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: December 14, 1995 03:30 PM Thursday; Rod Welch

Visited exhibits and people at Project World event.

1...Summary/Objective
2...Impressive Graphics
3...Scripts, Templates, Integration with CPM
4...Manual and On-line Help under Development
5...Brochure
.....ISO support
.....Communications
6...Questions from demonstration and product liturature:
7...Analysis
8...Communications & Risk Management
9...The CSM WBS seems to reflect objectives Morris cited for Chips to
10...Too Much Information Causes Mistakes
11...Communication Metrics
12...Everybody is Too Busy in the New World Order
....................There isn't enough time
13...Communication Metrics Overcomes
14...Resistance to Change - Feel Good Management
15...New Kind of Automated Tool - SDS
16...Opportunity to Train Communication Engineers
17...Executive Training Consultants Don't Want New Ideas
18...Authority of Project Manager - Internal
19...Boston University
20...MIT Sloan School of Management
21...She Reads Her Email Conscientious Diligent Good Management
....Email Causes Information Overload Not Enough Time to Think
....Information Density Drives Management Toward Entropy
....Too Noisy Too Many People Not Enough Time to Read Write Email
....People Have Given Up on Communications
....High Expectations for Information Highway
22...Information Gridlock Has Arrived


..............
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CONTACTS 
0201 - IPS, Livermore                                                                                                                                                     O-00000594 0101
020101 - Ms. Catherine Tonne
0203 - Boston University Metropoliton Coll                                                                                                                                O-00000628 0201
020301 - Mr. Mark A. Gould; Director
020302 - Center for Management Development
0204 - Center for Systems Management, Inc.                                                                                                                                O-00000533 0102
020401 - Mr. John R. Chiorini, Ph.D.; Chief Operating Officer

SUBJECTS
Project World '95, 951211 - 15
Project World Santa Clara Visit Exhibits
Project World, PMI & IEEE                                              06

0605 -
0605 -    ..
0606 - Summary/Objective
0607 -
060701 - Follow up ref SDS 34 0000.
060703 -  ..
060704 - This had the usual software vendors for CPM and budget tools.  It did
060705 - not seem as busy as prior events.  Met several people who might be
060706 - able to contribute at Asilomar.  Heard status of PMI NCC Feb event
060707 - planning.  Saw demonstration of Lotus Notes application, Advisor which
060708 - seems to support project management WBS. Got possible leads to teach
060709 - Communication Metrics.
060710 -
060711 -
060712 -
0608 -

