CONTACTS 
0201 - USACE HQ, CEMP-E                   202 761 0011
020101 - Mr. Edward J. East; =202 761 1114 fax 1649
020102 - Construction and Design Branch, CEMP-EC

SUBJECTS
COE Evaluation Communication Metrics
Demonstrate SDS, Communication Metrics
HQ USACE Comm Metrics Presentation

0705 -    ..
0706 - Summary/Objective
0707 -
070701 - Follow up ref SDS 14 0474, ref SDS 13 0732.
070702 -
070703 -
070704 -
070705 -
070706 -
070707 -
0708 -
0709 -
0710 - Progress
0711 -
071101 -  ..
071102 - Communication Metrics Presentation was Excellent
071103 -
071104 - Follow up ref SDS 14 0560, ref SDS 13 0861.
071105 -
071106 - Ed said the presentation on 971202 was excellent.  He asked about
071107 - feedback from other attendees?
071108 -
071109 - I advised that Jim Jones said last Friday that attendees did not grasp
071110 - the urgency to meet "new realities" of a changing business environment
071111 - cited by the Chief of Engineers, and that Communication Metrics
071112 - enables managers to do a better job by providing timely business
071113 - "intelligence."
071114 - ..
071115 - Ed said he has not had time to read the CESPN report on
071116 - Communication Metrics, but recalled the presentation disclosed that
071117 - CESPN found that this method saves money by helping managers avoid
071118 - mistakes and recognize opportunities.  He said that is one of the
071119 - goals of the USACE Quality program.
071120 -
071121 - I explained my understanding that Jim got feedback attributing these
071122 - results to skills and hard work of Rod Welch that cannot be applied
071123 - on an organization wide basis like Project Management, CPM,
071124 - accounting.
071125 -
071126 - Ed explained his view that Communication Metrics is aimed at improving
071127 - communication which is central to the quality and success of all areas
071128 - of management.  He said experienced managers have recognized that it
071129 - is difficult to meaningfully improve daily business communications,
071130 - and so some managers feel it cannot be done.
071131 -
071132 - Ed said that managers are therefore wary of vendors who offer methods
071133 - and tools to improve management communications because their
071134 - experience has been that nobody has found a way to accomplish that
071135 - critical need.
071136 -
071137 - I mentioned my understanding that Jim Jones was not favorably
071138 - impressed by the presentation on Communication Metrics. ref SDS 14
071139 - 1688
071140 -
071141 - Ed feels that when attendees saw SDS records with a lot of text, their
071142 - eyes glazed over, because they are already doing a lot of writing and
071143 - dealing with a lot of writing, so they are conditioned to reject
071144 - out-of-hand a solution that proposes writing.  He noted that top
071145 - executives like to expedite the work by using converstation.
071146 -
071147 - We considered the concept of Communication Metrics to empower the
071148 - management team with business intelligence.  The presentation showed
071149 - that Web browser technology gives users the ability to manage a lot of
071150 - intelligence without having to change their present work practice, nor
071151 - learn anything new.  The "intelligence" is created by a Communication
071152 - Manager.
071153 -
071154 - Ed said he has not had a chance to read the Communication Metrics
071155 - report, but plans to do so.
071156 -
071157 - I asked him to discuss the ideas in the report with colleagues who
071158 - attended the presentation.
071159 - ..
071160 - He suggested contacting the Portland and Sacramento Districts
071161 - about using Communication Metrics to support implementation of ISO
071162 - 9000 standards for documentation.
071163 -
071164 - Ed's idea reflects research showing ISO implementation can use support
071165 - for business metrics. ref SDS 2 5321
071166 -
071167 -      [On 980310 Mark Capik at CESPS cited Ed's suggestion. ref SDS 16
071168 -      3150]
071169 -
071170 - Ed advised that the Portland and Louisville Districts have recently
071171 - received ISO certification, and so may need support to implement the
071172 - communication processes required by ISO 9000.
071173 - ..
071174 - He advised that the Sacramento District is working on obtaining
071175 - ISO 9000 certification.  Ed suggested I call...
071176 -
071177 -                    Mark Capik    916 557 5301
071178 -                    Deputy Chief of Engineering
071179 -
071180 -     ...about considering Communication Metrics to support their
071181 -     formulation of processes to qualify for certification.
071182 -
071183 - Ed is not recommending Communication Metrics at this time, but feels I
071184 - can let others in the Corps know that he supports investigating the
071185 - potential for this new method.
071186 -
071187 -     [Contacted Mark on 980225. ref SDS 15 4515]
071188 -
071189 -
071190 -
071191 -