Re: Diary Report - August 20, 1997 10:06:52 AM; Wednesday
SUBJ: Received from Max Wideman his research on Comm Metrics tools.
CONTACTS
0201 - Wideman, R. Max 604 736 7025
020101 - Mr. R. Max Wideman
*** I S S U E ***
1201 - Ambassadors for Change, PMI, Wideman, Max
1202 - SDS Design Unique, Automated Management, Enterprise Workflow
1204 - IMS Integrated Management System
1205 - Cost/Benefit of Better Communications
1206 - Calculate Risk Management Exposure
1207 - =============================
1208 -
1209 - Summary/Objective
1210 -
121003 - Received information from Max about IMS which is a program that seems
121004 - similar to Expedition and RMS, in providing support for automated
121005 - enterprise workflow. The information from Max reflects efforts across
121006 - industry sectors and presented in professional journals on criteria
121007 - and performance objectives for better project management. There is no
121008 - record of successful implementation, except the U.S. Army Corps of
121009 - Engineers' report on Communication Metrics found technology can
121010 - support effective business intelligence.
121011 -
121012 -
121013 -
1211 -
1212 -
1213 - Progress
1214 -
121401 - Max passes along letters he has sent and received about software to
121402 - integrates project information. Descriptions in the documents
121403 - indicate potential to support Communication Metrics, as follows:
121404 -
121405 - * The subject of Max's initial letter...
121406 -
121407 - Management of project related information, ref DRT 1 line 15.
121408 -
121409 - What does "managing" information mean?
121410 -
121411 - After "management" is performed, what is the result?
121412 -
121413 - How does information look that has been "managed" that is
121414 - different from information that has not been managed?
121415 -
121416 - * A respondent, David Curling, cites an article by Harvey Levine
121417 - in a recent PMnetwork on "repositories." ref DRT 1 line 37.
121418 -
121419 - The May 1997 PM Network has an article by Levine: "The Project
121420 - Office - Revisited," It suggests using a department for project
121421 - management in the organization. One benefit listed is a
121422 - "repository of experience," but there is no method explained to
121423 - accomplish this benefit, ref SDS 12 line 522. It is a very
121424 - complex design and support task that no one has accomplished,
121425 - outside of using Communication Metrics.
121426 -
121427 - * Max says a lot of data/information will be gathered/produced...
121428 - word documents, specifications, spatial, designs, images,
121429 - scanned information, etc. that will in many cases be required to
121430 - be updated. As well as the normal project related requirements,
121431 - schedule, resources, costs, etc, ref DRT 1 line 70.
121432 -
121433 - Dave Vannier says Intel is trying to advance from "data" to
121434 - "information," ref SDS 8 line 442. Communication Metrics
121435 - converts information into knowledge, wisdom and vision, ref SDS
121436 - 8 line 595. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports this
121437 - produces business intelligence that improves management, ref DRP
121438 - 8 line 113.
121439 -
121440 - DEC issued a White Paper on Enterprise Workflow that describes
121441 - efforts to automate and integrate data/information, as Max seems
121442 - to have in mind, ref SDS 3 line 96.
121443 -
121444 - Dave Vannier reported Intel is trying to use the Web and/or
121445 - intranets to manage information more effectively, ref SDS 11
121446 - line 114. There is no apparent reason why this will work.
121447 -
121448 - Keith Kwasney reports a project at Intel to improve support for
121449 - project information, ref SDS 26 line 118. Max was notified of
121450 - this effort in my letter dated 970802, ref DIP 10 line 24.
121451 -
121452 - Gio Wiederhold at Stanford is developing a system of "Mediators"
121453 - ref SDS 4 line 109, intended to provide Enterprise Workflow
121454 - support, described in the DEC paper. There is no implementation
121455 - of this technology.
121456 -
121457 - * Integrated Management System (IMS) is a program from a firm in
121458 - Australia, ref DRT 1 line 119.
121459 -
121460 - Chris Maryssael with OSS Enterprises Pty Ltd., says IMS may
121461 - accomplish Max's objective or can be customized, ref DRT 1 line
121462 - 116.
121463 -
121464 - IMS costs AUD1500. Customising is at an hourly rate of AUD135
121465 - for analysis and AUD85 for coding,
121466 -
121467 - Developed in Filemaker Pro 3 (for Apple, Windows 95 or Windows
121468 - NT). Features include: ref DRT 1 line 121.
121469 -
121470 - * document/notes management system for research,
121471 - * library/records management system (under development),
121472 - * ancillary modules to manage special processes.
121473 - * contact management (clients and suppliers),
121474 - * staff registration,
121475 - * project tracking (project, stage, task, component),
121476 - * budgeting, tendering, reporting for contract and control,
121477 - * timesheet entry and occupation reporting,
121478 - * invoicing,
121479 - * account modules including project allocation
121480 - * integration of disbursements in project costing,
121481 - * project costing
121482 - * other financial and productivity reports.