SUBJECTS
Advisor, IPS
Lotus Notes & IBM, 910625

0804 -
080501 -  ..
080502 - Follow up ref SDS 27 0171.
080503 -
080504 - Got a cursory demonstration of a Lotus Notes application called
080505 - Advisor.  Cathy seemed anxious to avoid showing and explaining Advisor
080506 - to me.
080508 -  ..
080509 - Advisor provides "scripts" and templates for typical documents used in
080510 - managing projects.  It seems to interact with CPM and other PM tools.
080511 - It seems to implement a work breakdown structure WBS for technology
080512 - projects, that IPS teaches, probably similar to that of CSM, reviewed
080513 - below.  These capabilities make Advisor complex and difficult to
080514 - learn, reflecting the complexity and risk of projects. IPS training
080515 - likely reduces the learning curve.
080517 -  ..
080518 - Received product documentation at ref OF 1 line 18.
080520 -  ..
0806 -
0807 -
0808 -
0809 - IPS - Cathy Tonne
0810 -
081001 - When I came into the Exhibit Hall, I saw Cathy sitting with several
081002 - people, using a notebook computer.  I asked for the IPS booth so I
081003 - could see Advisor which she said in October, would be on display at
081004 - this event, ref SDS 27 line 182.  Cathy refered me to the IPS booth
081005 - down the isle.  I went there and met Rosanne Sykes who was with
081006 - several other women.  I asked for the demonstration of Advisor.
081008 -  ..
081009 - Rosanne said Cathy was doing this at the table.  I went back and asked
081010 - Cathy about this.  She said she was doing an informal demonstration of
081011 - the program for the two men sitting on either side of her, and who
081012 - were with Intel in Roseville.  Cathy said it was not convenient for me
081013 - to join the demonstration.  I asked if I could come back later.  Cathy
081014 - said there will be no further demonstrations of Advisor at this event.
081015 - One of the Intel guys offered to let me sit in, so I took a seat.
081016 - Initially, the angle of my view was inadequate to see the computer
081017 - screen well enough to understand what was being shown.
081019 -  ..
081020 - After about 10 minutes one of the men said he understood Advisor well
081021 - enough to see how it might contribute at Intel, and so he left.  I was
081022 - able to take his seat and from there could better observe the notebook
081023 - computer screen.
081024 -
081026 -  ..
081027 - Impressive Graphics
081028 -
081029 - Advisor's graphics were very impressive.  Oversized capital letters
081030 - and colors explained various fields, giving the effect of viewing a
081031 - well layed out magazine article or standard business form.  This
081032 - compared favorably to IBM's new information management program shown
081033 - at the Techcon event in October, ref SDS 23 line 195.
081034 -
081036 -  ..
081037 - Scripts, Templates, Integration with CPM
081038 -
081039 - Cathy showed how to open a CPM Schedule from within Advisor.  She
081040 - showed how Advisor lists tasks for typical WBS levels, called
081041 - "scripts," ref OF 1 line 72, and has samples, called "templates," for
081042 - instructions and other documents typically issued to carry out the
081043 - tasks, and then organizing project documents according to primary
081044 - project WBS phases, e.g., Evaluate, Develop, Production.  It seemed
081045 - the demonstration showed that Advisor relates project information to
081046 - CPM schedule activities.  Cathy said, however, the CPM schedule is not
081047 - a control criteria for Advisor.  I guess it is the other way around:
081048 - the IPS standard project WBS is the basis for creating a CPM.
081049 -
081051 -  ..
081052 - Manual and On-line Help under Development
081053 -
081054 - Cathy said there is no manual and no on-line help at this time.  The
081055 - Intel representative asked Cathy to let them know when they get the
081056 - program further developed.  Cathy said their only customer at this
081057 - time is in Texas.  That customer received two days of training by the
081058 - developer of the program.  I thought Cathy had contributed to the
081059 - development, based on our discussions in July at ref SDS 19 line 53.
081060 - It was unclear from the discussion today if Advisor is being used by
081061 - Cathy or anyone else at IPS to support project work.  Cathy introduced
081062 - me to an associate who is the Product Manager for Advisor, or some
081063 - similar role.
081065 -  ..
081066 - About 1700 Cathy said she had to tend the IPS booth.  I asked if she
081067 - could continue the demonstration at the booth?  She said she could not
081068 - do this because it would conflict with other duties.
081069 -
081071 -  ..
081072 - Brochure
081073 -
081074 - Cathy offered a brochure, ref OF 1 line 16, which we had discussed at
081075 - ref SDS 27 line 182.  A summary explanation of Advisor is at ref OF 1
081076 - line 33.
081077 -
081078 -     "Advisor provides checklists and templates to guide users through
081079 -     the project management process.  Standard project form templates
081080 -     and boilerplate text facilitate the creation of an electronic
081081 -     project notebook. Combined with the capabilities of Lotus Notes,
081082 -     Advisor gives everyone (the project team, project manager, and
