CONTACTS 
0201 - Stanford Const Eng Mngmnt          41
020101 - Mr. Ray Levitt; Professor
020102 - Construction Engineering & Management Program

SUBJECTS
Educational Institutions, Stanford, Engineering
Publishing articles
Stanford University

0805 -
0805 -    ..
0806 - Summary/Objective
0807 -
080701 - Follow up ref SDS 23 0000, ref SDS 22 0000.
080702 -
080703 - Ray seemed to like the papers on POIMS and the New World Order...
080705 -  ..
080706 - We reviewed ideas for research on adding Information Management to
080707 - CAD, and other study opportunities.  Ray's work seems to correlate
080708 - with Communication Metrics.  Stanford's experience promoting Ray's
080709 - ideas for communication management seems similar to slow reception of
080710 - SDS, POIMS and Communication Metrics.
080712 -  ..
080713 - Ray will contact Boyd Paulson about scheduling a lecture for me to
080714 - present my ideas, methods and tools to Stanford researchers.
080715 -
080716 -     [See follow up submitting this record at ref SDS 26 0001, and
080717 -     letter to Tom Landauer, ref SDS 27 line 61.]
080718 -
080719 -
080721 -  ..
0808 -
0809 -
0810 - Discussion
0811 -
081101 - We met in the office across the hall from Ray's office, because he had
081102 - someone trying to fix the access to the campus network from Ray's
081103 - computer.
081104 -
081106 -  ..
081107 - Construction Management Melds Cognitive and Computer Science to
081108 - Improve Construction Management through Better Knowledge Acquistion
081109 -
081110 - Ray said he read the New World Order... paper ref OF 2 0001, and the
081111 - one on POIMS, ref OF 1 0001, in the 45 minutes or so prior to our
081112 - meeting.  He asked about the credit to Gio Wiederhold. ref OF 1 0693
081113 -
081114 - I explained the POIMS paper was submitted to the 1994 PMI Annual
081115 - Conference, ref SDS 5 0001  Gio Wiederhold's article, explaining work
081116 - at Stanford on "Mediators," seems to support the proposition that
081117 - technology should strive to leverage innate human mental capacities,
081118 - rather than seek to replace them, per analysis at ref SDS 3 line 104.
081120 -  ..
081121 - Possibly Ray could facilitate a meeting with Gio to discuss his work
081122 - in relation to POIMS and Communication Metrics.
081123 -
081124 -
081126 -  ..
081127 - Background that Led to SDS, POIMS, Communication Metrics
081128 -
081129 - Ray asked about my background that led to these ideas.
081130 -
081131 - I explained having grown up in a construction family, down the
081132 - peninsula in Cupertino, becoming a general contractor at a young age
081133 - and thereby having the opportunity to use methods learned in the
081134 - military to manage information and time.  Claims and litigation
081135 - experience in contracting combined with the start of the personal
081136 - computer industry and having time to think about how technology could
081137 - support sound management practices.  Welch v. State of CA provided
081138 - this "time to think," and led to being contacted by John Fondahl to
081139 - lecture at Stanford, per discussion with Martin on 960708. ref SDS 22
081140 - 0001  Military administration, construction and engineering management
081141 - and legal practices combined to produce the Schedule Diary System
081142 - (SDS) software program over a 10 year period. Use of the program led
081143 - to POIMS technology and more recently elements of a new management
081144 - science called "Communication Metrics."
081145 -
081147 -  ..
081148 - Continual Learning from "Automated Integration of Management Cycle"
081149 -
081150 - Ray related having reviewed the record of the meeting with Martin on
081151 - 960708, ref SDS 22 0001, which was submitted in a letter, ref DIP 3
081152 - 0001, on 960717. ref SDS 24 0001
081153 -
081154 - Ray said the record seemed thorough and effective, and that Martin had
081155 - mentioned this, as well.  Ray asked if there is a tool that helps
081156 - create the organization and connections to related sources, and if
081157 - this can be used to verify accuracy?
081159 -  ..
081160 - I explained the SDS program does this to support Continual Learning
081161 - processes described in the POIMS paper as a...
081162 -
081163 -
081164 -                     plan, perform, report
081165 -
081166 -
081167 - ...management cycle. ref OF 1 6649  This process of connecting
081168 - information into chains of cause and effect helps maintain alignment
081169 - of communicaton so mistakes are avoided.  Experience seems to show it
081170 - significantly leverages innate capacity to think, remember and
081171 - communicate under the reasoning in POIMS. ref OF 1 3742  It, also,
081172 - supports the PMBOK (section 3.1) and ISO (section 4.4) management
081173 - standards, per analysis on 950721. ref SDS 10 6883
081174 - ..
