CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Multiple Control Sections In A Record
Flexible Structure Balance Between Power of Flexibility that is Fragile
Headlines Provide Meaning
Linking to Prior Records Aligns Meaning
SDS Different From Rest Of Web
Links Are Confusing To Some

0908 -
0909 -
0909 -    ..
0910 - Summary/Objective
0911 -
091101 - Follow up ref SDS 73 0000. ref SDS 71 0000.
091102 -
091103 - Rod passed along Jerry's request for estimates of time and advice for
091104 - Tom Gilbert in learning SDS to perform Com Metrics at CSG.  My bottom
091105 - line advice is to overestimate initial learning time to absorb having
091106 - to re-group a couple times, because SDS is counterintuitive.
091107 - ref SDS 0 927Q  Since I took about 2 months to get up to speed, and
091108 - some of this was because of not using w2k DOS, but trying to use 4DOS;
091109 - and there were some "bugs" which Rod had learned to avoid, but I
091110 - stumbled onto, and since then the Rod fixed the "bugs" that stumped
091111 - me; so, based on all of that, my guess is that Tom might work through
091112 - the learning curve in a month.  Therefore, applying the common rule in
091113 - computers to double the estimate, I recommend allocating or planning
091114 - on two (2) months for Tom to throw the switch and start using SDS for
091115 - CSG work.  My experience with SDS recommends first understanding SDS
091116 - foundational documents, ref SDS 0 548N, and then working through the
091117 - lesson plans.  Take time to work with functions, and become familiar
091118 - with SDS editing protocols. ref SDS 0 0267  Try to adopt a practice of
091119 - talking to Jerry once a day about SDS, and then prepare a report on
091120 - your meeting.  When you both feel that SDS reporting is adding value
091121 - to your meetings on SDS, ref SDS 0 0233, that will trigger recogntion
091122 - that you are ready to add value to CSG ongoing work.
091124 -  ..
091125 - Please note, I have drawn on Rod's records to support this report
091126 - because the FCS project where I work is classified, and so my records,
091127 - except in a few cases, cannot be published for general distribution.
091128 -
091129 -
091130 -
091132 -  ..
0912 -
0913 -
0914 - Analysis
0915 -
091501 - Progression Learning SDS Estimate of Time
091502 -
091503 - There is a natural progression learning SDS, and there is also a need
091504 - to learn things in parallel.  This is an estimate that shows how
091505 - learning can occur...
091506 -
091507 -    a.  Configure and mobilize.......................... 5 days
091508 -
091509 -        Install SDS
091511 -         ..
091512 -        Updating
091514 -         ..
091515 -        Transferring records to Rod and Gary, and getting records from
091516 -        Rod and Gary
091518 -         ..
091519 -        Setting up for FTP operations to the Internet for distributing
091520 -        the record using webmail.
091522 -         ..
091523 -        Backup
091524 -
091526 -         ..
091527 -    b.  Editing to push buttons for data entry........... 2 days
091528 -
091529 -        Opening files
091530 -        Saving files
091531 -        Scrolling up down left right
091532 -        Profile (function key) system, ref SDS 0 XV43
091533 -        Mark and return system
091534 -        Cut and paste (not fun, but Microsoft stuff works also)
091535 -        Search and change
091536 -        Margins
091537 -        Outlining
091538 -        Macros
091539 -
091541 -         ..
091542 -    c.  Understanding SDS design......................... 3 days
091543 -
091544 -        1.  Concepts and structure. ref OF 8 3385
091545 -
091546 -        2.  Group Manager to launch SDS everyday.
091547 -
091548 -            What happens when SDS is started for the first time.
091550 -             ..
091551 -        3.  Schedule
091553 -             ..
091554 -        4.  Help system
091556 -             ..
091557 -        5.  Menu system
091559 -             ..
091560 -        6.  Linking system
091562 -             ..
091563 -        7.  Scheduled tasks
091565 -             ..