081083 -     executive management) an accurate picture of project status at any
081084 -     point in time point in time."
081085 -     ..
081086 -     ISO support
081087 -     
081088 -     The brochure says Advisor can help companies meet goals in ISO
081089 -     certification and/or SEI process maturity, ref OF 1 line 61.
081090 -
081091 -     Presumably IPS training covers accepted management "processes"
081092 -     called out by Drucker, ISO, Hammer, PMBOK and others.  Possibly
081093 -     Advisor's organization of the project record likely supports
081094 -     continual learning objectives, ref SDS 20 line 491.  Industry
081095 -     evidence indicates companies have difficulty implementing the
081096 -     procedures they promulgate for traceability and continual
081097 -     learning, ref SDS 26 line 308.  Cathy did not explain how Advisor
081098 -     meets this challenge.
081099 -
081100 -        An example would be to show how what she learns from the
081101 -        Project World event is integrated into her work flow.  Her
081102 -        colleague was taking notes during the demonstration.  How does
081103 -        Advisor use these notes?   Where is the follow up?
081104 -
081106 -      ..
081107 -     Communications
081108 -
081109 -     The brochure says Advisor assures effective communications
081110 -     throughout an organization, ref OF 1 line 27; using Groupware
081111 -     tools to collect, manage and communicate information within a
081112 -     distributed work group, ref OF 1 line 23.  Evidently Lotus Notes
081113 -     provides the "groupware" tools, ref OF 1 line 68, to manage
081114 -     documents.
081116 -      ..
081117 -     The project manager can maintain a complete picture of the project
081118 -     and automatically communicate critical information to all
081119 -     interested parties, ref OF 1 line 49.
081121 -  ..
081122 - Questions from demonstration and product liturature:
081123 -
081124 -    1.  How does Advisor help people "understand" and maintain shared
081125 -        meaning over time of information created by others, which is
081126 -        implied by "communicate" within a workgroup, and found by a
081127 -        recent study to be the primary ingredient to success, ref SDS
081128 -        35 line 111?
081130 -         ..
081131 -        How does Advisor reveal conflicts between new information and
081132 -        prior understandings, to align communications called for the
081133 -        PMBOK, ref SDS 20 line 690?
081135 -         ..
081136 -    2.  How does the electronic notebook, ref OF 1 line 73, relate
081137 -        information created at different times and by different people
081138 -        within the meaning of ISO 10006 and the PMBOK for traceability
081139 -        and continual learning?  (see "ISO Support" above)
081141 -         ..
081142 -        I got the impression there is a subject index of some kind to
081143 -        integrate time and information, but I didn't see this feature.
081145 -         ..
081146 -    3.  How does work shown in the IPS templates and scripts, get
081147 -        scheduled?  Is there a default CPM of the tasks shown in the
081148 -        IPS task list, that can then be edited to meet the needs of a
081149 -        particular project?  Can scripts be formally defined to clarify
081150 -        scope?
081152 -         ..
081153 -    4.  How does the work of an individual, such as attending a meeting
081154 -        or placing a phone call, going to a seminar, evaluating
081155 -        software, etc., get identified within Advisor's data structure,
081156 -        to show progress on CPM activities?
081158 -         ..
081159 -    5.  How much of the day would a project manager, his boss or the
081160 -        top person in the organization use Advisor?  10 minutes, an
081161 -        hour, 8 hours, 18 hours -- how much time would they spend on
081162 -        the keyboard, getting information, generating instructions,
081163 -        analysing opportunities, discovering problems and taking
081164 -        action? see ref SDS 24 line 206.
081166 -         ..
081167 -        Is Advisor the solution to Ed Elze's concern at IBM that Lotus
081168 -        Notes is used about 12 minutes a day? ref SDS 24 line 255.
081169 -
081170 -
081172 -  ..
081173 - Analysis
081174 -
081175 - The program may not seem amenable to support Transamerica's real
081176 - estate operations which was considered at ref SDS 27 line 178, because
081177 - nominally high tech projects are different.  It seems likely that the
081178 - underlying PMBOK, ISO and other recognized management standards
081179 - implicit in IPS' training actually apply to any project; however,
081180 - there is probably a comparable firm like IPS that is selling a program
081181 - for real estate management that would point out advantages of a
081182 - program dedicated to real estate.
081184 -  ..
081185 - Advisor may be the kind of thing Morris is looking for at Chips to
081186 - support the "strategic fuzzy front end development" process he
081187 - mentioned the other day, ref SDS 28 line 117.  If Advisor has half of
081188 - the elements shown in the CSM materials, it would be adequate.
081189 -
081190 -     [See follow up at ref SDS 37 line 32; also discussion below with
081191 -     CSM.]
081192 -
081193 -
081194 -
0812 -

