| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name
 | Date | Lines | 
|---|
| 275.1 | A filter for information overload | VAXUUM::FARR |  | Wed Apr 22 1987 15:43 | 24 | 
|  |     
    I think many people share your wish to stay informed and your
    frustration in accomplishing that.  Help is on the way.
    Stay tuned for a CUP newsletter that will focus on
    writing, editing, and production tools and techniques.  
    
    Here's an example of some items that will be featured
    in the newsletter:
    
      - Advances in online documentation and CDROM
      - Ongoing status of DOCUMENT and SGML, DOCUMENT and DDIF,
        DOCUMENT and graphics editors
      - Close examination of writing for a multi-national 
        company:  avoiding cultural bias, creating international
        products, etc.
      - Profiles of people who are discussing an expanded
        view of documentation; looking beyond product-based
        documentation 
    
    For more information, contact me at VAXUUM::FARR.
    
    
    
    Julie
 | 
| 275.2 | Don't forget the fringe | CUPOLA::HAKKARAINEN | Crisis? What crisis? | Wed Apr 22 1987 16:27 | 1 | 
|  |     Will someone digitize The Far Side as well?
 | 
| 275.3 | more info | 38299::THERIAULT |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 10:06 | 98 | 
|  |     
      RE: .2
    
    Pardon the ignorance, but what's "The Far Side"?
    
      RE: .1
    
    Sounds like a worthwhile newsletter, and I'm definitely interested.
    I'll stay tuned to this channel for news of availability.
    
      RE: .0
    
    I appreciate the replies so far, and find them useful.
    I just want to make sure the scope of the question is clear, and
    report a couple of examples, so others can be saved some pain.
    
    * I browsed through a copy of the course material for
      "Introduction to DIGITAL for Engineers" -- excellent!
      (I plan to take it as soon as I can manage it, even though I've
      been with DEC for a couple years now.)
      It includes (not an exhaustive list):
      ** a lot of good stuff on corporate culture
      ** some info on DEC products
    ->** The 1986 Engineering Guide
         Document Identifier:  EL-ENGRS-OM-00-0 Rev E. 31-Mar-1986
         ABSTRACT:  This guide presents general information about Digital
         and specific information about Engineering.  Included are
         descriptions of most engineering, marketing, manufacturing,
         sales, and service groups.  The Guide also includes name and
         subject indexes.
         APPLICABILITY:  This guide is intended as a reference source
         for new engineers or anyone requiring information about design,
         development, test, support, or production efforts at Digital.
         [Ain't *that* a kick in the head?  This seems to be a *great*
         place to start information hunts...  What a treasure!  ...
         and to think that I'd never heard of it until a couple days
         ago...]
    
    * I stumbled across CLT::SYS$PUBLIC:SURVIVAL_GUIDE_86.DOC, another
      great find, describing, among other things, all of the projects going
      on in the Software Development Technologies Group (including Commercial
      Languages and Tools), and who the project leaders are.
      There's also a section on Management roles -- isn't it great to
      have *some* idea of what's expected of you? 
    
    * I am in the Artificial Intelligence Technology Center, which consists
      of four groups:
         Artificial Intelligence Applications (I'm in this one)
         Artificial Intelligence Technology (lisp, ops5, prolog, ...)
         Intelligence Systems Technology (xcon, expert sys/manufacturing,...) 
         Artificial Intelligence Marketing
      I had a decent idea of what the other groups were doing, but ISTG
      was a bit of a mystery.  After some *serious* hunting, I managed
      to get hold of what they call E97's (why?) -- descriptions of
      all projects, including project leaders and plans!  I won't publish
      a direct pointer, but knowing what to ask for is almost the whole
      battle -- it took some serious sleuthing.
    
    * As for info about AIAG, I managed to get someone to consolidate common
      materials in AIAG::AI$ROOT:[AIAG...]
      There are subdirectories for papers, project-review slides, monthly
      status reports, ...
      Each item in the monthly report contains a one-paragraph description
      of what it is, in addition to the status for that month.
      I'm not sure how much of this information is/will-remain public...
      It was just set up yesterday, so it's not fully populated yet.
    