081175 - The "New World Order..." paper discusses using technology to
081176 - improve cognition in the historical context of "religion" that "turns
081177 - "water into wine" through "enlightenment;" ref OF 3 5654. Similarly,
081178 - the law has evolved a process to "discover" understanding. ref OF 3
081179 - 2536
081181 -  ..
081182 - More recently General Hatch cited a corollary between Communication
081183 - Metrics and the military "intelligence" process that links summary
081184 - understandings to detailed information, ref SDS 15 3229, similar to
081185 - the relationship between the subconscious and conscious mind,
081186 - explained in POIMS. ref OF 1 0561
081188 -  ..
081189 - These ideas over the past year led to the paper on Concurrent
081190 - Discovery, ref OF 4 1476, submitted at Asilomar. It explains the idea
081191 - of "Knowledge Space," analogous to the dimensional space in which
081192 - architects organize "Construction Details" that align the work of
081193 - craftsmen, as reported on 960620. ref SDS 20 3516  Similarly,
081194 - "Communication Managers" are a new kind of specialists who use
081195 - Knowledge Space to organize management details that align the work
081196 - through communication, as called out in PMBOK section 2.4.1, using
081197 - traceability to original sources, called out in the ISO, the Bible,
081198 - the law, and other knowledge creation standards.
081199 - ..
081200 - Ray advised of work at Stanford to develop "intelligent agents"
081201 - that may support aspects of CIFE's research.  He indicated these
081202 - "tools" automate the "connection" process supported by my SDS program.
081204 -  ..
081205 - I explained SDS approaches the problem differently.
081207 -  ..
081208 - It provides tools that facilitate creating and accessing organization
081209 - and connections that comprise "intelligence," rather than attempting
081210 - to automate human thinking.  It is not the full solution that Gio and
081211 - others are seeking.  But it significantly leverages human acuity,
081212 - similar to a backhoe that leverages human muscles, as evidenced by the
081213 - SDS record Ray and Martin reviewed, per above. ref SDS 0 2808
081215 -  ..
081216 - Possibly there improvements would occur by adding "intelligent agents"
081217 - that offer choices, per analysis of Gio Wiederhold's paper on
081218 - "mediators." ref SDS 3 0786
081219 -
081220 -      [On 970418 Corps of Engineer's report on Communication Metrics.
081221 -      ref SDS 31 3368]
081223 -  ..
081224 - Study Opportunities
081225 -
081226 - We considered three (3) studies that might interest CIFE which are
081227 - needed to advance POIMS technology and what I call the management
081228 - science of "Communication Metrics."
081229 -
081230 -    1.  Integrate SDS and CAD with Cost & Schedule Control
081231 -
081232 -        This study would look at technology to combine SDS "Knowledge
081233 -        Space" with traditional "Dimensional Space" by integrating the
081234 -        SDS data base with a CAD environment, using General Notes as an
081235 -        organizing medium, per meeting with Martin. ref SDS 22 0895 and
081236 -        at ref SDS 23 8834  Ultimately, we would integrate cost and
081237 -        schedule with design details and communications.
081238 -        ..
081239 -        Ray indicated this might be a logical extension of CIFE
081240 -        efforts to combine project specifications with specific
081241 -        construction details.
081243 -  ..
081244 -
081245 -    2.  Establish Course in "Communication Metrics"
081246 -
081247 -        Do a pilot test on a project with a CIFE sponsor, such as
081248 -        Bechtal, MK, etc., to illustrate use of technology and a new
081249 -        skill position of "Communication Manager" to improve management
081250 -        productivity, per Bill DeHart's report on using POIMS at PG&E,
081251 -        which found:
081252 -
081253 -            During my 30+ years with PG&E undertaking project and
081254 -            functional assignments, I have participated in numerous
081255 -            company efforts to help managers do a better job.  None of
081256 -            these efforts have had the impact of SDS to help managers
081257 -            get things done accurately, on time and within budget.
081258 -            Accordingly I recommend wider use of SDS at PG&E.
081259 -
081260 -        ...per memo on 941231.  Ray said he recalls Bill from a lawsuit
081261 -        where Ray testified.  I advised that Bill made the arrangements
081262 -        to support Ray speaking to PMI this fall.  He was on the
081263 -        Asilomar Committee that developed the speaker program.
081264 -        ..
081265 -        A logical target for this study would be to support an
081266 -        Intel project since they have a nominal interest in finding
081267 -        ways to apply their hardware more productively, per meeting
081268 -        with David Vannier on 950927, ref SDS 11 8226, and Martin's
081269 -        report on recent discussions between Stanford's CIFE
081270 -        representatives and Intel Project Managers. ref SDS 22 6033
081272 -         ..