SUBJECTS
PMI NCC Event Planning
Feb Event, Speakers
Planning, Theme
Sherrill McDonald, Kaiser

1206 -
120701 -  ..
120702 - Followed up ref SDS 33 GH8L.
120704 -  ..
120705 - I met Sherrill McDonald and asked about progress with the Feb PMI
120706 - event reported by Ahmet in the Newsletter.  Sherrill said a speaker
120707 - who was coming in from LA has indicated difficulty meeting the event
120708 - schedule.  They are recruiting more speakers.
120710 -  ..
120711 - I mentioned the similarities between the scope for PMI's Feb event and
120712 - a PMA event in December, ref SDS 33 line 94. Sherrill said the PMI
120713 - Event team could change the theme and content of the Feb event to
120714 - avoid duplication, although claims and dispute resolution require
120715 - continual training.  He feels the Feb PMI event is distinguished by
120716 - focusing on disaster recovery, ref SDS 33 line 84.  We recalled the
120717 - 1994 Asilomar event showed how "partnering" facilitates "disaster"
120718 - recovery, ref SDS 9 line 47.  The membership found that material
120719 - helpful.  It would also be helpful to hear about disaster avoidance,
120720 - which was another dimension of the 1994 Asilomar event.
120722 -  ..
120723 - I noted the subject of productivity measurement and improvement sounds
120724 - very interesting, and asked if this relates to tasks like excavation,
120725 - pouring concrete, framing; or administrative stuff like submittals,
120726 - procurement; or executive performance like more productive meetings
120727 - called for by Eric Jennett in his Jan 1994 PM Network article (p. 6)
120728 - at ref SDS 7 line 219.  Sherrill said this has not been worked out
120729 - yet.
120731 -  ..
120732 - I asked if the event would treat the conflict between traditional
120733 - contract management practices to notify parties of performance
120734 - failures, and partnering principles to improve productivity through
120735 - better relations among the stakeholders, per ref SDS 12 line 42?  This
120736 - impacts internal management where there is strong cultural pressure to
120737 - cooperate.  Sherrill feels Kaiser used this to advantage on projects
120738 - where they were both the design engineer and the contractor.  I
120739 - mentioned concerns that have surfaced in the Information Technology
120740 - sector where balancing the desire to cooperate and the need for
120741 - accountability which a contract provides, have caused communication
120742 - difficulties ref SDS 29 line 126, that impact performance, ref SDS 18
120743 - line 266.
120745 -  ..
120746 - Sherrill feels these concerns could be addressed in the Feb event.
120747 - They are developing the scope now.
120748 -
120749 -
120750 -
120751 -
120752 -
1208 -