    This info may help some other poor unfortunate save some time in
    getting/staying informed.  I'd like to see other groups posting
    pointers to similar overviews or repositories of information...
    It would also be nice to have access to repositories of info of
    a corporate-wide nature -- especially on-line.  Ideally, this would
    include all of the corporate-culture things, like:
    * <I assume "The Far Side" would be a good thing to include>
    * Sayings of Chairman Ken
    * Pragmatic Negotiations
    * Internal Memos for Engineers (Russ Doane's great tips)
    * Matrix Organizations
    * Bootcamp
    * Committee Rules                               
    * A study in corporate cultures: DEC
       the myth:
        The Philosophy
        A Cultural Operating Manual
       the reality:
        Herospeak
          (Reesa Abrams)              
    * <other tips on writing, making presentations, career planning, ...>
    * <useful bibliographies; pointers to more info>
    * <Master indices into all of this material>
                                                
    Is it time to start a new notes file?
    Is there an appropriate one already?  -- I'll wade through the list
    again when I get a chance.
    
    Thanks to everyone (so far, and in advance) for any information
    that can be of help.  I offer another apology to DOCUMENT developers
    for the misuse of their notes file... 
 | 
| 275.4 |  | CUPOLA::HAKKARAINEN | R.I.P. Mr. Greenjeans | Thu Apr 23 1987 10:29 | 4 | 
|  | 
    "The Far Side" is a cartoon syndicated in many U.S. newspapers.
    
    kh
 | 
| 275.5 | what's the goal? | VAXUUM::KOHLBRENNER |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 11:29 | 14 | 
|  |     Gee, after reading about all that stuff in reply .3, I am more
    convinced that a policy of "actively avoiding information that
    is not pertinent to my job" is the only way to get any work done.
    
    For some time I've maintained that "If I don't need to know it,
    I don't want to know it."  That occasionally gets me into trouble,
    but it makes me much more productive the rest of the time.
    
    Of course there is a balance to be struck between running with
    blinders on and running with a blindfold on...
    
    It's kind of like driving your car down the road and insisting that
    you look closely at each and every tree, fencepost, bird, vehicle,
    etc.  You'd better be driving pretty slowly if that is your goal.
 | 
| 275.6 | ahem -- here's why... | 38299::THERIAULT |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 13:05 | 51 | 
|  |       RE: .5
    
    The goal, for me, is simple.  Most of the time, I can do my job
    with locally-available info -- I've been here for a couple years,
    and still know very little about what's going on in DEC beyond the
    boundaries of my own group.  In a way, that's great, but in another
    way, it's pathetic....  When I *do* need information, it takes *so*
    much time/trouble to hunt it down (because it is not readily available)
    that I lose time in the hunt that I could otherwise devote to working.
    Sometimes it is just too much trouble, so I go on in ignorance.
    Can you imagine how much needless duplication of effort goes on
    in this corporation?  and how many projects die that might have
    turned into strong products if they'd been integrated or developed
    synergistically with others? how many things are done from scratch
    or in a less-than-execellent (I would have said half-***ed, but
    I want to be polite) manner when there are tools in existence or
    in development that they could have used to make their jobs easier?
    Do you have to spend most of your life wading through notes files
    to become/remain informed?  What I'm looking for is a way to
    *effectively* become and remain informed about what's going on beyond
    my cubicle.
    
    Let's take an example we can all relate to:  I had never heard of
    DOCUMENT just a couple weeks ago.  Our group uses LaTeX (which I
    think is a crock), and of the time I could allocate for writing,
    a substantial portion was wasted on fiddling around with typesetting
    instead of concentrating on what I wanted to express.
    Massive ignorance?  I confess... but there was no hint of such a
    product in my immediate environment.  Until recently, I almost never
    looked at notes files, but that appears to be the only way to get
    useful information.  Unfortunately, that useful information is hidden
    amidst reams of garbage, not well organized or indexed, full of
    contradiction, replication, and irrelevant and obsolete information.
    
    I didn't ask for that information so I could spend all my time wading
    through useless information; I asked so I would know just where
    to go for the information I need, when I need it -- and so I can
    browse when I can free up some time to find out things I'm not
    specifically looking for.  It's nice to develop software, but it's
    not so nice to develop it in a vacuum, independent of some higher
    corporate strategy, divorced from all other software already
    (being) produced, and ignoring tools/techniques that can make
    development more productive.
    