091566 -        8.  Diary tasks
091567 -
091568 -            Current diary
091570 -             ..
091571 -            Archived diary
091573 -             ..
091574 -        9.  Contacts
091576 -             ..
091577 -       10.  Document Log system
091579 -             ..
091580 -       11.  Subject Index
091581 -
091582 -            Organic Structure
091584 -             ..
091585 -       12.  Reports
091586 -
091587 -            Documents and Files
091588 -            Subjects
091589 -            Contacts
091591 -             ..
091592 -       13.  Management cycle.
091593 -
091594 -            Integrating Time and Information,
091595 -
091597 -         ..
091598 -    d.  Using SDS for Communication Metrics.............. 5 days
091599 -
091600 -        Scheduling tasks
091601 -        Performing tasks
091602 -        Reporting on tasks
091604 -         ..
091605 -        Eight Steps of Com Metrics listed on
091606 -        001219, ref SDS 6 4W4L,
091608 -         ..
091609 -        Headlines
091610 -        Summaries
091611 -        Control Fields and record segments
091612 -
091614 -         ..
091615 -    e.  Publishing to Internet........................... 2 days
091616 -
091617 -        Click to transfer
091618 -        Controlling letterhead selection
091619 -        Transfer directory
091620 -        Local replication of Internet data base
091621 -        Uploading to Internet, FTP
091622 -
091624 -         ..
091625 -    f.  Networking....................................... 2 days
091626 -
091627 -        Multple users
091628 -        Cross-referencing
091629 -        Sharing Contacts
091630 -        Executive oversight
091631 -
091633 -         ..
091634 -    g.  Applications..................................... 3 days
091635 -
091636 -           see Rod's record on 020708. ref SDS 11 MZ6O
091638 -         ..
091639 -        Education
091640 -        Government
091641 -        Health Care
091642 -        Science and Research
091643 -        Journalism
091644 -        Law
091645 -        Engineering
091646 -        Customer Support
091647 -        Contracting
091648 -        Plant Management
091649 -
091651 -  ..
091652 - This is a roughly 19 day schedule, which is about one month.  The last
091653 - estimate of 3 days for applications is not essential to the project,
091654 - since CSG has applciation ideas in mind.  Tom may only be devoting 20%
091655 - of each day to SDS, so this would stretch out actual learning time to
091656 - 2 - 3 months, which fits the contract time of 6 months, by providing
091657 - up to 3 months for application.
091658 -
091659 -
091661 -  ..
091662 - When in doubt, ask questions Promptly
091663 - Counterintuitive Design Takes Time to Learn
091664 -
091665 - Like most software, most questions in SDS can be answered in 10
091666 - seconds, but you can spend days trying to figure things out on your
091667 - own without guidance.  SDS is counterintuitive in design, as explained
091668 - in Rod's record on 910529. ref SDS 2 9989  The design augments human
091669 - cognition, and since this is largely a hidden process, most people
091670 - don't have experience even considering the subject, much less using
091671 - tools that address the basic system of thinking.  Therefore, trying to
091672 - follow intuition by relying on experience with other technologies,
091673 - especially in the beginning before we have at least a general sense of
091674 - the SDS design, leads to endless hours chasing the wrong solution,
091675 - causing frustration and disappointment, illustrated by the record on
091676 - 920215, ref SDS 3 5820  That is one mistake I made when starting out,
091677 - and it likely extended the learning curve; but, Rod kept encouraging
091678 - me to call, and so finally I started doing that and found that
091679 - learning sped up a lot.
091681 -  ..
091682 - Answers should include not only how to do what you want, but also why
091683 - it works the way it does.
091685 -  ..
091686 - In SDS "understanding" means writing things down, i.e....
091687 -
091688 -     Here is a statement of the problem I am having.  I checked Help
091689 -     and couldn't find anything on point; or, Help says xyz, but that
091690 -     doesn't make sense; or, I tried it, and it didn't work!  So,
091691 -     called Rod and he explained thus and so.
091693 -  ..
