CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
PMI events, Technology Event in July
PM, Trends, Changes, Innovations

0504 -
0504 -    ..
0505 - Summary/Objective
0506 -
050601 - Follow up ref SDS 14 0000.
050603 -  ..
050604 - Industries like pharmaceuticals and telecommunications are moving
050605 - toward greater use of Project Management.  The IT sector is using PM
050606 - to shorten time to market. Bechtel explained how it analyzes large
050607 - scale cutting edge civil projects.  PMP and ISO 10000 standards
050608 - relative to training and qualifications of project managers, arose
050609 - during discussion.
050611 -  ..
050612 - Send notes of this thing to Stan Watson, per ref SDS 15 line 25.
050613 -
050614 -     [Did this at ref SDS 16 line 30.]
050616 -  ..
0507 -
0508 -
0509 - ë0L61 Discussion
0510 -
051001 - Scope
051002 -
051003 - This was a panel discussion on:
051004 -
051005 -                  Emerging Industry Trends and
051006 -               Their Impact on Project Management
051007 -
051008 -     ...per ref DRP 1 line 15.
051010 -  ..
051011 - I thought it would deal with impacts on project management from trends
051012 - in technology, similar to the article in the April 1991 Byte Magazine
051013 - at ref SDS 3 line 204.  However this was not the case. Nothing about
051014 - automation was presented.
051015 -
051017 -  ..
051018 - Theresa Musser - Genentech
051019 -
051020 - She mainly explained a trend in the pharmaceutical industry to hire
051021 - outside contractors to perform larger portions of projects, which she
051022 - described as "virtual projects."  This is analogous to subcontracting
051023 - which has been a major aspect of construction for several hundred
051024 - years, but is a new trend in other industries.
051025 -
051027 -  ..
051028 - Frank J. Casazza - Pacific Bell
051029 -
051030 - Frank cited background at Boeing to encourage wider use of project
051031 - management at Pacific Bell.  Frank said Boeing did an excellent job
051032 - using "project management" methods to build airplanes which typically
051033 - entailed 3,000 or so separate contracts with outside contractors.
051035 -      ..
051036 -     PM Group at Pac Bell
051037 -
051038 -     Frank wants to develop PM expertise within Pacific Bell by
051039 -     creating a separate group and career path for Project Managers.
051040 -
051041 -        [On 041118 requirements for good management supported by SDS
051042 -        are not widely recognized. ref SDS 25 VV5H
051043 -
051045 -      ..
051046 -     Pac Bell Sees Greater Need for Project Managers
051047 -
051048 -     Frank reported on market influences which are driving Pacific Bell
051049 -     toward more projects, many of which are high risk in order to meet
051050 -     looming competition of deregulation.  This creates a high demand
051051 -     for skilled Project Managers at Pacific Bell in the coming years.
051052 -
051054 -           ..
051055 -          Bechtel Moving Away from Project Management
051056 -
051057 -          Emmy Randol, who sat next to me, said in an aside that
051058 -          Bechtel is beginning to move away from Project Management
051059 -          where a dedicated team is assembled to support a project from
051060 -          start to finish.  Instead they using the functional matrix
051061 -          method of drawing on functional departments to perform
051062 -          project work as needed.  For example she is a Project Control
051063 -          Manager, and so might support a number of projects.
051065 -               ..
051066 -              My sense is this has been the case since at least the
051067 -              time of the pyramids.  Large assignments that require
051068 -              full time support of an electrical engineer, or whatever,
051069 -              will put on staff.  Smaller projects that do not require
051070 -              full time dedicated support, will use the functional
051071 -              matrix approach or outsource for the level of effort
051072 -              needed.
051073 -
051074 -
