CONTACTS 
0201 - Welcom Software Technology         713 558 0514 fax 584 7828
020101 - Mr. Tim Boatwright; Sales Representative
020102 - Sales Department       =Telephone/fax
020103 - Mr. Lewis D. Kana, PMP; Senior Consultant
020104 - Consulting Department      =Telephone/fax

SUBJECTS
MPM, Welcom Software, May 16
Send product information, requesting give
Find Talent
Welcom

0706 -    ..
0707 - Summary/Objective
0708 -
070801 - Followed up work at ref SDS 4 line 18.  Had an informative
070802 - presentation on Modern Project Management, and may have found an
070803 - organization with an understanding of communication metrics.
070804 -
070805 - Submitted ref DIT 1 line 30 to Tim, with cc to Lew, included this
070806 - record and explanation of POIMS, ref OF 1 line 10.
070807 -
070808 - Submitted ref DIT 2 line 30 to Lew, requesting leads at Corp of
070809 - Engineers.
070810 -
070811 -
070812 -
0709 -
0710 -
0711 - Progress
0712 -   ..
071201 - Lewis Kana was the main speaker.  He presented some of the
071202 - material from the Kerzner lecture in Feb, ref SDS 3 line 73, plus new
071203 - ideas and tools offered by Welcom.  Their PM Director program fills a
071204 - need to give greater power to the customer in using automation.
071205 -
071206 -
071207 -      ..
071208 -     Automated Integration
071209 -
071210 -     Lew was unfamiliar with term "automated integration" which is
071211 -     mentioned in the Kerzner material, ref SDS 3 line 122, although it
071212 -     seems likely that Welcom applies the concept in the limited way
071213 -     Kerzner has in mind which is to combine the schedule and cost
071214 -     engineers into a single control group that provides earned value
071215 -     analysis, ref SDS 3 line 129.
071216 -
071217 -
071218 -  ..
071219 - Modern Project Management
071220 -
071221 - Welcom's presentation explained "MPM" by citing project management
071222 - methods used today.  This is helpful background, but does not identify
071223 - the qualitative advance that distinguishes MPM from traditional
071224 - methods of 10, 100 or 1,000 years ago.  Practitioners might wonder
071225 - what time frame, event, or method distinguishes the "modern" era that
071226 - warrants attention.  Is every "modern" organization using MPM?  [MPM
071227 - and PM was considered at the PMI Asilomar conference last year, ref
071228 - SDS 1 line 149.
071229 -
071230 -
071231 -
071232 -  ..
071233 - Welcom has Strong PM Capability
071234 -
071235 - The presentation was supported by a very professional brochure.  Its
071236 - cover has a special kind of print that shows alternate views of
071237 - Welcom's organizational mission when held at different angles. It is
071238 - very imaginative.
071239 -
071240 -     Welcom's Mission
071241 -
071242 -     Our mission is to provide quality project management software and
071243 -     associated services to organizations for which serious project
071244 -     management is a critical business requirement.
071245 -
071246 - ..
071247 - I included Welcom's brochure as an attachment to their letter of
071248 - May 31, giving notice of the event, ref DRT 1 line 39.
071249 -
071250 - At the conclusion of the presentation, we were asked to submit a
071251 - review and evaluation.  After filling out their form, I got a copy
071252 - from the Hotel, and included it in the record as an attachment to my
071253 - comment letter, ref DIT 1 line 62, which includes this record.
071254 -
071255 -
071256 -  ..
071257 - Marketing Contacts at Corps of Engineers
071258 -
071259 - Lew explained Welcom has a lot of work with the Corp of Engineers. He
071260 - commented very favorably on the quality of their Project Management,
071261 - even though the Corp mainly just manages contracts.
071262 -
071263 - I think this experience base is beginning to withdraw from PMI at
071264 - least in the NCC. The Corps, the Navy and so on has long been a strong
071265 - presence in PMI which is critical to maintain our contact with experts
071266 - in project management.
071267 -
071268 -      It would be interesting to get a review from a Corps or Navy PM
071269 -      type on the application of the new PMBOK Guide.
071270 -      ..
071271 -      Actually, this might be a good presentation in the
071272 -      communication event program.
071273 -
071274 -          [Followed up at ref SDS 10 line 71.]
071275 -
071276 -
071277 -
0713 -

SUBJECTS
Power of Microcosm
Controlled Visibility
Empowerment
Microcosm Power Increased by Controlling Lower Levels Organic Structu
Microcosm Productivity Discover Details Don't Align and Adjust Before
Organic Subject Structure WBS Methodology
Drilling into Microcosm Details Supported Organic Subject Structure