091694 - Writing out explanations of functions you are using is at first
091695 - awkward and seems time consuming, but that is the first "project" to
091696 - learn SDS and produce a record showing the level of effort required,
091697 - and that is why time is allocated for the exercise.
091698 -
091699 -
091701 -  ..
091702 - Consider SDS as a project
091703 -
091704 - SDS is not just another program.  As with any major software tool, it
091705 - is designed to support certain sets of activities and procedures.
091706 - Those things it does well.  Things it was not intended to support it
091707 - doesn't do well. The same as any program.  Two examples to illustrate
091708 - where the CSG project is headed...
091709 -
091710 -    1.  SDS does not do proportional fonts, colors and pictures;
091711 -        Microsoft Word and Outlook do this well.
091713 -         ..
091714 -    2.  Microsoft has tools for time, information, people and documents
091715 -        and for finding information, but it does not integrate these
091716 -        tasks, and so by-in-large most people feel frustrated because
091717 -        they cannot find anything, as reported on 011003, ref SDS 9
091718 -        EC5N, and cited by Bill Gates, shown in Rod's record on 021108.
091719 -        ref SDS 19 0001  SDS does integration well, reported in my
091720 -        record on 030413. ref SDS 40 0001  As a result, SDS provides
091721 -        amazing ability to find everything when needed, as illustrated
091722 -        by this record and shown in Rod's record on 010916. ref SDS 7
091723 -        0001  Recently, people where I work at Boeing have begun to
091724 -        recognize I have better command of organizational memory,
091725 -        reported on 030821. ref SDS 72 NH5N
091727 -  ..
091728 - Gates points out that most people use very few of the functions in
091729 - Microsoft programs, because it takes time to learn everything, and
091730 - navigating complex menus is slow, see again Rod's record on 021108.
091731 - ref SDS 19 455F  SDS takes time to learn, but because SDS functionality
091732 - is already integrated where each part supports the other, you have to
091733 - learn a greater portion of SDS functions in order to get anything
091734 - done.  This makes learning SDS more of a "project" and is, also, why
091735 - SDS brings bigger payoff, as noted by Morris Jones in Rod's record on
091736 - 010924. ref SDS 8 XT5F
091738 -  ..
091739 - SDS is based on a set of best practices in both management and
091740 - knowledge capture and access. It is necessary to understand these and
091741 - to adopt them at least within SDS.
091743 -  ..
091744 - The foundation documents are heavy wading, but they are an important
091745 - part of grasping SDS.  Spend some time reading them online to get a
091746 - feel for how SDS applies linking to support "understanding" by
091747 - continually showing cause and effect and providing evidence that
091748 - supports assertions of fact.  Write about what you read -- how is it
091749 - true, how is it not true, how does your experience support the
091750 - statements being made, can the points be made in a better way? I did
091751 - this for almost a year before taking up SDS, and then when I started
091752 - using SDS, found that a lot of my concerns melted away.  Similarly,
091753 - Jerry submitted a lot of analysis on POIMS and so forth, illustrated by
091754 - his letter to Rod on 020415. ref SDS 10 0001  Jerry's more recent
091755 - letter on 030708 is another good example of writing to engage the
091756 - language and ideas in POIMS. ref SDS 60 0001
091758 -  ..
091759 - As a program, SDS is based on old technology, but supports activities
091760 - that are well beyond the leading edge of knowledge work, by taking a
091761 - big step beyond "information" toward a "knowledge" technology, which
091762 - Bill Gates and Larry Ellison hoped to accomplish for the future, in
091763 - their remarks to world conference in Paris, reported on 970222.
091764 - ref SDS 4 8529
091765 -
091766 -
091768 -  ..
091769 - Idiosyncrasies Using Function Keys and the Mouse
091770 -
091771 - SDS is idiosyncratic in many ways.  Rod finds a sequence of steps that
091772 - accomplish a useful task, and then hardwires it into the program.