051076 -      ..
051077 -     PMI & Pac Bell
051078 -
051079 -     Frank challenged and invited PMI to work with Pac Bell to meet
051080 -     this demand through PMI training, certification and other
051081 -     membership activities (e.g., events, networking, continuing
051082 -     professional development).
051083 -
051085 -      ..
051086 -     PM Authority Essential
051087 -
051088 -     In response to questions, Frank indicated he had good success at
051089 -     Aerospace company as a result of a company system to issue meaningfull
051090 -     written authority to the project manager.  He recalled this was
051091 -     was very helpful in performing assignments that crossed functional
051092 -     lines and management levels.  It provided a means to resolve
051093 -     disputes by appeal to senior VPs.
051095 -      ..
051096 -     This supports the analysis on the distinction between "Feel Good
051097 -     Management" and Project Management, at ref SDS 13 line 234 and ref
051098 -     SDS 11 line 287 and ref SDS 13 line 333.
051099 -
051100 -        [See however, weakness of ISO 10006, per ref SDS 18 line 106.]
051101 -
051102 -        [PMBOK recognizes need for authority, ref SDS 17 line 51.]
051103 -
051105 -      ..
051106 -     Relevance PMBOK to Management Actual Projects?
051107 -     PMP Standards Need Review Relevance to Actually Managing Projects
051108 -
051109 -     There was other discussion about the relevance of PMP standards.
051110 -     Frank called for greater emphasis on training and the exam because
051111 -     it is objective.  He was concerned that using experience criteria
051112 -     can lead to unreliable results.
051114 -      ..
051115 -     Doug Ballon who attended from Raychem recalled taking the PMP exam
051116 -     and and feeling it was not terribly relevant to his work as a
051117 -     Project Manager.  He said his customer for a major project
051118 -     (honored by PMI NCC, ref SDS 8 line 140), feels Doug's work is
051119 -     outstanding and has requested he be assigned to manage more
051120 -     ambitious projects.  Doug feels this is a good barometer of his
051121 -     credentials and skill in managing projects of the kind his
051122 -     customer and his company want to build, yet he feels the PMP exam
051123 -     does not apply very well to his project management work.
051124 -
051126 -          ..
051127 -         Modern Project Management
051128 -
051129 -         This goes to the efficacy of PMBOK, PMP training and the idea
051130 -         of offering a range of credentials, considered at ref SDS 13
051131 -         line 589, for a PMI Event panel discussion.
051133 -          ..
051134 -         PMBOK Implementation
051135 -
051136 -         PMI NCC is making a concerted effort to use the PMBOK to
051137 -         manage the Event Program for 1996, breaking down the work
051138 -         according to applicable PMBOK structures, ref SDS 10 line 114.
051139 -         Rosanne Sykes, PMI president, set a goal to apply project
051140 -         management methods to PMI activities, ref SDS 11 line 138.
051141 -         While the main focus of the Event Program is Communications,
051142 -         the final Event Program report will address the success of the
051143 -         effort to apply the PMBOK, including improvements indicated.
051144 -
051146 -      ..
051147 -     ISO 10006 & PMP Standards
051148 -
051149 -     Doug and his colleague, John Kahl, from Raychem maintained that
051150 -     IS0 10006 is an about-to-be-released international set of Project
051151 -     Management standards which are very helpful to their work.
051152 -
051153 -     Cathy Tonne said the ISO 10006 standard was developed in
051154 -     conjunction with the pending release of the updated PMI PMBOK.
051155 -
051156 -         [See cooboration from document review, ref SDS 18 line 79.]
051158 -      ..
051159 -     This suggests the updated PMBOK may seem more relevant to actual
051160 -     work than the materials Doug reviewed for the current PMP exam.
051161 -
051162 -
051163 -
0512 -

