CONTACTS 
0201 - Sandia National Laboratories       510 294 2569 fax 2338
020101 - Mr. John C. McMichael
020102 - Organization 8305, Mail Stop 9056
0202 - Raychem Corporation                  415 361 3333 fax 5090
020201 - Mr. John Kahl
020202 - johnkahl@aol.com
020203 - Corporate Real Estate and Construction
020204 - Description
0203 - Raychem Corporation                  415 361 3333 fax 5090
020301 - Mr. C. Douglas Ballon, A.I.A.; Project Manager  =Telephone
020302 - Corporate Real Estate and Construction
020303 - Description

SUBJECTS
PMI Monthly meetings
ISO 10006 - Project Management Standards
Change & Buy In; Cost/Benefit Evaluation
Case Studies, Continual Learning
Training Resource, Case Studies; Listening
Management productivity & Teamwork; Making more money
Reengineering, Communication Engineer/Manager
Reengineer by Adding Value of Communication
Downsizing Justified by Using PCs to
Regulation Reengineer Reduce Bureauracy Unproductive Regulation Polic
Reengineer Enterprise Management KM AI Project Management Use Tech to

1813 -    ..
1814 - Summary/Objective
1815 -
181501 - Follow up ref SDS 30 0000, ref SDS 27 0000.
181502 -
181503 - Got information on changes (reengineering) in DOD procurement.  The
181504 - presentation on PMI's project of the year seems to support the aims of
181505 - Communication Metrics.  Raychem has downsized by eliminating the
181506 - positions of those who managed PMI's Project of the Year.
181507 -
181508 -
181509 -  ..
1816 -
1817 -
1818 - Speakers
1819 -
181901 - Forum
181902 - Changes in Federal Procurement
181903 -
181904 - Jim Caudle, Chief, Communications Development Branch, US Army Missile
181905 - Defense, was the speaker for the forum on changes in DOD procurement
181906 - practices.  He said there is a change in DOD regulations that now
181907 - permits local commanders to issue contracts for under $100K without
181908 - competitive bids.
181909 -
181910 -     This might impact the Corps of Engineer opportunity discussed with
181911 -     Max on 960116. ref SDS 34 5839
181912 -
181913 -     [On 960123 notified COE of this matter. ref SDS 37 7388]
181914 -
181915 - He said there is a lot of useful information from DOD on the internet.
181916 -
181917 -
181918 -  ..
181919 - Reengineering Must Add Value
181920 -
181921 - Jim's overall message this evening reflects the report in the Jun 1994
181922 - Policy Letter from the Secretary of the Air Force on the Defense
181923 - Performance Review (DPR) that led to "reengineering" in DOD, see the
181924 - record on 940722. ref SDS 3 7488
181925 -
181926 -        [On 980807 article cites Navy permitting procurement managers
181927 -        greater authority to exercise judgement. ref SDS 41 1803]
181928 -
181929 -     Recent reports from the Corps of Engineers supports the original
181930 -     analysis, ref SDS 32 5882.  PG&E reported Communication Metrics
181931 -     reengineers project management, ref DRP 1 0000, by improving
181932 -     performance of the key dimension of management, communications,
181933 -     per definition developed on 950327. ref SDS 6 0000
181934 -
181935 -        [See follow up on impact of using automation for information
181936 -        management, e.g., Lotus Notes, ref SDS 40 6883.]
181937 -
181938 -     This supports the PMI Asilomar Event to present a program that
181939 -     explains how "reengineering" can add value to the management
181940 -     process through Communication Metrics, rather than cannabilzing
181941 -     the organization.  Raychem's presentation this evening seems to
181942 -     support that objective.
181943 -
181944 - At the conclusion of his remarks, Elias said PMI would invite Jim to
181945 - extend his remarks this evening at the Asilomar Conference in July.
181946 -
181947 -     [On 960130 called Jim in this. ref SDS 38 7388]
181948 -
181949 - I spoke to Jim after the event about Communication Metrics.  Jim said
181950 - he is pursuing these ideas in his studies at the Naval postgraduate
181951 - school in Monterey.  He requested the NWO paper for evaluation.