091773 - These features have been refined for a period of 20 years based on
091774 - daily experience, reported on 010924. ref SDS 8 NK4J  Despite this
091775 - effort, since not a lot of people have used SDS, often situations
091776 - arise in which one thing will work and another almost identical won't
091777 - work, because Rod has never tried to do it that way.  We are ironing
091778 - some of those out over time, some by educating me, and others by
091779 - changing SDS.  More input from CSG will further this task.
091781 -  ..
091782 - SDS uses function keys and menus, commonly called the "profile," where
091783 - most modern editors use the alpha keys as well.  Some function keys
091784 - have multiple assignments that are complementary to do different
091785 - things based on the situation at hand.  These differences are not
091786 - usually a problem, because the context makes clear which function is
091787 - needed for each situation.  This takes time to learn, as shown in the
091788 - schedule. ref SDS 0 916S
091790 -  ..
091791 - SDS function keys are ergonomically assigned to make data entry fast
091792 - and easy using an old-style keyboard with function keys along the left
091793 - hand side, mentioned in Rod's record on 020924. ref SDS 12 EL8F  I
091794 - have resisted switching keyboards, because it costs a few bucks, and
091795 - because everybody where I work has a "modern" keyboard; social
091796 - pressure encourages conformity.  My research tends to support the SDS
091797 - design to opt for efficiency; one paper I found reported that
091798 - ergonomic keyboards, like Rod uses, increase productivity several
091799 - fold.  Since writing is the core task using SDS, as I am doing now, I
091800 - have a task pending to bite the bullet and get a keyboard that makes
091801 - knowledge work faster and easier.
091803 -  ..
091804 - Mouse operations are highly position sensitive. The interface doesn't
091805 - support visual cues (buttons, etc.) that Windows provides, so it is
091806 - necessary to learn where to click or double click to perform tasks,
091807 - and the positions are not totally consistent.  I found that after
091808 - learning where to click in SDS, it is easy to remember because
091809 - positioning the mouse is generally intuitive.  For example, to open a
091810 - file, press Enter or double click on the entry.  To open a record,
091811 - press Enter or double click on a link.  To find where there is a link
091812 - to an anchor, click on the anchor.  On the other hand, F3 opens a
091813 - diary, and there is nothing suggestive about the assignment.  The menu
091814 - shows "Diary" as another way to do the same task, and has a number of
091815 - options.  Turns out that F3 is pressed about 100 times a day, because
091816 - the diary is a constant resource for taking action based on accurate
091817 - knowledge of experience.  These ergonomics and the SDS integrated
091818 - design make getting things done faster and easier than using IT, which
091819 - is why we are undertaking the exercise.
091820 -
091821 -
091823 -  ..
091824 - Record formatting issues
091825 -
091826 - The SDS program integrates the two worlds of continuous narrative, as
091827 - shown by this record, and structured data bases to enable "knowledge
091828 - management," where "knowledge is commonly thought of as a free flowing
091829 - creative process, like writing a novel, a legal brief, report, white
091830 - paper, or a scientific experiment, etc., and "management," on the
091831 - other hand, requires a formal structure to manipulate fixed content,
091832 - as discussed in Rod's record on 890523. ref SDS 1 P13O
091834 -  ..
091835 - The flexible format of SDS, most evident in using line numbers that
091836 - emulate legal briefing practices, also, explained on 890523,
091837 - ref SDS 1 T18R, is easy to mess up and so can be frustrating, because
091838 - problems arise without any apparent cause.  Working with SDS over the
091839 - past year, I have found a number of common format problems, and Rod
091840 - has modified SDS to automatically fix a lot of them.  Getting more
091841 - users on board will help address this issue further.
091842 -
091843 -
091845 -  ..
091846 - New Technology Requires Testing and Refinement
091847 -
091848 - It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that SDS is "just like"
091849 - something else, with which you are already familiar.  It is the most
091850 - natural human reaction to relate one thing we encounter with another
091851 - that we already know about.  While many of the operations of SDS are
091852 - based on word processing (or calendars, or indexes, or to do lists,
091853 - etc.), SDS is different from all other programs in crucial ways.  One
091854 - of the most important aspects is that all of the elements are
091855 - integrated so that each supports the other to enable a harmony of work
091856 - that makes getting things done fast and easy.