SUBJECTS
Microcosm Book George Gilder Illustrates Need for Command Control Mi

2203 -
220401 -      ..
220402 -     Management Productivity & Communication Metrics
220403 -
220404 -     John Kahl said the ISO 10000 standard supports the proposition
220405 -     that "quality" and Project Management are one and the same.
220406 -
220407 -         [See support at ref SDS 18 line 152.]
220409 -      ..
220410 -     I asked how this idea applies to management communications?  Since
220411 -     managers spend most of their time "communicating" in meetings,
220412 -     calls, documents, discussions, and with themselves through
220413 -     personal analysis, how do we fashion a metric for this dominant
220414 -     management activity?
220415 -
220416 -         [Note Joe Perkowski's explanation of "heuristics" below, may
220417 -         point to an approach on this matter.]
220419 -      ..
220420 -     Peter Drucker says in "Management Responsibilities and Tasks,"
220421 -     that the productivity of "management" is essentially a matter of
220422 -     "quality" of decisions, i.e., are decisions adequately founded,
220423 -     reviewed on 931130. ref SDS 4 3416  This seems to support the
220424 -     Raychem position, yet, there remains the question of how do we
220425 -     improve the quality of communications?  What is communications?
220426 -     How do we measure understanding?  If someone understands today,
220427 -     how do we ensure the same understanding will exist at a future
220428 -     time when it is needed, rather than be veered off course by
220429 -     interceeding events?
220431 -      ..
220432 -     Emmy Randol with Bechtel, who sat next to me, commented that
220433 -     ultimately most executive decisions are emotional, predicated on
220434 -     belief in particular individuals, rather than on analysis of PM
220435 -     criteria.
220437 -          ..
220438 -         Productivity in the Microcosm
220439 -
220440 -         This reflects the model of the isolated executive unable to
220441 -         depend on the "system" to provide the details needed to make a
220442 -         reasoned decision, because those details are too far down in
220443 -         the organizational ether, and likely have not been captured
220444 -         nor organized in a manner that enables correlation with
220445 -         applicable context.  Accordingly, a method that penetrates
220446 -         like a laser to assemble and connect only the relevant
220447 -         information from the mountain of details that pile up over
220448 -         days, weeks and years, might accomplish George Gilder's vision
220449 -         in his book "Microcosm," of a "quantum leap" in productivity
220450 -         by tapping the enormous power endemic to lower levels of
220451 -         organic structure, reviewed on 940812. ref SDS 6 3385
220452 -
220453 -            [On 950721 microcosm improves productivity by managing
220454 -            smaller process elements, comparing PMBOK and ISO.
220455 -            ref SDS 18 3291
220457 -             ..
220458 -            [On 950812 applied in NWO paper. ref SDS 19 1111
220460 -             ..
220461 -            [On 950927 discussed microcosm at Intel to demonstrate
220462 -            advantage of SDS flexible structures. ref SDS 20 5412
220464 -             ..
220465 -            [On 960103 increased power of microprocessors shows
220466 -            potential for better management from increased control over
220467 -            lower levels of organic structure in the microcosm of the
220468 -            human mind. ref SDS 22 4491
220470 -             ..
220471 -            [On 960519 analysed power of microcosm. ref SDS 23 8338
220473 -          ..
220474 -         This may be a good path to PMI's Event Program for Asilomar,
220475 -         "Taking the Quantum Leap," ref SDS 12 line 374.
220476 -
220477 -            [On 951115 planning to present law of microcosm at PMI
220478 -            Asilomar Conference. ref SDS 21 0408
220479 -
220480 -
220482 -  ..
220483 - PM Generic Skills or Engineering Discipline
220484 -
220485 - Frank, Theresa and to a lessor extent Joe raised the fundamental
220486 - question of the viability of using project managers who do NOT have
220487 - education, training or experience in a technical field that is a major
220488 - aspect of a project deliverable; in Theresa's case genetic chemistry,
220489 - or say electrical engineering in telecommunications, civil engineering
220490 - at Bechtel.  A member of the audience asked about the value of
220491 - "cross-fertilization" where someone with a construction background
220492 - managers a bio-tech project, and a bio-tech engineer manages a project
220493 - in oil and gas.
220494 -
220495 -     This issue requires further consideration.
220496 -
220498 -  ..
220499 - Dr. Joseph C. Perkowski - Bechtel
220500 -
220501 - Joe gave an energetic and informative explanation of how Bechtel
220502 - analysed the feasibility of a proposed elevated magnetic railroad,
220503 - which was ultimately rejected as a project because there was not
220504 - enough risk financing.  Basically the government would not fund it.
220505 - The issues considered however, were fascinating.
220507 -      ..
220508 -     Heuristics
220509 -
220510 -     Joe explained this is the idea that some issues are not
220511 -     susceptible to rigorous mathamatical quantification or may require
220512 -     a level of effort in time and cost that exceeds the value of
220513 -     performing such analysis.  In those cases, evidence and analysis
220514 -     may be insufficient to establish certainty but none-the-less is
220515 -     seen to approximate the causal elements of an issue.
220516 -
220517 -         [On 020329 planning to develop hueristics for understanding
220518 -         ROI and cost benefits/savings using SDS for Com Metrics.
220519 -         ref SDS 24 EJ4L
220520 -
220522 -  ..
220523 - Scott Dunbar - IBM Storage Systems Division
220524 -
220525 - He offered a good graphic illustrating the importance of getting new
220526 - products designed and in the market on time.  This industry holds
220527 - "Time is King" similar to the considerations Joel Koppleman gave in
220528 - his "Magic Dates" presentation in April, ref SDS 7 line 251.
220529 -
220530 -
220531 -
220532 -
2206 -

SUBJECTS
PMI Event Program, 1996, Planning, Themes
Technology panel, Redwood City

2404 -
2405 - Summary/Objective
240601 -  ..
240602 - At the conclusion Rosanne requested that attendees submit topics and
240603 - themes for the 1996 PMI Event program.
240604 -
240605 -
240606 -
2407 -