121483 -
121484 - This scope appears to reflect capability in Primavera's
121485 - Expedition program, and the Resident Management Program being
121486 - implemented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
121487 -
121488 - Expedition is reviewed at ref SDS 1 line 79, ref SDS 7 line 346.
121489 -
121490 - RMS is reviewed at ref SDS 10 line 94.
121491 -
121492 -
121493 - Preliminary Analysis
121494 - --------------------
121495 - IMS scope, like that for Expedition and RMS, et al., does not
121496 - integrate time and information to produce knowledge, nor provide
121497 - organization and analysis for effective business intelligence.
121498 - Communication Metrics needs SDS to supplement IMS.
121499 -
121500 - Training and consistent implementation of IMS will be a major
121501 - challenge, as it is for Expedition and other enterprise wide,
121502 - cross-functional management "systems." Who inputs the "data",
121503 - how is it collected, how is the "data" converted into useful
121504 - knowledge and ideas needed for decision support?
121505 -
121506 - How easy will it be to evolve the "system" as new technology
121507 - arises that overtakes various aspects of the IMS technology?
121508 -
121509 - What level of support will be available from Australia? Is
121510 - there a US based staff?
121511 -
121512 -
121513 - Cost/Benefit Calculation for IMS
121514 - --------------------------------
121515 - Morris Jones at Chips & Technologies, and Steve Rule at Turner
121516 - Construction have asked about cost/benefit of Communication
121517 - Metrics. This has led to a search for ways to evaluate costs
121518 - and benefits of project management methods and tools, generally
121519 - described as "overhead," in order help decision makers try new
121520 - methods like the automated tools Max has in mind, including IMS.
121521 -
121522 - It will be interesting to see how consideration of cost and
121523 - benefits is made in Max's research. How will risk management be
121524 - applied in selecting, implementing and operating an enterprise
121525 - workflow system? To what extent will personal work practices
121526 - have to change, and if those changes are not made, what will be
121527 - the effect on the value of the automated system? (For example
121528 - see "Saving IT's Soul" HBR Mar - Apr 1994, p. 119, explaining
121529 - the need for human centered and empathic design considerations
121530 - for enterprise wide automated systems), ref SDS 2 line 205.
121531 -
121532 -
121533 - Tom Keesling said yesterday that the San Francisco District Corps of
121534 - Engineers is commissioning a study of RMS, Paragon, and Communication
121535 - Metrics, ref SDS 32 line 85.
121536 -
121537 -
121538 -
121539 -
1216 -
Distribution: See "Contacts"
THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602; San Francisco, CA 94111-2496; 415 781 5700
M E M O R A N D U M
FROM: Rod Welch
August 27, 1997 03 00050 97082702b
Re: Diary Report - August 18, 1997 12:14:23 PM; Monday
SUBJ: Called Max Wideman asking about CE Comm Metrics report.
CONTACTS
0201 - Wideman, R. Max 604 736 7025
020101 - Mr. R. Max Wideman
*** I S S U E ***
2101 - Ambassadors for Change, PMI, Wideman, Max
2103 - Proactive Management Discovers Problems
2104 - Feel Good Management Supresses Conflict,
2106 - Crisis Management More Fun, Fast Action Feels Good
2110 - Errors Induced, Less Chance to Recover
2111 - Distinct from Data, Information, Wisdom
2112 - Blinded by Knowledge of Leaders
2113 - Hierarchy Causes Hubris by Shielding
2114 - =============================
2115 -
2116 - Summary/Objective
2117 -
211704 - Max received my letter on his questions about the Corps of Engineer's
211705 - report on Communication Metrics. He is working on an assignement and
211706 - so will respond to my letter when time permits, including contacting
211707 - Corps of Engineers. He raised the issue of personality and Crisis
211708 - Management on the attractiveness of Communication Metrics.
211709 -
211710 - [See follow up receiving research from Max, ref SDS 29 line 94.]
211711 -
211712 -
211713 -
2118 -
2119 -
2120 - Discussion
2121 -
212101 - I asked if Max received my letter, ref DIP 1 line 30, since he sent
212102 - an inquiry about whether I received his letter, ref DRP 1 line 22, a
212103 - few days after I submitted a response via ref DIP 1 line 30.
212104 -
212105 - Max said he received my letter, ref DIP 1 line 30, but has been
212106 - working on a project, and so has not had time to complete his
212107 - response.
212108 -
212109 - [See Max's project relates to research for enterprise wide
212110 - automated management, ref SDS 29 line 135.]
212111 -
212112 - He indicated having plans to call or contact CE staff involved with
212113 - the Corps of Engineers' Communication Metrics report, per ideas at ref
212114 - SDS 27 line 98.
212115 -
212116 - [See follow up letter asking about progress on this, ref SDS 30
212117 - line 104.]
212118 -
212119 -
212120 -
212121 - Crisis Management Obsticle to Communication Metrics
212122 - ---------------------------------------------------
212123 - Max explained the challenge managers have in supporting front-end
212124 - investment for planning that avoids crisis.