091858 -  ..
091859 - Nearly everything SDS does, can be done better with other tools;
091860 - however, I was forced to take up SDS after 40 years using every other
091861 - tool I could find, because no other tool, nor combination of tools,
091862 - enables the leverage that SDS provides to make knowledge work faster
091863 - and easier.  This is critical because "knowledge" tasks are a lot of
091864 - hard work using conventional information technology that everybody is
091865 - familiar using and likes to use, as shown by research on 000307,
091866 - ref SDS 5 5182, and noted by Bill Gates in plans to upgrade Microsoft
091867 - tools to support KM, per above. ref SDS 0 545O
091869 -  ..
091870 - I view the task of the CSG project to enable further refinement of SDS
091871 - capability, and to widen the range of application.  If this is
091872 - successful, there is significant opportunity to offer a solution that
091873 - has 20 years invested on figuring out what technology needs to do in
091874 - order to advance beyond information to a "knowledge" technology.
091875 -
091876 -
091878 -  ..
091879 - Getting started
091880 -
091881 - Use SDS to keep records relating to learning SDS and Com Metrics,
091882 - including insights, problems, solutions, plans, etc. This will provide
091883 - a history that can be quite valuable, and provides a source of
091884 - material that nobody is demanding, so if you make mistakes, get
091885 - delayed, it does not impact others.
091887 -  ..
091888 - For example learn to use SDS for meetings, NOT by starting with a CSG
091889 - business meeting.  Instead, use SDS for a daily meeting with Jerry to
091890 - report on progress learning SDS.  Try to meet with Jerry once a day.
091891 - This gives you one meeting a day to report in SDS, and distribute to
091892 - Jerry, Rod and Gary, so we can give you feedback, call and offer
091893 - suggestions.  Use examples from Rod's records, ref SDS 11 MZ6O,
091894 - showing how to create a summary, write headlines, segment records and
091895 - add links that align communication with work being performed.  In the
091896 - beginning, preparing an SDS record to report on a meeting with Jerry
091897 - may take several days.  This is the learning curve. In two months, you
091898 - will be turning out records for same day distribution and doing many
091899 - more tasks.
091901 -  ..
091902 - During the first few months, this was the only material I dealt with
091903 - in SDS.  Since I already had tools for most other things, at first I
091904 - continued using my familiar Microsoft and other tools on things I had
091905 - to get done, and this reduced the frustration of trying to both learn
091906 - how to do new tasks and how to do familiar differently, and, also,
091907 - meet deadlines.  As I gained familiarity creating records like this, I
091908 - began doing more of my regular work with SDS and thus replaced my old
091909 - tools in order to have better command and control of the work, as
091910 - explained in POIMS. ref OF 7 1113  Making this transition has paid off
091911 - at Boeing where SDS has become the defacto record of organizational
091912 - memory that everybody counts on.
091914 -  ..
091915 - A common error I made for years is to try a new tool on the hardest
091916 - task I had remaining unsolved, and then to wonder why I was having
091917 - trouble. After all, the reason I consider a new tool is to solve a
091918 - problem I haven't yet solved.  That is *not* the problem to start
091919 - on!!
091921 -  ..
091922 - There will be a tremendous temptation in the beginning to try using
091923 - SDS to help on the biggest problem available -- DON'T.
091924 -
091925 -
091927 -  ..
091928 - Take written notes
091929 -
091930 - I find that I need written notes to track a meeting unless the SDS
091931 - record is also the agenda. Notes should include a minimum of:
091932 -
091933 -    •  Date and time of the meeting start
091935 -        ..
091936 -    •  The name of the meeting
091938 -        ..