    I think that even though it takes me some time to collect this
    information, it will make me more effective and productive in the
    long run (and probably in the short run, too -- even with the time
    loss...)  Making the information public may save some other poor
    soul the trouble.  If others pooled a bit of effort, we could all
    benefit without a major time-sink for anyone.  
                                                 
 | 
| 275.7 | yeah, maps are needed | VAXUUM::KOHLBRENNER |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 13:24 | 7 | 
|  |     Hmmm....
    
    Maybe it is hopeful people, like you, who will bring some
    order to the chaos.   Perhaps I've simply given up on 
    dealing with the chaos.
    
    Are we in a forest?  All I can see is trees...                   
 | 
| 275.8 | Take a look at this. | MARTY::FRIEDMAN |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 14:21 | 3 | 
|  | 
ANCHOR""::NET$LIBRARY:EASYNOTES.LIS
 | 
| 275.9 | I work for DEC, not for an isolated cost center! | CLOSET::KAIKOW |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 15:03 | 10 | 
|  | re: 275.6
I FULLY agree.
It's a wonder that DEC stays in business operating the way it does.
Too few employees realize that they work for DEC, not for an isolated cost 
center.
Hmmmm, this is not the right place to discuss how to run an organization.
 | 
| 275.10 | NOTES, by itself, not sufficient | CLOSET::KAIKOW |  | Thu Apr 23 1987 15:05 | 7 | 
|  | re: 275.8
NOTES are a fine tool but it is rarely properly used.
It needs, among other things, the capability of TOPIC MODERATOR.
Such a request has been entered in the NOTES wishlist conference, 
I think that it is at CLT::vaxnotes_V2.
 | 
| 275.11 | Some answers... | 38299::THERIAULT |  | Fri Apr 24 1987 08:44 | 49 | 
|  |     (I'll try not to repeat anything said earlier...)
    
      RE: .9
    
    BRAVO!  A corporate citizen!  Thanks for the support.  Let's do
    something.
    
      RE: .10
    
    We'll have to make do with what we have and try to make sure we
    get something better.  Thanks for the pointer.
    
      RE: .8
    
    Thanks for the pointer.  I happened to know about that one already,
    but someone else may find it useful.  (If the reply was sarcastic,
    note how I am relatively unphased, and willing to take a few sucker
    punches to get what I'm really after...)
        
      RE: .7
    
    Thanks for this note, Mr. K. (what's your first name, anyway...).
    It shows a refreshing lack of arrogance and a willingness to
    think/introspect that I wish more people had.  [I've been described
    both as an incurable optimist and a hopeless pessimist, a dreamer/cynic
    (they all blend somewhere along the line, anyway...), but never
    "hopeful".  I try to be a realist -- it's just that reality can
    be really funky at times :-).]  Don't give up on dealing with the
    chaos -- do something about it, and it will become manageable.
    
    I believe there are a lot of people in this corporation who feel
    the same frustration, and with a small catalyst, it takes only a
    few strategically placed ones, each investing a tiny but coordinated
    effort, to eliminate this major problem.  That catalyst consists of:
    *) A reinforcement of the feeling of frustration/need that they
       almost certainly have felt.
    *) An indication that lots of others have felt the same way
    *) An approximate assessment of the cost to the corporation of this
       problem -- opportunity cost, direct bottom-line loss, employee
       dissatisfaction, productivity losses, etc.
    *) A comfortable feeling that someone is willing to sacrifice something
       substantial to improve the situation
    *) A feeling that a small contribution on their part will solve
       part of the company-wide problem.
    