081273 -        The results of this study would be to formalize the teaching of
081274 -        Communication Metrics at the university level per proposal to
081275 -        George Washington University, ref SDS 13 0866, to produce a new
081276 -        skill discipline of "Communication Managers," "Leadership
081277 -        Aides," "Para Manager."  This would be a significant advance
081278 -        over the value added of MBA programs.
081279 -        ..
081280 -    3.  Show SDS lifts capacity to think, remember, communicate
081281 -    
081282 -        Do an interdisciplinary study with CIFE leading as "Project
081283 -        Manager" to show technology that integrates time, information
081284 -        and meaning, can lift the innate capacity to think, remember
081285 -        and communicate in comparable degree as learning to use the
081286 -        alphabet, per discussions with University of Santa Clara,
081287 -        ref SDS 12 5976, and Dr. Tom Landauer at the University of
081288 -        Colorado, on solving "meaning drift." ref SDS 21 7449,
081290 -         ..
081291 -        The results of this study would be introduced in the basic
081292 -        education curriculum the tools and skills to advance use of the
081293 -        alphabet as the basic knowledge acquisition and storage medium.
081294 -
081295 -           On 960812 contactd Tom Landauer on this.ref SDS 27 0788]
081296 -
081297 -
081298 -
081299 -
0813 -

SUBJECTS
SDS Marketing, Definition, Metrics, Continual
Metrics (analysis, aligning, testing)
Metrics, Measuring Understanding with
Metrics Talking Needs Alignment to
Breakthroughs are difficult to Understand
Virtual Design Team (VDT) - Simulate Skills Communication Requirement

2808 -
280901 -  ..
280902 - VDT (Virtual Design Team) Shows Communication
280903 - Ray's Work Correlates to Communication Metrics
280904 -
280905 - Ray advised that he and some colleagues at Stanford developed software
280906 - to evaluate the impact of staffing levels and organizational structure
280907 - on the flow of communication relative to management effectiveness,
280908 - i.e., productivity.  He showed charts that identify specific
280909 - individuals are overburdened by too much information from meetings,
280910 - calls and documents, and so need assistance or organizational change
280911 - to level the work load.
280913 -  ..
280914 - This capability might illustrate communication problems that caused
280915 - the crash of NASA's space shuttle "Columbia," explained at Cal Tech on
280916 - 921021. ref SDS 2 4499
280917 - ..
280918 - Ray said that reengineering, intended to streamline bureaucracy
280919 - and reduce cost, increases span of control by eliminating management
280920 - levels, commonly called "flattening" the organization.  However, it
280921 - increases the burdens of those remaining on the job to juggle more
280922 - information, which causes mistakes due to lack of alignment with
280923 - commitments, objectives and requirements.  The VDT program shows that
280924 - costs and delay then escalate through rework to fix the mistakes.
280926 -  ..
280927 - This seems to support the explanation of hidden mistakes set out in
280928 - the NWO... paper. ref OF 3 1652
280930 -  ..
280931 - I related discussion on 950705 with an IT executive who "reengineered"
280932 - by using technology and "team leaders" to replace Project Managers
280933 - ref SDS 9 7409 and ref SDS 9 2165
280935 -  ..
280936 - VDT's diagnostics can help managers see the need for Communication
280937 - Metrics to maintain alignment, who otherwise deny that they need
280938 - "intelligence" to process information more effectively, as set out in
280939 - POIMS. ref OF 1 8536
280940 -
280941 -      [On 960814 called Stanford to verify the name of this system.
280942 -      ref SDS 28 6955]
280944 -       ..
280945 -      [On 960911 Ray presented VDT to PMI event. ref SDS 30 1600.]
280947 -       ..
280948 -      [On 970524 Cal Tech seminar reported case study showing that
280949 -      small communication mistakes overlooked by complexity eventually
280950 -      caused space shuttle to crash. ref SDS 32 7298]
280952 -       ..
280953 -      [On 970526 Cal Tech seminar used methods that sound similar to
280954 -      VDT to perform case study. ref SDS 33 0114.]
280956 -       ..
280957 -      [On 990729 Mark Haselkorn may be doing related work at University
280958 -      of Washington. ref SDS 35 5782]
280960 -       ..
280961 -      [On 000222 asked Ray about progress with VDT. ref SDS 36 0001]
280962 -
280964 -  ..
280965 - Ray said Stanford tried to introduce VDT methodology outside of the
280966 - university and found it was difficult for others to understand.