181952 -
181953 -     [On 960118 did this. ref SDS 35 0000]
181954 -
181955 -
181956 - Visited with Jake McMichale with Sandia, and a colleage.  Jake is
181957 - considering a change under "reengineering" to reduce/realign staff at
181958 - the lab.  He seemed to indicate his new role would support a technical
181959 - development program, but expressed concern it was outside his
181960 - background.  I mentioned recent discussions with friends in the high
181961 - tech industry that reveal a need for experienced project management
181962 - people, like Jake, who can "keep a strong hand on the rudder," so to
181963 - speak, ref SDS 23 line 106.  This takes organizational, communication
181964 - and time management skills called out in the PMBOK which we have been
181965 - hearing about at seminars the past year or so, ref SDS 8 line 113.
181966 -
181967 -
181968 -  ..
181969 - Project of the Year uses "Customer Listening" Communication Method
181970 -
181971 - John Kahl and Doug Ballon explained how they used ISO 10006 to manage
181972 - the project of the year.
181973 -
181974 - Doug's presentation focused on the advantage of identifying project
181975 - requirements through extensive interviews.  This was the "customer
181976 - listening" approach he and John discussed last July. ref SDS 16 5017
181977 - He indicated extra time devoted to communication throughout a wide
181978 - range of internal and external stakeholders, accomplished buy-in and
181979 - understanding critical to gain approvals and establish project
181980 - requirements.
181981 -
181982 -
181983 -      ..
181984 -     Communication Manager Adds Value
181985 -     Dedicated Notetaker Cost Effective
181986 -     Effective Communications Saves Time & Money
181987 -
181988 -     The ISO criteria for "traceability to original sources" and for
181989 -     "continual learning" seemed to be accomplished on this project in
181990 -     large part with the "customer listening" process of documenting
181991 -     meetings.  Doug said typically meetings were conducted by two
181992 -     people from the project team, one of whom took notes.  This record
181993 -     could then be used to confirm understandings so errors could be
181994 -     corrected before work was done that failed to reflect what was
181995 -     truly needed or intended by stakeholders.  It would have been
181996 -     helpful this evening for Raychem to have offered some examples to
181997 -     show how Raychem used "traceability" to solve problems, discover
181998 -     opportunity or avoid misunderstanding.
181999 -
182000 -     John Kahl seemed to indicate Raychem has an existing practice of
182001 -     preparing "case studies" for their projects which are reviewed for
182002 -     best practice and to alert follow on project managers of problems
182003 -     to avoid on future endeavors.  The Tijuana factory did this in
182004 -     greater measure.  He and Doug feel it paid off.
182005 -
182006 -
182007 -     Communication Manager Training
182008 -
182009 -     I asked how many people conducted the interviews and how the
182010 -     results were integrated into project requirements, design and
182011 -     finally into construction decisions?  (see ref SDS 21 line 263)
182012 -
182013 -     Doug said there were approximately 12 members of the project team
182014 -     who conducted the "customer listening" interviews in groups of 2,
182015 -     as noted above.  After each interview evidently the notes were
182016 -     reviewed for conflicts and synthesized for correlations and
182017 -     implications relative to project objectives.  It was unclear from
182018 -     the presentation this evening who or by what method this review
182019 -     was performed.
182020 -
182021 -
182022 -         •  Were notebooks maintained according to PMBOK and/or WBS
182023 -            subject by chronology?  Was a separate chronology created.
182024 -            Were interviews organized by function and/or by company,
182025 -            the interviewees name?
182026 -
182027 -         •  How were communications on common criteria aligned, as
182028 -            called out in the PMBOK, and identified as "traceability to
182029 -            original sources" in ISO?   It would be expected that such
182030 -            extensive accumulation of communications would entail a
182031 -            significant challenge to organize it.  Typically a
182032 -            communication can have different import according to
182033 -            subject.