212125 -
212126 - He noted that writing the record to produce business intelligence, as
212127 - reported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ref DRP 2 line 113,
212128 - takes discipline. When things are going well, managers get frustrated
212129 - by inactivity because they do not have a crisis to talk about. They
212130 - are unable to see that "knowledge" is fragile, i.e., the human mind
212131 - can align understandings for only a minute. Connections constantly
212132 - slip away and change alignment. Since this occurs in the mind and is
212133 - involuntary, leaders feel anxious to give an order or get information,
212134 - rather than invest the most valuable time they have, when nothing is
212135 - going on, to capture and test understanding of what has already gone
212136 - on, before it slips away.
212137 -
212138 - Crisis management is another form of "Feel Good" management, which is
212139 - the antithisis of proactive problem solving supported by Communication
212140 - Metrics, ref DRP 2 line 560.
212141 -
212142 - We considered the allure of Crisis Management that inhibits front-end
212143 - investment, even when there seems to be time to do it.
212144 -
212145 - I recalled that as a General Contractor I would visit projects and
212146 - spend 30 minutes to an hour for a meeting or other activity to review
212147 - job progress, and then would be anxious to move on. My experience
212148 - working with executives, including other general contractors, is that
212149 - they typically are "fast studies," who have little patience for
212150 - careful analysis. This is fertile ground for Crisis Management, as
212151 - evidenced by Joel Koppleman's explanation of his problems at Primavera
212152 - producing a Windows program, ref SDS 2 line 389.
212153 -
212154 - Communication Metrics breakthrough in management science is offering a
212155 - productive use of time when there is no crisis. Formerly, managers
212156 - could only worry, become anxious. Nightmares wake them up screaming
212157 - at 3:00 A.M. about the mental connections slipping away, per meeting
212158 - with John Lettieri at Marsh & McLennan last week, ref SDS 28 line 150.
212159 -
212160 - SDS technology empowers managers to accomplish Communication Metrics
212161 - by capturing understandings, organizing it and developing analysis to
212162 - discover alignment with requirements that avoid crisis. However, the
212163 - trappings of leadership in giving orders and taking immediate action
212164 - present an obsticle to effective leadership, by endendering reluctance
212165 - to make the front end investment Max describes.
212166 -
212167 - There is also the deeper issue of the distinction between information
212168 - and knowledge and how this impacts decision making.
212169 -
212170 -
212171 - Distinction between Information and Knowledge
212172 - Blinded by Common Sense, Inexperience Impedes Comprehension
212173 - -----------------------------------------------------------
212174 - The difference between information and knowledge can be seen from
212175 - the recent example of an FBI department head, who, in a five
212176 - minute meeting, refused to approve payment of $500 a week to an
212177 - informant for intelligence to avoid execution of a bomb plot. The
212178 - agents who had worked the case were unable to "communicate" the
212179 - strength of the threat and the value of the intelligence. Since
212180 - there was no direct evidence of a pending attack on a specific
212181 - target, and since the decision maker had no direct experience with
212182 - the evidence gathering process that had convinced the agents of
212183 - the urgency to procede, the executive only had "information" and
212184 - it conflicted with his common sense. He was blinded by "knowledge"
212185 - that such threats are incredible, and so he could not answer his
212186 - mental question:
212187 -
212188 - Why invest in front end investigation?
212189 -
212190 - After the Twin Towers in New York were bombed the informant was
212191 - paid $1M to get intelligence on subsequent bomb targets, which
212192 - then led to the arrest of the Iranian gang before another attack
212193 - occurred. Absent the crisis of a bomb going off, managers are
212194 - reluctant to invest to avoid crisis.
212195 -
212196 - See, also, analysis of "Blinded by the knowledge of its
212197 - leaders, nation takes wrong path," ref SDS 3 line 268.
212198 -
212199 -
212200 - Wayne Wetzel at DNRC in Montana mentioned Max's point about discipline
212201 - and that when a meeting is over, people what to go home or to the next
212202 - meeting, rather than perform Communication Metrics, ref SDS 1 line
212203 - 118. Now, after his Broadwater project litigation, he has a broader
212204 - perspective. He has become the Communication Manager for DNRC, ref SDS
212205 - 13 line 204.
212206 -
212207 - This is another reason a dedicated specialist for the Communication
212208 - Manager role is needed to apply the discipline of overcoming the urge
212209 - to move on, looking for a crisis to become a hero by putting out a
212210 - fire. People voice the desire for proactive management and problem
212211 - solving, but it is actually too psychologically demanding for most
212212 - folks.
212213 -
212214 - Crisis and Feel Good management were addressed in the paper prepared
212215 - for Morris last year to present at PMI's Asilomar Conference, ref SDS
212216 - 6 line 155. The paper describes the exeuctive mindset that substitues
212217 - "knowledge" from experience (i.e., personal hunch, proclivity and
212218 - impulse) for inquiry to obtain relevant facts, which arises because an
212219 - executive is typically not questioned about what they know by the
212220 - people they encounter in daily work, ref OF 2 line 512.
212221 -
212222 -
212223 -
212224 -
2123 -
Distribution: See "Contacts"