    I'll post another couple of replies to address some of the issues
    that need addressing.  Right now, I'm getting a bit nervous about
    my machine crashing...
 | 
| 275.12 | re: .4 | ASGNQH::BALD | John B. Stranger in a strange land | Fri Apr 24 1987 13:25 | 2 | 
|  |     Wait a minute.  Hold everything.  When did Mr. Greenjeans die?
    
 | 
| 275.13 | Yeah, R.I.P. | VAXUUM::KOHLBRENNER |  | Fri Apr 24 1987 14:48 | 3 | 
|  |     a few days ago.  A nice interview with Capt Kangaroo on public radio
    in which it was pointed out that he was the gentle character that
    he played on the program.           ---
 | 
| 275.14 |  | CLOSET::KAIKOW |  | Fri Apr 24 1987 15:52 | 3 | 
|  | re: 275.12
I think that it was 2 days ago.
 | 
| 275.15 | See how useful this is, already? | 38299::THERIAULT |  | Mon Apr 27 1987 10:38 | 1 | 
|  |     :-)
 | 
| 275.16 | Changing DIGITAL strategy, and how we fit in. | 38299::THERIAULT |  | Mon Apr 27 1987 10:52 | 38 | 
|  |     DIGITAL is undergoing a major change from producer/seller of widgets
    to provider of solutions.  This has tremendous impact on how we
    will be doing our jobs.  Essentially, knowing what's going on in
    other parts of DEC will become a minimum requirement for effective
    performance of our jobs.  Isolationists will lose.
    
    The transition has already started in marketing.  Sales reps now
    have to discuss the customer's business problems and propose an
    appropriate configuration of hardware, software and services for
    solving those problems.  (If you don't believe me, ask someone in
    marketing.  I did.  In fact, I'm working on an "expert system" to
    help them out...)  This means that our sales force is trying to
    propagate the illusion that we have what it takes to solve customers'
    problems.
    
    Naturally, our documentation should reinforce that illusion.  So,
    you writers will have to put everything in an appropriate perspective.
    The new DECwindows standard may help you out a bit, since products
    will now at least superficially resemble each other.
    
    Now for the software developers among us.  You know our management
    is much too wise to let our customers look past the veil to find
    a bunch of independently-conceived/developed hacks pasted together,
    when they expect to find elegant, integrated solutions.  So of course
    this transition from widgets to solutions will propagate to software
    development, too.
    
    We know SDT's products are well-planned and consistent, but what
    about the rest of us in the corporation?  We should be seeing much
    more communication, coordination, and shared planning/design/development
    efforts across organizational boundaries.  Point solutions will
    be okay as experiments, but proper integration/synergy will be
    necessary for such an experiment to become more than a toy --
    especially if there is to be any hope of release as a product.
    
    If you've been laughing at these requests for information, stop
    a moment to look around...  maybe you'll be searching soon, too.
                                                                    
 | 
| 275.17 | How YOU can solve this problem, quickly/easily. | 38299::THERIAULT |  | Mon Apr 27 1987 11:18 | 65 | 
|  |     Here are a few steps for solving DIGITAL's internal corporate
    information management problem, followed by some discussion.
    You will note that the steps for getting information should take
    only a few minutes' investment.  A system will evolve for using that
    information more effectively and conveniently.
    
    0) If you don't feel your organization is worth knowing about, do nothing.
       Maybe it will quietly fade away, and you can find a worthwhile
       job elsewhere.  The rest of us don't care to be bothered with
       dead-ends, anyway.  (Better yet, post something sarcastic, so
       we can all appreciate your biting wit and value to DIGITAL.)
    
    1) If you feel there's some shred of value to your job, find an
       up-to-date document describing your organization, with a couple-page
       overview of each project, including project leader, current status,
       and plans.  Please post a pointer to a readable version of the
       document, spelling out the full name of your organization in
       the reply's title.  That is exactly the kind of information the
       rest of us need convenient access to.
    
       If it doesn't exist, that says something sad about your management.
       If it exists, and you don't know about it, that says something
       sad about you.
    
    2) If you know of some other useful, but unrepresented, work going
       on within DIGITAL, please post relevant information about it,
       or prod someone else to.
    
    3) If there are interesting pet projects going on in your organization,
       or interesting ideas that you'd like to explore, but lack the
       time/resources, post pointers to summaries of those, too.  Someone
       else may be able to help out in some way.  You know that's the
       way the best products get started...  
    
    That's all it takes, folks!  It's no hopeless dream...
    
    I volunteer to spend any time I can afford to sift through it and
    do my best to organize it in as usable a form as possible.  With
    a bit of work, we can generate a few alternative master indices
    into it to make directed search more effective.
    