182034 -
182035 -         •  Did Doug and/or John review the meeting notes, or were they
182036 -            submitted in original form directly to functional team
182037 -            members for incorporation into a requirements matrix?  For
182038 -            example did the electrical consultant determine what was
182039 -            relevant for that work, or did Doug and John determine
182040 -            which part of the record was provided?  This is usually a
182041 -            source of communication breakdown.  Since Raychem was
182042 -            successful, their approach is important to others seeking
182043 -            to improve methodology.
182044 -
182045 -                These questions arose on the ALRS project at SFO in
182046 -                connection with ISO 10006 criteria, ref SDS 21 line
182047 -                263.
182048 -
182049 -         •  How helpful were the notes to resolving concerns that arose
182050 -            during design and later during construction and then
182051 -            commissioning?
182052 -
182053 -         •  What is the ultimate distribution of these communications?
182054 -
182055 -            1.  Have they been turned over to the building manager to
182056 -                support future changes and maintenance?
182057 -
182058 -            2.  Is a set on file with Raychem's facilities manager to
182059 -                support future projects?
182060 -
182061 -            3.  What analysis has been done about disposition?
182062 -
182063 -
182064 -     Doug said he attended a series of weekly or monthly training
182065 -     classes on how to conduct customer interviews, i.e., what
182066 -     questions to ask, how to formulate them, and how to follow up to
182067 -     ensure understanding is achieved.
182068 -
182069 -     After each of the lessons he attended, Doug then held training
182070 -     classes for the 12 members of his team to pass along what he had
182071 -     learned.  The January PMI Newsletter reports Doug has a teaching
182072 -     credential from the state of New York.  This training and
182073 -     background likely facilitated his role in training the project
182074 -     team.  Does he feel Raychem's approach to training the project
182075 -     team is practical for other organizations who may not have people
182076 -     with his teaching skills?
182077 -
182078 -     These classes may have been the Covey stuff Doug and John cited as
182079 -     helpful to their management practice, ref SDS 16 line 200.
182080 -
182081 -
182082 -      ..
182083 -     Lessons Learned
182084 -     Investing in Communication Skills Pays Off
182085 -     Taking the Time to Communicate Saves Time
182086 -
182087 -     John said Raychem's decision to invest in training "communication"
182088 -     skills and their insistance on taking the time required for
182089 -     effective communications, resulted in the success of the project,
182090 -     enabling Raychem to achieve objectives for quality, cost and
182091 -     schedule.  This supports ideas from the Kerzner lecture sponsored
182092 -     by PMI last Feb, ref SDS 5 line 157, Raychem's finding that
182093 -     communication training improves earnings is supported by the
182094 -     article at ref SDS 2 line 188, and it reflects results of the
182095 -     study on Risk Management in the Dec PMJ that reported
182096 -     communications the major factor in project success, ref SDS 28
182097 -     line 115.
182098 -
182099 -          Their report this evening supports ideas planned for the PMI
182100 -          Event at Asilomar, ref SDS 25 line 474 and ref SDS 26 line
182101 -          108.
182102 -
182103 -     There were no ideas offered this evening on how Raychem plans to
182104 -     improve upon the communication process it used on this project.
182105 -
182106 -     Doug or John said effective communication was established with
182107 -     everyone except one vice president.  It was unclear whether this
182108 -     individual may have played a role in recent changes at Raychem
182109 -     affecting John and Doug.  Was there contention about how the
182110 -     project should have been managed or what/where/cost and so forth
182111 -     on the project?  In retrospect could anything have been done to
182112 -     help this individual share in the process and recognition of
182113 -     having achieved a successful project?  Would it have made any
182114 -     difference?
182115 -
182116 -
182117 -     PMI's Project of the Year Submittal
182118 -
182119 -     John said Raychem's out of pocket expense was approximately $5K
182120 -     to make the submittal to PMI, mostly for printing.
182121 -
182122 -     They had a lot of help reviewing their submittal by PMI members.
182123 -
182124 -     The submittal as reviewed internally by about 60 Raychem people.
182125 -
182126 -     John said the preparation process basically entailed following all
182127 -     of the steps in the PMI criteria.  They wrote explanations for
182128 -     each section, then refined this work during the review process.
