THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111-2496
415 781 5700
rodwelch@pacbell.net


S U M M A R Y


DIARY: January 11, 1994 06:37 AM Tuesday; Rod Welch

Improve SDS & POIMS scope statement; received publications.

1...Summary/Objective
2...Successful Project Management, Rosenau
3...Time Management Requires System to Prioritize
......Maintain log of how time is spent, ref OF 6 line 128.
......Good planning and procedures for meetings improves time
4...Communication is Difficult because Meaning is Not Constant
5...Meaning of Communication Requires Feedback to Maintain Alignment
....Stephen Covey recommends "Empathic Listening" ref SDS 3 3330, but
6...Feedback Essential to Maintain Alignment Meaning of Communication
.....Notice provisions are used in contracts to obtain feedback.


..............
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CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
SDS, Marketing, Advertising
SDS & POIMS specification/Graphics

0404 -
0404 -    ..
0405 - Summary/Objective
0406 -
040601 - Follow up
040602 -
040603 - Did more on incorporating the popular concept of "communications" with
040604 - the SDS & POIMS scope statement, ref OF 4 line 38.  Entered the
040605 - explanations at ref SDS 5 line 081007, so most of this is together.
040606 -
040608 -  ..
040609 - Completing logging articles at ref SDS 4 line 080901.
040610 -
040611 -
040612 -
0407 -

SUBJECTS
Personnel, Training, Management, Risk
Risk Caused by Complexity which causes
Risk Management, Avoid Mistakes on
Risk Management Decision Support Lessons

1006 -
1007 - General
100801 -  ..
100802 - Reived ref OF 9 line 10 which outlines issues in Risk Management for
100803 - project managers.
100804 -
100805 -
100806 -     Risk management is planning for unexpected, ref OF 9 line 14.
100807 -
100808 -     Basic procedure is to identify planning assumptions and the degree
100809 -     to which actual performance can vary, and the impact of that
100810 -     variance on objectives, ref OF 9 line 23.
100812 -      ..
100813 -     Elements of Risk Management, ref OF 9 line 31:
100814 -
100815 -          assessment
100816 -          abatement planning (or contingency planning)
100817 -          management of the risk abatement plans
100818 -
100819 -     ..
100820 -     Assessment has following componenets ref OF 9 line 43:
100821 -
100822 -          Identification
100823 -          probability
100824 -          impact
100825 -
100827 -      ..
100828 -     Risk probability is typically classified as being high, moderate
100829 -     or low, which equate to the following ranges - low, 0% to 20%;
100830 -     moderate, 20% to 30%; and high, 30% to 50%, ref OF 9 line 50.
100831 -
100833 -      ..
100834 -     Risk abatement planning is of two types, ref OF 9 line 62:
100835 -
100836 -          preventive
100837 -          response
100838 -
100839 -     ..
100840 -     Preventive planning can be done in three ways, ref OF 9 line
100841 -     63:
100842 -
100843 -          1. Presenting a worst-case scenario plan in addition to the
100844 -             expected plan,
100845 -
100846 -          2. Deterrnining approaches outside the project plan which
100847 -             would prevent the high risk situation from occurring in
100848 -             the first place,
100850 -              ..
100851 -          3. Ball parking contingency funds in time and in dollars to
100852 -             be drawn upon when a high risk situation does occur.
100853 -
100855 -      ..
100856 -     Response planning is a classical what if analysis. A response to
100857 -     each risk or opportunity is planned, so that when and if it mater-
100858 -     ializes, an immediate reaction is possible, ref OF 9 line 69.
100859 -
100860 -     ..
100861 -     Managing risk abatement is continuous during project to
100862 -     determine need to ajust risk assessment based on actual experience
100863 -     and/or to implement an abatement plan, ref OF 9 line 81.
100864 -
100865 -
100866 -
100867 -
1009 -

SUBJECTS
Personnel, Training, Time Management, Communications
Meeting Notes, confirm understandings
Feedback is Metric of Communication
Meaning Different from Meetings Calls Document Communications Common