    What we need is a "living document" because this thing must be
    up-to-date for maximum utility.  To reach its full potential is
    an exercise in corporate information management stretching the limits
    of our database management, information retrieval,
    indexing/report-generation, browsing/navigation, text processing,
    and even so-called Artificial Intelligence techniques.
    
    If we solved our own corporate information problems adequately,
    we could package the tools we developed for it, and I'd stake my
    job on the assertion that other corporations, world-wide, would
    be knocking down our doors, money in hand...
    After all (as Kamesh Ramakrishna pointed out), when we solved our
    own networking problems, we sure had a dandy bunch of products --
    look at what that's doing for us now...             
    
    And as Del Prothero said, "Where the pain is ... is where you'll
    find the most progress in solution-building."  Let's do something
    about it.
    
    Note to DOCUMENT people:  if we get any useful information from
    this, I'll move the stuff elsewhere, so it doesn't clog up your
    notes file.  Thanks for not putting up a fuss so far.
    
    Dan
 | 
| 275.18 |  | DECWET::KOSAK |  | Mon Apr 27 1987 17:59 | 39 | 
|  |     Groups doing documentation should find these interesting.  I've
    been working to get our group producing totally compound documents,
    and it's coming together very well.  I recently put together a couple
    of memos describing the cost savings we expect to realize by doing
    this (as compared to producing documents using traditional methods).
    
    Both memos can be found at DECWET::DISK$WORK3:[kosak.public] and
    were produced using DOCUMENT (of course).  One contains illustrations
    and is available in PostScript format only.  The other is available
    in PostScript and LN03 format.
    
    Filenames:
    
    ONLINE_ILLUSTRATION.PS 
    ----------------------
    describes cost savings we expect to realize on our project by doing
    all illustration online.  It includes a few sample illustrations
    produced with GRED.  Many of the CUP groups have already seen this
    one so if it sounds familiar don't bother with it, it's nothing
    new.
    
    TYPESET.PS  or TYPESET.LN3
    --------------------------
    compares estimated costs of setting up and producing final masters on
    an APS Micro-5G, a Linotronic L300, (both photo typesetting machines)
    and a Varityper VT-600 (a 600 dot per inch plain paper typesetter
    that works with PostScript files).  We're going to evaluate a VT-600
    as soon as we can get one in here (PO is being cut now).  If it
    works out we should be able to save the company a substantial amount
    of money.
    
    These give a fairly good idea of what we're up to, but I'm also
    in the process of putting together a Production and Illustration Guide 
    that describes how our group operates.  I'll post a pointer to that
    when it's ready for distribution, probably sometime in June.
    Hope this is what you had in mind,
    
    -- Craig
 | 
| 275.19 | Yes! | 38644::THERIAULT |  | Tue Apr 28 1987 08:16 | 17 | 
|  |     A million thanks!  That's exactly what I had in mind!  
    ... especially the "Production and Illustration Guide that DESCRIBES
    HOW OUR GROUP OPERATES..."
    (If you can slip a few words [or a diagram!] into it, telling where
    your group fits in organizationally in DEC, that would help, too.)
    
    Would you mind slipping a copy of the source in the same directory (no need
    to post another pointer).  We don't have a PostScript machine, and
    looking through the source would be better than seeing nothing at all.   
    
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>> I hope others follow your lead... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<     
    In things like this, it's always hardest to get the first few responses.  
    That takes a bit of courage on the part of the people responding
    (or a bit of beating about the head)...                         
                                                                   
    Thanks again,
    Dan
 | 
| 275.20 | More information... | 38644::THERIAULT |  | Fri May 01 1987 07:49 | 75 | 
|  |       RE: .19, .17
    
    Craig and I had some VAXmail communication...
    He won't be making the sources available, primarily because they are
    signed, (essentially) finished documents and he wouldn't want anyone to
    modify them and distribute them under his name.
    
    This is very reasonable, and print-ready versions are *much*
    better than nothing.  DVI files would be even better...
    With appropriate browsing tools DVI for documents would-be/are quite
    sufficient, and would help solve a number of related (potential)
    security problems.
    