SUBJECTS
Education, institutional courses, General
Locate Decision Maker
Attend seminars, and other product demos to
Sales discussions
Computer Shows/Seminars
SDS Explanation

1808 -
180901 -  ..
180902 - Followed up work at ref SDS 10 line 51. Had an interesting discussion
180903 - with John Chiorini about CSM's project management training services.
180905 -  ..
180906 - I was pleased to talk to John after visiting a lot of software
180907 - vendors.  When he said CSM provides training and not more software, I
180908 - hoped to encounter a more receptive ear for Communication Metrics.
180909 - Firms who sell software have difficulty grasping how communication
180910 - control adds value to their cost and schedule control products, per
180911 - analysis of Kerzner lecture at ref SDS 13 line 173.
180912 -
180914 -  ..
180915 - Communications & Risk Management
180916 -
180917 - Initially, I mentioned the article in the December 1995 Project
180918 - Management Journal (reviewed at ref SDS 35 line 93):
180919 -
180920 -                The Role of Project Risk in Determining
180921 -                     Project Management Approach
180923 -  ..
180924 - John had read the article.  He recalled findings from a study reported
180925 - in the article that "communications" is the major determinant of
180926 - project success. ref SDS 35 line 111   I asked how CSM teaches
180927 - communications as part of risk management?  John said CSM recommends
180928 - fax, email and LAN systems so everybody is informed promptly. I asked
180929 - how CSM supports ISO requirements for traceability and continual
180930 - learning to improve communications? ref SDS 20 line 623.
180932 -  ..
180933 - John showed a document called:
180934 -
180935 -                    Commercial Project Cycle
180937 -  ..
180938 - It has four primary WBS steps (Study, Develop, Verify, Operate) with
180939 - detailed activities for new product development, ref OF 9 line 19,
180940 - similar to the Cal Tech materials received at ref SDS 2 line 88, and
180941 - the Advisor program (discussed above).  These steps reflect PMBOK
180942 - criteria in section 2.1 (ref OF 5 line 814).  Another CSM chart shows
180943 - technical apsects of product planning. These are high quality graphics
180944 - called ClearCycle, and are offered by CSM as a service for a fee to
180945 - its clients.  [These charts are considered separately at ref SDS 38
180946 - line 91.]
180948 -  ..
180949 - CSM brochures do not mention the "processes" set out in the PMBOK
180950 - section 3.1:
180951 -
180952 -              Initiate, Plan, Execute, Control, Close
180953 -
180954 -     ...which are endemic to "projects." ref OF 5 line 1565, see ref
180955 -     SDS 19 line 290; similar to ISO 10006, per ref SDS 20 line 308.
180957 -  ..
180958 - The CSM WBS seems to reflect objectives Morris cited for Chips to
180959 - support product development, ref SDS 28 line 127.
180960 -
180961 -     [See follow up on this at ref SDS 37 line 33.]
180962 -
180963 - I asked which part of the "Commercial Project Cycle" helps people
180964 - understand and follow up from one day to the next and from one meeting
180965 - to the next the correlations and implications of information generated
180966 - and received by performing the "activities" shown in the chart?
180968 -  ..
180969 - John said he did not understand this question.
180971 -  ..
180972 - I noted his chart appears to entail a lot of meetings, calls and
180973 - documentation to share information, similar to the Cal Tech project
180974 - management manual, ref SDS 1 line 139.  John said meetings, calls and
180975 - documents are the essence of management.  That is why CSM recommends
180976 - using email and LAN systems to keep everybody informed.
180977 -
180979 -  ..
180980 - Too Much Information Causes Mistakes
180981 -
180982 - I explained the concept in the New World Order paper that people tend
180983 - to commingle information from multiple sources such as meetings, phone
180984 - calls and email, when the flow of information exceeds the mind's
180985 - ability to integrate new information with existing information and
180986 - organizational objectives, ref OF 12 line 75.  These errors are
180987 - overlooked by human biology, due to mental blind spots, with the
180988 - result that people feel strongly they understand things that in fact
180989 - are misunderstood, resulting in errors that cause delays, extra cost
180990 - and failures.  What process does CSM teach to measure communications
180991 - for misunderstanding, cited in the PMJ article as the major cause of
180992 - project problems? ref SDS 35 line 166  How does CSM avoid the risk of
180993 - error from information flowing too quickly?
180995 -  ..
180996 - John said CSM teaches using common vocabulary.  He said communication
