CONTACTS 
0202 - PG&E, Power Gen Services           415 973 2633 fax 0466                                                                                                       O-00000592 0101
020201 - Mr. Terry A. Morford; Manager =415 973 2633
020202 - Room 1203, Mail Code P12A  =Telephone/fax

SUBJECTS
PG&E Assignment, General, Objectives/scope
PG&E, Power Generation Services
Sales discussions

0605 -    ..
0606 - Summary/Objective
0607 -
060701 - Follow up ref SDS 24 0000, ref SDS 22 0000.
060702 -
060703 - Used information from discussion with Bill today at ref SDS 25 line
060704 - 55, to explain POIMS and Communication Metrics.
060705 -
060706 - Will follow up in a week or so re SDS demonstration.
060707 -
060708 -
0608 -
0609 -
0610 - Discussion
0611 -
061101 - Bill explained his objective to clarify how SDS supported project
061102 - management, and how organizational changes at PG&E impacted evaluation
061103 - of SDS. He mentioned "communication metrics" evolved from the PG&E
061104 - experience, to assist users and non-users in understanding what SDS
061105 - does and how it improves productivity and earnings, ref SDS 10 line
061106 - 111.
061107 -
061108 - Terry noted that "communications" is about 60% of "management," and so
061109 - methods to improve it are helpful.
061110 -
061111 -
061112 - Training
061113 -
061114 - He asked how SDS is applied and how much training is required.
061115 -
061116 -    I explained the idea of using a "communication engineer" similar to
061117 -    cost and schedule engineers, per ref SDS 15 line 116.  Terry noted
061118 -    that training time depends on the circumstances of individual
061119 -    trainees.
061120 -
061121 -    I agreed; the key to learning SDS is having a management background
061122 -    in order to understand all of the practices that are integrated in
061123 -    SDS, and why this is necessary.  It can take several weeks to
061124 -    several months to acquire the skill of using SDS functionality,
061125 -    depending upon how much time a particular manager can devote to
061126 -    training.
061127 -
061128 -    Bill said that writing skill is needed to craft the record so it is
061129 -    useful as a routine management tool to rely on instead of personal
061130 -    recall.  Some aspects of "writing" in SDS must/can be taught. Other
061131 -    aspects must/can ONLY be acquired by exposure to the SDS record and
061132 -    observing how it turns out to be applied over time.
061133 -
061134 -    This entails "transitioning" a new user to adopt the principles
061135 -    inherent in SDS, principally measuring and capturing understanding,
061136 -    and linking daily work to its antecedents.  The communication
061137 -    engineer builds a record that becomes valuable to the organization,
061138 -    and this provides incentive for the new user to learn to access it
061139 -    as a result of seeing how it improves earnings. New Users soon want
061140 -    this power.
061141 -
061142 -    This effort can take from 2 to 6 months, and should be applied in
061143 -    an OJT environment, supplemented by dedicated training, as
061144 -    recommended by Bill's memo to Chris Snyder, ref DRP 2 line 37.
061145 -
061146 -
061147 - New Business Practice or Crutch?
061148 -
061149 - Terry asked if the communication engineer becomes a crutch for the
061150 - organization?
061151 -
061152 -    Bill mentioned this was a concern he had initially in deciding to
061153 -    try SDS.  He recalled expecting Welch would have to spend weeks or
061154 -    even months loading a lot of prior information in order for SDS to
061155 -    become useful.  This was not the case.  SDS is like hiring a new
061156 -    executive.  History is incorporated as needed.
061157 -
061158 -    He said SDS with Welch providing communication engineering began to
061159 -    immediately improve project performance, reported to Chris Snyder,
061160 -    ref SDS 4 line 103, (explained also in the POIMS and New World
061161 -    Order... papers; examples are in the SDS record which can be seen
061162 -    in a demonstration of the program, see "SDS Demonstration" below).
061163 -
061164 -    Whether this is a "crutch," is a business decision, similar to
061165 -    deciding if an organization needs an accountant, electrical
061166 -    engineer, environmental specialist, and so on.  The POIMS and New
061167 -    World Order... papers set out a thesis that the management
061168 -    environment is changing.  Communication metrics can be seen as the
061169 -    cost of succeeding in the changed environment.
061170 -
061171 -    The key questions are:
061172 -
061173 -       •  Is the business environment changing?
061174 -       •  What is the change?
061175 -       •  What can managers do to meet the challenge of change?
061176 -       •  What will happen if the challenge of change is ignored?
061177 -
061178 -
061179 - Professional Development
061180 -
061181 - Terry asked if SDS is applied by a new skill person, or perhaps a
061182 - documentation clerk; or, is this a skill the manager is intended to
061183 - acquire?