    You can add access control to the list of things
    mentioned in .17 that would be necessary to engineer into a suitable
    information system.  After all, that information is very valuable
    to the corporation, and we want to keep it within DIGITAL, in a
    way that protects its integrity, without stifling access to people
    who need it.  ...a few real-world trade-offs we must address.
    About browsing tools:    
    * Craig mentioned an effort under way for a DECwindows-based online
      document reader that may suit our needs.
      See COLORS::ONLINE_INFORMATION for details.
    * We somehow got DVI2VWS on our cluster.  It's great for looking
      at DVI files, but it ran out of font space when I tried to look at 
      the DVI file for my slides.  That will probably be fixed soon.  
      See DOCUMENT note 410 for info on this previewer.
    * M1 was a fantastic, VWS extension of FLIP, for browsing through
      documents.  (I think the name VIOLA was used for the corresponding
      project.)
      * Is there still any active development in this area?
      * When can we expect usable results?
      * Is DOCUMENT still compatible with these efforts (I seem to remember
        these things as DSR-based.)
                                   
    About corporate information management:
    * I was just looking at the Distributed Information Systems group's
      CHARTER(?)(1986) (I'd previously looked at its projects, which are mostly
      database software like RDB, TDMS, DATATRIEVE), and found things
      like:
      "develops software products to manage departmental and corporate
       information"
      "provide data management in a distributed environment"
      "DISG strategy calls for increasing emphasis on OLTP and other
       high-end (complex) applications and the tools required for operating
       in that environment.  The applications require strategic focus
       on high-performance run-time environments, distributed database
       systems, and dictionary management/control services."
      "works with the rest of SDT to create a common set of object
       definitions, an Element Database, to allow better integration
       of languages, tools, and information management products."
      There is even some mention of "expert based" software...
    * looks like we have a good substrate to build on, and maybe they
      have/will focus some of their efforts at the high end...
    * We have the technology.  We can rebuild him, better than he was
      before...  (Pardon the attempt at the 6 million dollar man quote)
                                                     
    About some other private communications:
    * Everyone I talk to seems to agree that we need (more effective)
      access to information about what's going on within DEC, and has
      become extremely frustrated by attempts to become informed, even
      about specific topics.
    * Just yesterday, at a AAAI planning meeting, Charles Smith (Educational
      Services) and I accidentally discovered we'd both been having
      independant development efforts on the same topic -- a Services
      Advisor.  We will be meeting to learn more about each others'
      work in that area, and see if we can pool resources.  I can't
      tell you how much I *HATE* wasting my time and effort...
      We can't function effectively as a corporation if we rely on lucky
      accidents like this, instead of effective communication channels.
    
    About getting more information, here:
    * Come on, people!  Help out, will ya?!  We *ALL* need this...
                                                                       
 | 
| 275.21 | More Sources of Information | 38644::THERIAULT |  | Fri May 01 1987 12:16 | 28 | 
|  |     
    aitg::hardware.dvi -- Future Digital Hardware -- Bruce AITG::Foster
        (great survey...)
                        
    Management, at least in Engineering, apparently have a "Yellow Book"
    and a "Green Book" describing all projects in Engineering.  These
    are very private -- probably to keep them from falling into enemy
    hands.  Maybe if you're really nice, your manager will let you take
    a peek in one of them...
    
    The VMSinterest mailing list is a source of timely information
    via SQM (Software Quality Management?)
    
    There is also a DIGITAL Information Systems mailing list that may
    be useful to us.
    
    If you feel like exploring, there may be a way to do it:
    * with all the clustering going on, groups seem to be using their
      names (like AIAG, ISTG, AITG, CLT, ...) as a cluster alias.
    * it seems like the SYS$PUBLIC logical is viewed as semi-standard
      within DIGITAL                                               
    * people also tend to put public stuff in their decnet accounts,
      as in the first example above... 
    This may make poking around more feasible, and may be used as a
    The info above represents a certain amount of investment of time
    (little of it mine), and people may save each other lots of time
    by sharing the results of their efforts...  (hint, hint)
 | 
| 275.22 | a .LN3 reply to .2 | GNUVAX::MCNULTY | Learning is Returning | Thu May 14 1987 09:52 | 234 | 
|  |  |