280967 -
280968 -     On 960624 Dr. Landauer noted that new methods and technology
280969 -     require creating a wide enough experience base for people to have
280970 -     sufficient faith to try them without "knowing" why they work,
280971 -     ref SDS 21 1037.  New methods are not intuitive that extend beyond
280972 -     the horizon of human experience, and lack of intuitiveness causes
280973 -     ignorance, fear and denial, as occurred on 920215 concerning SDS.
280974 -     ref SDS 1 5820
280975 -
280976 -         [On 990527 building an experience base is the process of
280977 -         discovering and growing new markets for disruptive
280978 -         technologies. ref SDS 34 5258]
280980 -      ..
280981 -     See correlation with introducing VLSI design in early years of
280982 -     computer industry, ref SDS 17 1368.
280983 -
280985 -      ..
280986 -     What is a "Metric"??
280987 -
280988 -     Actually, Morris Jones at Chips and Technologies might like Ray's
280989 -     approach to quantifying communication flows.  Morris has indicated
280990 -     "Communication Metrics" should produce a data base report that
280991 -     measures "communication," like showing figures on CPU power usage,
280992 -     ref SDS 7 5868; and, has questioned the use of "metrics" to
280993 -     discover and adjust the "meaning drift" defined by Dr. Landauer in
280994 -     his paper on solving "Plato's Problem" relating to knowledge
280995 -     acquisition, ref SDS 16 3734.  This was considered in a paper for
280996 -     Asilomar, which wound up not being submitted, ref SDS 25 5272.
280998 -      ..
280999 -     Ray asked about usage of "metrics" as well, during our meeting.
281001 -      ..
281002 -     I gave the explanation in the NWO paper of aligning understandings
281003 -     that drift off course, as seen in legal disputes, ref SDS 8 3497
281004 -     and ref SDS 8 3333.
281006 -      ..
281007 -     I will follow up with Morris on Ray's idea.
281008 -
281009 -        [See follow up at ref SDS 26 5591 and ref SDS 29 8832.]
281011 -  ..
281012 - Ray is taking a year off from Stanford to manage a company to promote
281013 - their program.  Evidently this relates to the funding support he
281014 - developed on his recent trip to Europe, ref SDS 23 7740.
281016 -  ..
281017 - He analogized their experience to the study (#2) on Communication
281018 - Metrics, noting the need to formalize ideas and tools well enough for
281019 - others to apply them without support of the originator.
281021 -  ..
281022 - I agreed with Ray's view that a Stanford researcher should be the lead
281023 - contact with a CIFE sponsor as the "Communication Manager."  This
281024 - forces the transfer of the skill and develops the level of effort
281025 - required to do that, which is an aim of the study, in addition to
281026 - proving the value added of the skill itself relative to existing work
281027 - practices.
281029 -  ..
281030 - All such efforts are organic and a function of the depth of the idea.
281031 - In this case, cognition which is the target of Communication Metrics,
281032 - occurs at a low level of human awareness and volition.  Therefore,
281033 - like the alphabet, it takes careful tending in order to take root and
281034 - grow in public awareness.  The first effort is to teach the teachers.
281036 -  ..
281037 - Ray might give consideration to using SDS as an element of his company
281038 - efforts to launch his new process.
281039 -
281040 -
281042 -  ..
281043 - Lecturing at Stanford on POIMS and Communication Metrics
281044 -
281045 - Ray feels the place to start is for me to deliver a lecture on POIMS
281046 - and Communication Metrics to a select group of Stanford researchers.
281047 - He will ask Boyd Paulson to make these arrangements.  Ray said he will
281048 - attend as well.
281050 -  ..
281051 - Ray noted that Boyd has a strong interest in new ideas, and cited his
281052 - early work in CPM, which John Fondahl was instrumental in bringing to
281053 - the construction industry.  Boyd is teaching a course this summer at a
281054 - university in Arizona.
281056 -  ..
281057 - Ray will contact Boyd via email on our discussion today, and suggest
281058 - the lecture.
281059 -
281060 -     This will follow up Paul Teischolz's effort at ref SDS 4 line 55.
281061 -
281063 -  ..
281064 - Ray will Review Concurrent Discovery Paper
281065 -
281066 - We visited briefly with Martin.  He had not yet read the Concurrent
281067 - Discovery paper.  I suggested it would give Ray further grounding in
281068 - Communication Metrics.  Martin found it among a stack of papers on the
281069 - floor in his office and gave it to Ray.
281071 -  ..
281072 - This paper may further answer Ray's question about the meaning of
281073 - Communication Metrics.
281074 -
281075 -
281076 -
2811 -