1810 -
181001 -  ..
181002 - Power of Microcosm; Linking Summary to Details
181003 - Drilling Down into Microcosm of Details Yields Management Power
181004 -
181005 - Discussed with Lew Kana, during a break, the idea that a key
181006 - distinction between "MPM" and traditional Project Management may be
181007 - that in the modern era, automation permits access to the level of
181008 - detail desired, beginning from summary reports, without intervening
181009 - cost or filtering by staff. This may improve the process of decision
181010 - making relative to what was available in prior eras, as cited by
181011 - George Gilder in his book Microcosm cited on 940812. ref SDS 2 3385.
181012 - Welcom's literature seems to call this feature "drilling" down to
181013 - deeper detail.
181014 -
181015 - I was struck by the implication in today's presentation that this
181016 - tremendous advantage is not being applied.  Apparently executives are
181017 - still getting printed summary reports, rather than using the power of
181018 - automation to support decision making.  This seems to eviscerate the
181019 - power of automation.  What meaning can "Modern Project Management"
181020 - have if decision makers remain shielded from the information needed to
181021 - make accurate, timely decisions.
181022 -
181023 -
181024 -
181025 -
1811 -

SUBJECTS
Market Potential
Automated Management
Communications & Communication Metrics
Automated Integration
Integrate Cost Schedule, Communications,

2408 -
240801 -  ..
240802 - Automated Communications
240803 -
240804 - I visited a little with Lew and Tim about the support Welcom provides
240805 - for communications mentioned in their brochure on p. 5, ref DRT 1 line
240806 - 169.
240807 -
240808 -  ..
240809 -
240810 - Lew says in the presentation that "communication" is critical to
240811 - project success, even though it is listed in the PMBOK as a secondary
240812 - function.  This is treated in the MPM slides beginning on p. 19.
240813 -
240814 - Welcom makes a critical point on p. 20, that adequate communications
240815 - are essential to the success of cost, schedule and quality aspects of
240816 - a project.  This supports the analysis from the Kerzner lecture in Feb
240817 - at the Chevron Learning Center in San Ramon, ref SDS 3 line 245.  Lew
240818 - noted that today's presentation is supported by Kerzner's work.
240819 -
240820 -     [See later study reported in PMJ supporting importance of
240821 -     communications to cost, schedule and quality, ref SDS 9 line
240822 -     115.]
240823 -
240824 -
240825 -  ..
240826 - Communication Metrics
240827 -
240828 - Welcom recognizes on p. 20 - 25 that project management is a process
240829 - of integrating knowledge from a variety of traditional disciplines.
240830 -
240831 - However, the seminar does not adequately treat the meaning of
240832 - "knowledge" relative to the special character of the management
240833 - process (see the Guide to PMBOK figure 3-2, p. 13) in the modern era
240834 - of the "Information Highway."  This requires a fast, accurate means to
240835 - convert a continuing stream of information into useful "knowledge," as
240836 - set out in the paper on the New World Order, ref OF 2 line 44.
240837 -
240838 -      [Former Corps of Engineers Commander, General Hank Hatch later
240839 -      characterized the distinction between "information" and
240840 -      "Knowledge" that is accomplished by adding a metric to
240841 -      communications, as reflecting the mission of the "intelligence"
240842 -      function of the military, by processing or analysing daily
240843 -      information to make it useful to commanders, ref SDS 11 line
240844 -      149.]
240845 - ..
240846 - I discussed this generally with Lew during a break in mentioning
240847 - Communication Metrics, ref SDS 4 line 74. Welcom summarizes its views
240848 - on communication in a slide on p. 25 which says:
240849 -
240850 -          The key is a communication process that combines all aspects
240851 -          into a cohesive dynamic environment.  The success of this
240852 -          process can influence the cost, schedule and quality elements
240853 -          of the project.
240854 -
240855 -
240856 -    This is the precise aim of "Communication Metrics."
240857 -
240858 -
240859 -     ..
240860 -    Primavera's "Magic Dates," a Failure to Communicate
240861 -
240862 -    I mentioned Joel Koppleman's presentation, "Magic Dates," to PMI in
240863 -    April, ref SDS 5 line 335, where Joel described Primavera's
240864 -    difficulites despite using strong cost and schedule software, like
240865 -    Welcom's Open Plan product, and despite being applied by experts,
240866 -    in managing Primavera's project to convert from DOS to Windows.
240867 -    This supports Welcom's point today, that cost and schedule control
240868 -    are of little benefit, if there is no "metric" in communications to
240869 -    support understanding and follow up.
240870 -
240871 -
240872 -
240873 -
2409 -