061184 -
061185 -    I explained that ultimately the goal is to lift the skill of the
061186 -    executive and executive support.  PG&E's project managers are
061187 -    skilled in cost and schedule control, but are supported in this by
061188 -    project analysts.  The aim is to integrate cost, schedule and
061189 -    communications, per Kerzner lecture review, ref SDS 11 line 178.
061190 -
061191 -    I was Bill's documentation clerk/analyst because I know how to use
061192 -    SDS and how to manage organizations.  I also know the value of
061193 -    capturing the record in a certain way, that others have not yet had
061194 -    the opportunity to recognize.
061195 -
061196 -    Bill advised that one objective of our visit today is to get
061197 -    Terry's input on the advisability of adding communication metrics
061198 -    to the professional development program within PMI.
061199 -
061200 -
061201 - Generic Application
061202 -
061203 - Terry indicated communication metrics applies to more than projects.
061204 -
061205 -
061206 - Hardware
061207 -
061208 - Terry asked about the computer platform?
061209 -
061210 -    Bill advised SDS is a DOS application which he runs under Windows.
061211 -
061212 -
061213 - Communication Metrics & SDS
061214 -
061215 - Terry asked if communication metrics can be applied without SDS?
061216 -
061217 -    I explained this is a new science that requires "integrating" key
061218 -    management practices (see POIMS paper p. 2 "Investing Intellectual
061219 -    Capital" ref OF 1 line 147), and this can only be done by automa-
061220 -    tion. There is no manual analog.  Similarly, the objectives of
061221 -    discovering gaps in understanding before taking action in order to
061222 -    avoid the cost of misunderstanding, and scheduling follow up, both
061223 -    require a fast, supple means to capture, organize, link, identify
061224 -    and verify accuracy and consistency of the record.  This also
061225 -    requires automation.  There is no other way to do these things.
061226 -
061227 -    Therefore, POIMS criteria requires "automated integration" of
061228 -    traditional management of time, information, people and documents.
061229 -    The design of this automation is critical to making these
061230 -    components work together smoothly, ref OF 1 line 23.
061231 -
061232 -
061233 - Communication Metrics & PMI Standards
061234 -
061235 - Bill feels PMI should investigate applying POIMS criteria to support
061236 - communications, similar to C/SCSC for cost and schedule.
061237 -
061238 -    He cited the limited treatment of communications in the PMBOK.
061239 -
061240 -    We considered the general phenomena of management experts routinely
061241 -    pointing out at training events the importance of communications,
061242 -    but being unable to offer concrete improvements.  An example is the
061243 -    recent Kerzner International Video Conference attended by PG&E in
061244 -    February, 1995, ref SDS 11 line 156.  A major problem cited by many
061245 -    executives and others in the organizational hierarchy is having too
061246 -    many meetings and not enough time to work.
061247 -
061248 -    PG&E Example
061249 -
061250 -    I mentioned that the SDS record shows how PG&E, as at other organi-
061251 -    zations, much of the time in meetings devoted to reviewing con-
061252 -    flicting recollections about who said what at prior meetings, is
061253 -    solved by SDS.  An example with Glenn West, Pam Tehari and others,
061254 -    is at ref SDS 7 line 143.
061255 -
061256 -
061257 - Follow Up
061258 -
061259 - Terry wants to consider our discussion today, and review the papers on
061260 - POIMS, ref OF 1 line 10, and ref OF 2 line 12, which I submitted at
061261 - the conclusion of the meeting today.
061262 -
061263 - He asked how long the SDS demonstration takes.  I indicated this can
061264 - take from 30 - 90 minutes depending upon questions.  Our meeting today
061265 - will expedite the standard demonstration which normally includes
061266 - explanation of concepts.
061267 -
061268 - Terry wants to discuss this later in the week or perhaps next week.
061269 -
061270 -
061271 -  ..
061272 - SDS Demonstration
061273 -
061274 - Per analysis at ref SDS 25 line 55, deferred following until after
061275 - Terry has a chance to digest our discussion today and the
061276 - documentation on POIMS submitted today.
061277 -
061278 -    •  Use presentation to City of San Francisco, DS 13 2123.
061279 -
061280 -    •  Review original presentation to Bill at ref1 8490.
061281 -
061282 -    •  Review presentation to Chris, Bill and Kent Hea for objectives
061283 -       for SDS project at PG&E, ref SDS 2 8300.
061284 -
061285 -    •  Evaluation by PG&E at ref SDS 4 7777ref SDS 5 6006.
061287 -
061288 -    •  Comment by PG&E customer CDWR at ref SD920, and at ref SDS
061289 -       6 8841.
061290 -
061291 -    •  Typical management situation where SDS saves time and avoids
061292 -       mistakes, ref SDS 9 8987.
061293 -
061294 -
061295 -
0613 -