180997 - problems occur when terminology is applied differently by people.  He
180998 - feels though that this is not enough to avoid misunderstandings.  A
180999 - commitment during a meeting or phone call can conflict with a contract
181000 - requirement, schedule objective, regulation or any number of prior
181001 - commitments, even when terminology is commonly applied.  I agreed, and
181002 - mentioned reports of organizations hiring psychologists to treat
181003 - interpersonal problems caused by failed communications, ref SDS 29
181004 - line 122.  I mentioned reports that project managers are viewed with
181005 - disdain due to failed communications, ref SDS 18 line 266.
181007 -  ..
181008 - John asked what I think needs to be done?
181009 -
181011 -  ..
181012 - Communication Metrics
181013 -
181014 - I explained the idea of Communication Metrics where a new team member,
181015 - perhaps "Communication Manager," is now needed to align communications
181016 - with prior understandings and commitments, as called out in the PMBOK,
181017 - ref SDS 20 line 690 and ref SDS 14 line 241.  The simple way to
181018 - explain this task is that someone must convert information into
181019 - knowledge.
181020 -
181021 -     [On 001219 steps using SDS new way of working. ref SDS 53 QT6F
181023 -  ..
181024 - John asked why existing team members cannot do this?  Why can't the
181025 - project manager or a project engineer, or the president of the company
181026 - keep track of their communications?
181027 -
181029 -  ..
181030 - Everybody is Too Busy in the New World Order
181031 -
181032 - I mentioned a lot of executives feel...
181033 -
181034 -                    There isn't enough time
181035 -
181036 -     ...to check the record and evaluate continuity of understandings
181037 -     called for by ISO and the PMBOK.  They use "20 80" executive
181038 -     management to avoid being innundated by information and hope they
181039 -     don't overlook anything important, ref SDS 16 line 205.  Cal Tech,
181040 -     however, reported this strategy did not work on the "O" Ring
181041 -     problem that caused the Space Shuttle disaster.  Some executives
181042 -     strive to hire smarter people to improve communications.  Robert
181043 -     McNamera reports this did not work in the Kennedy Administration.
181044 -     He said there wasn't enough time to align communications even
181045 -     though they had many of the smartest people available. ref SDS 16
181046 -     line 245.  Similar results occurred in Iran-Contra and later with
181047 -     the Travelgate episode.
181049 -      ..
181050 -     I did not mention contacts with CSM last year where documents were
181051 -     lost and follow up failed, ref SDS 10 line 48.
181052 -
181054 -  ..
181055 - Communication Metrics Overcomes
181056 - Resistance to Change - Feel Good Management
181057 -
181058 - I noted that the forces of too little time and political pressures
181059 - cause well meaning people to slip back into familiar work patterns
181060 - after they are trained.  John said they have found this usually occurs
181061 - within 1 - 3 months after training.  That is why CSM recommends follow
181062 - up training and periodic audits.
181064 -  ..
181065 - I suggested a better solution is to provide a Communication Manager to
181066 - ensure work is linked back to identified tasks and objectives, which I
181067 - call the Subject Index.
181068 -
181070 -  ..
181071 - New Kind of Automated Tool - SDS
181072 -
181073 - John asked if the Communication Manager needs new tools?
181074 -
181075 - I mentioned asking Joel Koppleman about this when Primavera reported
181076 - its CPM tools were inadequate.  Joel could not think of anything,
181077 - other than hiring more truthful project managers, to improve
181078 - communications, ref SDS 15 line 319.  It appears the SDS program,
181079 - which organizes chronological informtion according to subject so it
181080 - integrates time, information, people and documents, can support
181081 - Communication Metrics. I mentioned the possibility that Advisor by IPS
181082 - (discussed above) may be able to support Communication Metrics.
181084 -  ..
181085 - John said he would like to read the New World Order paper.
181086 -
181087 -       [Submitted the paper at ref SDS 39 line 33.
181088 -
181090 -  ..
181091 - Opportunity to Train Communication Engineers
181092 -
181093 - I explained the need for organizations to teach managers how to
181094 - perform Communication Metrics, and it occurred to me that CSM could do
181095 - this.  I asked how I could go about getting this opportunity evaluated
181096 - at CSM under its criteria for "Opportunity Assessment" shown in the
181097 - Commercial Project Cycle?
181098 -
181099 -
181100 -
181101 -
1812 -