091939 -    •  Names to support an attendees list. For a regular meeting, keep
091940 -       a membership list and check off who is there. For the meetings
091941 -       where I email an agenda, I print the email list and use it as a
091942 -       checklist. For small meetings, staff meetings, etc., I just
091943 -       write down first names (plus last initial if there are 2 people
091944 -       with the same first name. I suggest picking a position sequence
091945 -       and going around the room. I start on my left and proceed
091946 -       clockwise. When I enter the attendees, I order them by first
091947 -       name.
091949 -        ..
091950 -    •  If there is an agenda, link notes to the agenda.
091952 -        ..
091953 -    •  Use initials to track the speakers, where possible. I find this
091954 -       very hard to do in telecons. Even getting all the people to
091955 -       introduce themselves until they get accustomed to having
091956 -       attendance taken.
091958 -        ..
091959 -    •  The time the meeting ends. I had trouble remembering this in
091960 -       the rush to get out the door.
091962 -  ..
091963 - Get acronyms and unfamiliar words defined at the earliest opportunity.
091964 - Adopt some convention for marking things you don't understand or
091965 - didn't hear completely in your notes. Where appropriate, ask for the
091966 - acronym, word, or name to be repeated, and defined if necessary.
091967 -
091968 -
091970 -  ..
091971 - Adopt features gradually
091972 -
091973 - Having used SDS for some time, there is a tendency to suggest the
091974 - next new feature too fast. It isn't possible to adopt all of the
091975 - features and concepts at once. Among us, it should be possible to
091976 - develop a workable sequence for learning and adopting SDS features.
091977 -
091978 -
091980 -  ..
091981 - Don't abandon other tools
091982 -
091983 - Although SDS integrates the functions of many programs, don't abandon
091984 - tools that are working well for you until SDS is a true replacement.
091985 -
091986 - I routinely manipulate SDS records and files with other program that
091987 - I understand better rather than take the time at the moment to learn
091988 - how to do similar things with SDS. Where needed, I write Perl scripts
091989 - to do some of the repetitive work.
091990 -
091992 -  ..
091993 - Working with the editor
091994 -
091995 - Print a list of the function key assignments, you will need it. Note,
091996 - the help file says that F3 will print the list. Don't count on it.
091997 -
091998 - I assembled mine in another editor by using Windows cut and paste to
091999 - capture the file names from SDS.
092001 -  ..
092002 - I suggest starting with creating simple records and practicing using
092003 - features of the editor until the ones you use most often are
092004 - familiar.
092005 -
092006 -
092008 -  ..
092009 - Use headlines
092010 -
092011 - Start using headlines rather early. There are many features associated
092012 - with headlines, including, clarity, ease of reading, tracking history,
092013 - formatting HTML, and creating table of contents for the record.
092014 -
092015 -
092017 -  ..
092018 - Use links
092019 -
092020 - After creating records is easy, learn to link them together both
092021 - back, referring to older records, and forward, to later actions on
092022 - the same issue.
092023 -
092024 -
092026 -  ..
092027 - Use the Subject Index
092028 -
092029 - This is one of the most sophisticated and time consuming aspects of
092030 - working with SDS.  I tackled it last because nearly everything else
092031 - has to be in place before you can do a lot of what needs doing to
092032 - manage context with the organic structure of SDS subjects.  The basic
092033 - idea is to use tools that enable to user to be a librarian who
092034 - organizes information.
092036 -  ..
092037 - You will be using the Subject Index (SI) to some degree from the
092038 - beginning, since each record should have one or more subjects.
092040 -  ..
092041 - Learning to build a comprehensive subject index and the associations
092042 - that allow finding information in all sorts of ways takes significant
092043 - time. I am just starting to do real work with it now.
092045 -  ..
092046 - Remember, take your time.  To borrow a phrase...
092047 -
092048 -      Don't get mad, get the answer, call, Rod or Gary.
092049 -
092050 -
092051 -
092052 -
092053 -
092054 -
092055 -
092056 -
092057 -
092058 -