4306 -
430701 -  ..
430702 - Successful Project Management, Rosenau
430703 -
430704 - Follow up ref SDS 2 0000.
430705 -
430706 - Scanned several chapters of the book, ref OF 6, received at the Cal
430707 - Tech seminar on 921021, ref SDS 2 0001, beginning on page 190, chapter
430708 - 16 titled:
430709 -
430711 -                   ..
430712 -                  Practical Tips for Project Managers
430713 -
430715 -  ..
430716 - It supports the list of "sound management practices" cited by Covey,
430717 - reviewed on 921205. ref SDS 3 4080
430718 -
430719 -
430721 -   ..
430722 -  ..
430723 - Time Management Requires System to Prioritize
430724 -  --------------------------------------------
430725 - Effective "time management" means setting priorities and each day
430726 - select a few (not more than three or four) really important, high
430727 - impact matters for your primary attention, ref OF 6 line 115
430728 -
430729 -      Devote large chucks of time to important matters, ref OF 6 line
430730 -      125.
430731 -
430733 -       ..
430734 -      Maintain log of how time is spent, ref OF 6 line 128.
430735 -
430736 -          This is accomplished automatically by SDS, ref OF 4 line 273.
430737 -
430739 -       ..
430740 -      Good planning and procedures for meetings improves time
430741 -      management, because meetings take a lot of time, ref OF 6 line
430742 -      136
430743 -
430744 -          This is accomplished by SDS per ref OF 4 line 216.
430745 -
430746 -
430748 -  ..
430749 - Communication is Difficult because Meaning is Not Constant
430750 - Meaning of Communication Requires Feedback to Maintain Alignment
430751 -
430752 - Cal Tech's book explains that effective communication is difficult in
430753 - project management because the meaning of words varies for different
430754 - people based on personal experience.  Sensory perection through seeing
430755 - and hearing to interpret talk, speech, dialog, discussion, and
430756 - conversation in meetings, calls, and documents depends on context
430757 - which people construct based on individual life experience.  These
430758 - differences are not usually evident until a mistake causes lost lives,
430759 - time, and money. ref OF 6 4444
430761 -  ..
430762 - On 921021 Frank Shultz reported that managing communications to
430763 - maintain alignment is a big challenge at JPL and NASA. ref SDS 2 4F50
430764 - After the Challenger space shuttle exploded on take-off in 1986,
430765 - procedures were adopted for accurate communications. ref SDS 2 4489
430767 -  ..
430768 - Below, "feedback" is the communication metric that resolves
430769 - conflicting interpretations. ref SDS 0 4400
430771 -     ..
430772 -    Stephen Covey recommends "Empathic Listening" ref SDS 3 3330, but
430773 -    it takes more than this to "understand," see Drucker at ref OF 2
430774 -    3333, and sometimes there is not enough time, ref SDS 3 2299.
430776 -        ..
430777 -       [On 940114 article in PMNetwork says Jennett frustrated that
430778 -       after founding PMI 20 years ago communication and especially
430779 -       meetings are unproductive. ref SDS 6 2290
430781 -        ..
430782 -       [On 940219 "communication" key to management. ref SDS 7 3553
430784 -        ..
430785 -       [On 950927 not enough time to understand at Intel. ref SDS 10
430786 -       5002
430788 -        ..
430789 -       [On 960518 meaning drifts over time, Dr. Tom Landauer's research
430790 -       on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). ref SDS 11 3734
430792 -        ..
430793 -       [On 960906 communication expert demonstrates that meaning is
430794 -       hard to establish in conversation. ref SDS 12 3421]
430796 -        ..
430797 -       [Explanation of "sound management practice" in POIMS paper for
430798 -       PMI seminar, ref SDS 8 1133.]
430800 -        ..
430801 -       [Air Force Institute of Technology postulates information
430802 -       entropy as cause of poor management, cost and schedule growth.
430803 -       ref SDS 16 0108
430804 -
430806 -  ..
430807 - Plan what is to be communicated, rather than try to decide what to say
430808 - during communications, ref OF 6 0037.  This is implemented in SDS
430809 - through SDS plannning records, per ref OF 4 0224.
430811 -  ..
430812 - Author recommends confirming verbal communications with printed memos,
430813 - ref OF 6 0059, which is implemented in SDS per ref OF 4 0368.
430815 -  ..
430816 - Issue notices of duty to perform, ref OF 6 line 143, which is
430817 - implemented by SDS at ref OF 4 0589.
430818 -
430819 -
430821 -  ..
430822 - Feedback Essential to Maintain Alignment Meaning of Communication
430823 -
430824 - Feedback is necessary metric to verify understanding for accurate
430825 - communications by resolving conflicting meanings for meetings, calls,
430826 - and documents, per above, ref SDS 0 2074, and as specified in typical
430827 - contract notice provisions. ref OF 6 0055
430829 -  ..
430830 - On 921021 Frank Shultz reported during a seminar at Cal Tech that
430831 - management procedures to maintain alignment for accurate
430832 - communications was strengthened after the Challenger space shuttle
430833 - exploded on take-off in 1986. ref SDS 2 4489
430834 -
430835 -     Feedback is the way proactive management learns the "truth" in
430836 -     advance of encountering failure, by "digging out of the system"
430837 -     the mistakes and conflicts that occur in daily communication due
430838 -     to the press of a busy schedule.  The Columbia Space Shuttle
430839 -     failure exemplifies the more severe result of failing to verify
430840 -     understandings, reported on 921021. ref SDS 2 4499.
430842 -        ..
430843 -       [On 940114 article in PMNetwork says Jennett frustrated that
430844 -       after founding PMI 20 years ago communication and especially
430845 -       meetings are unproductive. ref SDS 6 2290]
430847 -        ..
430848 -       [On 940219 article in PMJ says feedback essential for accurate
430849 -       communication in meetings, calls and documents. ref SDS 7 1L3N
430850 -
430851 -
430853 -      ..
430854 -     Notice provisions are used in contracts to obtain feedback.
430855 -
430856 -       [See "communications" key to management, ref SDS 7 3553.]
430857 -
430858 -       [On 950327 defined Communication Metrics. ref SDS 9 6007]
430860 -        ..
430861 -       [On 961017 Corps of Engineers feedback resisted to avoid hurt
430862 -       feelings by information that conflicts with recollections of
430863 -       communications, or with how they would like the record to have
430864 -       been reported, feel reporting is "inaccurate", ref SDS 13 6621;
430865 -       same issue on 970624 in meeting with DE. ref SDS 15 3345
430867 -        ..
430868 -       [On 970829 book on management - feedback essential for effective
430869 -       communication, ref SDS 17 4373, and notice is a key method for
430870 -       obtaining feedback that adds accountability to communication.
430871 -       ref SDS 17 L24N
430873 -        ..
430874 -       [On 970525 article cites feedback, ref SDS 14 0004]
430876 -        ..
430877 -       [On 970829 book on management says communication primary factor
430878 -       of success. ref SDS 17 L24N
430880 -        ..
430881 -       [On 971229 management film advocates feedback. ref SDS 18 2914]
430882 -
430884 -  ..
430885 - Follow up requried for effective metrics of uncerstandings,
430886 - ref OF 6 5555.
430887 -
430888 -
430889 -
430890 -
430891 -
430892 -
430893 -
4309 -







































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