182129 -
182130 -
182131 -     Case Study, Process Scrutiny
182132 -
182133 -     They feel it is worthwhile to submit projects under PMI's project
182134 -     of the year program because even if a firm does not win, there is
182135 -     significant benefit in forcing managers to think about what was
182136 -     done, how it worked and what can be differently to improve
182137 -     performance.
182138 -
182139 -
182140 -     Quality Evaluation
182141 -
182142 -     PMI's NCC Newsletter (Jan 1996, Number 96-1) headlines this
182143 -     evening's presentation as "The Power of Quality."  It also says:
182144 -
182145 -           "What is the process that puts people ahead of the technical
182146 -           and business components of a project, and manages to deal
182147 -           effectively with all three?"
182148 -
182149 -     The gravamen of the presentation this evening was how to achieve
182150 -     effective communications in order to provide adequate technical
182151 -     capability to accomplish broader business objectives.  Somehow,
182152 -     this seems to synthesize, i.e., integrate, business, technical and
182153 -     people, rather than place one ahead of the other.  It is axiomatic
182154 -     that a business is aimed at making life better for people.  That
182155 -     is what the technology is for.  If the technology does not work,
182156 -     then people will not be helped and the business won't be able to
182157 -     meet the payroll.  Then we have recessions and reengineering to
182158 -     align these elements so they do help people.
182159 -
182160 -     In any case, "quality" was not really discussed this evening other
182161 -     than the general idea of a "quality project" which seems to be
182162 -     just another way of saying a "successful project."  The review of
182163 -     ISO 10006 considers this point that where "quality" is expanded to
182164 -     be everything, then it cannot be evaluated, ref SDS 15 line 236.
182165 -
182166 -     There was discussion this evening of a "House of Quality" and of
182167 -
182168 -              CD QFD (Customer Driven Quality Function Deployment)
182169 -
182170 -     ...but no examples of situations or components which were improved
182171 -     or saved from defective quality as a result of Raychem's
182172 -     "process."  A kind of example might be that the layout of certain
182173 -     plant equipment was changed from Raychem's standard design,
182174 -     because interviews with a plant foreman disclosed a different
182175 -     arrangement would work better; or, the layout of access ways was
182176 -     changed to improve maintenance and this is expected to increase
182177 -     the capital life of the facility.  Undoubtedly many such decisions
182178 -     were made in the course of the project.  A few examples would have
182179 -     been helpful.  Ultimately "quality" has to mean more than making
182180 -     everybody "feel good" because they got to attend a meeting.
182181 -
182182 -      ..
182183 -     Reengineering at Raychem
182184 -     Downsizing Top Performers
182185 -
182186 -     Follow up ref SDS 33 4922.
182187 -
182188 -     At the end of this presentation, above, ref SDS 0 7104, someone
182189 -     asked what will be the next project for John and Doug so they can
182190 -     apply the lessons learned on PMI's Project of the Year?
182191 -
182192 -     John advised that he and Doug are being furloughed in a cost
182193 -     cutting effort at Raychem.  He said there have been several phases
182194 -     of these downsizing efforts at Raychem in the past few years, and
182195 -     this year their department has been eliminated with its functions
182196 -     consolidated in other units.
182197 -
182198 -     He and Doug will apparently be on staff at Raychem for another
182199 -     several months.
182200 -
182201 -        [On 960119 submitted report on Raychem's presentation to John
182202 -        for information. ref SDS 36 0001]
182203 -
182204 -        [On 960329 article in Fortune reports widespread downsizing
182205 -        under reengineering. ref SDS 39 6922]
182206 -
182207 -
182208 - Discussion with John
182209 -
182210 - Following Raychem's presentation, ref SDS 0 7104, I spoke to John to
182211 - follow up our discussion on 960102. ref SDS 33 4922
182212 -
182213 - He was talking to someone else who may have had potential for a job
182214 - offer, so I only congratulated John on a good presentation and
182215 - mentioned I called him back the other day.  He said he got the message
182216 - but has not had time to respond.  I told him I will submit Frank
182217 - Casazza's phone number so he can follow up.
182218 -
182219 -
182220 -
182221 -
182222 -
182223 -