SUBJECTS
Training Executives What they Want, Not to
Executive Training on What People will Buy,

2104 -
210501 -  ..
210502 - Executive Training Consultants Don't Want New Ideas
210503 -
210504 - John said that as Chief Operating Officer, he feels our discussion
210505 - today shows that CSM would not take up this opportunity, because it is
210506 - outside their strategic objectives?
210507 -
210508 - I asked how increasing CSM's market potential by offering new training
210509 - in the most important aspect of management, conflicts with CSM's
210510 - strategy?
210512 -  ..
210513 - John said CSM wants to train people in skills recognized by its
210514 - customers and leading institutions, and in which CSM is already
210515 - competent, rather than increase its competency so it can offer new
210516 - communication skills needed for the New World Order.
210518 -  ..
210519 - I pointed out that existing skills are not working.
210521 -  ..
210522 - John said their customers are willing to pay for them anyway.  He
210523 - asked me to submit the NWO paper though for review.
210524 -
210526 -  ..
210527 - Authority of Project Manager - Internal
210528 -
210529 - We considered briefly the need to support the project manager on
210530 - internal projects, as occurs in technology work.
210531 -
210532 - John feels a formal procedure, akin to conventional contract
210533 - management practices should vest the project manager authority to
210534 - communicate effectively, per PMJ study findings, ref SDS 35 line 349.
210536 -  ..
210537 - Without authority supported by the Board or other stakeholder
210538 - interest, there is no effective means to compel performance and no
210539 - metric by which to take corrective action.  This means the work is not
210540 - using "project management" and will likely not produce the desired
210541 - results, ref SDS 18 line 267, ref SDS 18 line 243.
210543 -  ..
210544 - John explained a procedure CSM recommends.  I did not grasp his idea.
210545 -
210546 -
210547 -
2106 -

SUBJECTS
MIT Sloan School of Management
Boston University
Continual Learning

2505 -
250601 -  ..
250602 - Followed up work at ref SDS 21 line 62 and ref SDS 32 line 117.
250604 -  ..
250605 - Boston University
250606 -
250607 - I stopped at Boston University's booth that was promoting their
250608 - Project Management training courses.  Their brochure shows they teach
250609 - the PMBOK, recognizing that since the 1980's project management has
250610 - emerged as a profession.  Therefore, Boston University may want to
250611 - lead the way to a new profession of Communication Management.  Their
250612 - brochure says they teach "communications."  What does this include,
250613 - per discussions with Golden Gate University?
250615 -  ..
250616 - I asked to whom a proposal could be submitted to teach a course on
250617 - Communication Metrics.
250619 -  ..
250620 - Mark A. Gould introduced himself and offered his card.  He is the
250621 - Director, Center for Management Development.  He asked about where
250622 - Communication Metrics has been taught.  I cited the proposal under
250623 - consideration at George Washington University, per ref SDS 32 line 89.
250625 -  ..
250626 - Mark asked me to submit the same proposal to him for consideration at
250627 - Boston University.
250628 -
250629 -
250631 -  ..
250632 - MIT Sloan School of Management
250633 -
250634 - Met Rochelle Weichman, Director, MIT Management Technology Program.
250635 -
250636 - I asked about teaching a course on Communication Metrics.  Rochelle
250637 - suggested contacting JoAnne Yates, Ph.D. via internet at:
250638 -
250639 -               http://web.mit.edu/sloan/www
250641 -  ..
250642 - I mentioned experience with "communication" people at universities has
250643 - yielded poor results because their focus is leadership, trying to
250644 - encourage action, as in making a sale.  Communication Metrics is
250645 - concerned about the maintaining shared meaning over time, and aligning
250646 - communications with prior understandings, so that information conveyed
250647 - is worthwhile, per ref SDS 14 line 109.  I mentioned discussions with
250648 - Jane at Wharton, ref SDS 17 line 189.
250650 -  ..
250651 - We considered who at MIT might be interested in moving the world
250652 - forward by developing a new academic discipline.  Rochelle suggested
250653 - contacting:
250654 -
250655 -                         Peter Senge
250656 -                         Center for Organizational Learning
250658 -        ..
250659 -       [Did this at ref SDS 40 line 29.]
250660 -
250661 -            ...cited in the MIT Sloan Fellows Program on page 23 under
250662 -            Research Centers.  The back of the brochure shows:
250663 -
250664 -                     MIT Sloan School of Management
250665 -                     Office of Executive Education
250666 -                     50 Memorial Drive
250667 -                     Suite E52-101
250668 -                     Cambridge, MA  02142 1347
250670 -                      ..
250671 -                     617 253 7166
250673 -             ..
250674 -            Should be able to contact Senge at this number.  The
250675 -            Fellows program seems aimed at experineced managers looking
250676 -            to improve their skills, who are the target audience for
250677 -            Communication Metrics.
250678 -
250680 -     ..
250681 -    I recalled Peter Senge is cited in research on a management system
250682 -    called the "Learning Organization," which seems to reflect ideas in
250683 -    ISO management requirements for "Continual Learning," per ref SDS
250684 -    20 line 491.  This background indicates he may support the new
250685 -    management science of Communication Metrics which is the only
250686 -    practical way to accomplish "Continual Learning" for the reasons at
250687 -    ref SDS 20 line 527.
250688 -
250689 -
250690 -
250691 -
2507 -

SUBJECTS
Email Does Not Improve Productivity,
Email Information Overload Not Enough Time to Think Weichman Rochell

4804 -
480501 -  ..
480502 - She Reads Her Email Conscientious Diligent Good Management
480503 -
480504 - Follow up ref SDS 28 0000, ref SDS 28 0000.
480506 -  ..
480507 - The discussion with Rochelle Weichman (see MIT Sloan School of
480508 - Management, above, ref SDS 0 0670) revealed an interesting new phrase
480509 - emerging to describe people who are considered conscientious.
480510 - Rochelle Weichman, who is a Director of Technology Management at MIT
480511 - described a colleague, JoAnne Yates, Ph.D. as:
480512 -
480513 -                    She reads her email!
480514 -
480515 -    ...her tone of voice carried the emotion:  awsome, somebody is
480516 -    actually able to do this.  I have heard this phrase used before but
480517 -    it had not struck me as exceptional.  Again, Rochelle's tone
480518 -    conveyed that reading email is exceptional.
480519 -
480521 -     ..
480522 -    Email Causes Information Overload Not Enough Time to Think
480523 -    Information Density Drives Management Toward Entropy
480524 -    Too Noisy Too Many People Not Enough Time to Read Write Email
480525 -
480526 -    Setting someone apart because "She reads her email," implies a lot
480527 -    of people are not reading their email, per example at PG&E when
480528 -    Mike Emery transferred about 60 email to me at the time he was
480529 -    taking over for Bill DeHart and wanted me to do something with it,
480530 -    ref SDS 11 line 110.  Constant email is like being in a room where
480531 -    everybody is talking.  It is too noisy, so everything is tuned out
480532 -    to focus on a narrow band of information.  HBR reports, however,
480533 -    that nobody has time to read their email correspondence, reviewed
480534 -    on 940510. ref SDS 8 5567  On 950927 Dave Vannier reported problem
480535 -    of limited time for too many meetings and email at Intel.
480536 -    ref SDS 22 E93K  Dave advised that email is Intel's least effective
480537 -    business system. ref SDS 22 5849
480538 -
480539 -         [On 960410 General Hatch discussed problem of "noise,"
480540 -         ref SDS 46 7739; email is a challenge, Hank has a backlog of
480541 -         over 300 email messages on his computer. ref SDS 46 5839
480543 -          ..
480544 -         [On 960325 Morris does not have time read email, ref SDS 44
480545 -         6692
480547 -          ..
480548 -         [On 960721 Morris reported having a "bunch" of email there has
480549 -         not been time to read. ref SDS 47 0096
480551 -          ..
480552 -         [On 960319 Asilomar event preparations and agenda seeks
480553 -         solution to information density that overwhelms people by
480554 -         overloading span of attention. ref SDS 43 8830
480556 -          ..
480557 -         [On 970728 people at Intel get 70 email per day. ref SDS 48
480558 -         7U6L
480560 -          ..
480561 -         [On 980722 Morris Jones at Intel tries to avoid a backlog
480562 -         reading and responding to email. ref SDS 52 HQ7L
480564 -          ..
480565 -         [On 980613 tsunami storm of information density in email,
480566 -         calls, and meetings overwhelms people nobody has time to
480567 -         think. ref SDS 51 3499
480569 -          ..
480570 -         [On 050722 aerospace manager 300 unread email giving up on
480571 -         communication not enough time to read, wants verbal briefings,
480572 -         but not enough time. ref SDS 54 GT5H
480574 -     ..
480575 -    What does this say about reliance on the Information Highway in the
480576 -    New World Order to improve productivity, hoping that fewer people
480577 -    can do more work? (see Chips ref SDS 18 line 161) What does it say
480578 -    about the quality of management? (see Ford ref SDS 30 line 82)
480579 -    What does it say about the prospects for more reengineering when
480580 -    the issues and work reflected by unread email begin to reduce
480581 -    earnings?
480582 -
480583 -        [See 971011 report by U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers that found
480584 -        Communication Metrics improves cost effectiveness by expanding
480585 -        the span of attention, and therefore the span of control,
480586 -        yielding ROI savings in the range of 10:1. ref SDS 49 5775
480587 -
480589 -     ..
480590 -    People Have Given Up on Communications
480591 -
480592 -    This recognizes a lot of people have given up on the role of
480593 -    "communications" by middle managers (e.g., project managers) as
480594 -    observed by Peter Drucker reviewed on 931130. ref SDS 6 3851  They
480595 -    hope direct communication can be more effective per discussion with
480596 -    Morris on 950705 about substituting email for middle managers.
480597 -    ref SDS 18 7409  HBR reports, however, that nobody has time to read
480598 -    their email correspondence, reviewed on 940510. ref SDS 8 5567
480600 -     ..
480601 -    After the PMI dinner this evening, Elias asked me to drive Dave
480602 -    McClure back to San Francisco.  Driving back Dave told me how he
480603 -    has not driven his car in a year. He has been able to get around
480604 -    without it.  He took a bus to the train station, took the train to
480605 -    Santa Clara, and was able to take light rail to the Convention
480606 -    Center.  Then he got me to drive him home, even though I was
480607 -    planning to take 680 to Concord this evening.
480609 -     ..
480610 -    He mentioned having been in Saudia Arabia doing a short PM training
480611 -    assignment for Aramco. Dave said that in 5 years all software will
480612 -    be done on the internet.  I asked him what he means.
480614 -     ..
480615 -    Dave described a concept where people will log onto the Interent
480616 -    and use tools on it to craft messages, do spreadsheets, view
480617 -    material jointly with colleagues spread out geographically.
480618 -
480620 -     ..
480621 -    High Expectations for Information Highway
480622 -
480623 -    He cited a project in Saudia Arabia that is trying to send drawings
480624 -    via email to reduce transmittal from 4 days to a few hours; Dave
480625 -    feels this increase productivity significantly.
480626 -
480627 -    I asked about how consistently he has experineced success in
480628 -    transmitting large files via internet?  He said there are problems
480629 -    now and you need backup systems, but the problems should be
480630 -    resolved soon.  I mentinoed my experience that when old problems
480631 -    are resolved new ones seem to arise that prevent the anticipated
480632 -    improvement in productivity from occurring.  Dave said he has had
480633 -    this same experience.
480634 -
480635 -        [See later example with Turner at ref SDS 45 line 267.]
480636 -
480638 -  ..
480639 - Information Gridlock Has Arrived
480640 -
480641 - This evidence shows more information in the New World Order is
480642 - creating the gridlock discussed in the POIMS paper ref OF 11 line 14,
480643 - and in the NWO, linked back to the Van Kasper review, ref SDS 4 line
480644 - 195.
480645 -
480646 -     [See later discussion with Morris at ref SDS 41 line 241.]
480647 -
480648 -
480649 -
4807 -

SUBJECTS
PMI NCC Event Program, July, Speakers, General

4903 -
490401 -  ..
490402 - Followed up work at ref SDS 31 line 326.  Met Leonard White at the
490403 - booth for...
490404 -
490405 -                  Productivity Management Group, Inc.
490406 -                  160 Lawrence Bell Drive, Suite 122
490407 -                  Williamsville, NY  14221 7897
490409 -                   ..
490410 -                  716 633 0621
490412 -  ..
490413 - Leonard is the president of PMG, and he had a speaker's ribbon pinned
490414 - to his coat.  I asked about his firm and his topic at the Project
490415 - World event.
490417 -  ..
490418 - Leonard explained his firm does similar stuff to CSM, reviewed above.
490420 -  ..
490421 - I explained Communication Metrics per discussion with CSM, above, and
490422 - mentioned our need for a speaker to close the Asilomar event.  Leonard
490423 - said he would like to be considered for this assignment, and asked me
490424 - to send him the NWO paper and the event agenda.
490425 -
490426 -     [Did this at ref SDS 42 line 35.]
490427 -
490428 -
490429 -
4905 -
Distribution. . . . See "CONTACTS"