Doesn't it seem incongruent that many (or most)companies/organizations/utilities can state a quantitative readiness factor but are totally in the dark on qualitative assessments? If a company can state that they are 98% compliant, doesn't that assume that they know what and where the other 2% is....and if so...Why don't they fix it? 98% just sounds good and leaves them an out. Have you ever read that a company was 76.2% compliant? I didn't think so.

Many years ago I got my Private Pilots License. I made 98 on the written portion. I was never able, however, to find out which question on the exam I missed. I often wondered - while flying - which question it could have been.....was it the one which could bring about a disaster at any given time since I apparently didn't know the answer (at least at the time of the test)....but, I guess you could say I was 98% qualified. 20 years and three kids later, needless to say, I don't fly anymore. I guess I was just lucky that that 2 point question that I missed never became an issue...but if it had...... So, is there really any difference in a company saying it is 98% compliant or 42% compliant...what does that really mean. I personally think that it is just a psychological diversion to appease the "Ol' Man, the stockholders and the public....just foodfor thought.

-- Larry (Rampon@cyberramp.net), September 26, 1999

Answers

An astute observation, Larry. As Flint and I were discussing in an earlier thread, and he pointed out, remediation is not linear. You have companies out there that are doing all sorts of activities at once. I do understand how that can be the case, but I fail to see how a company can tell us they are, say, 75% done, when they have yet to complete their inventory/assesment.

People want something they can latch onto. Something they can understand. Saying "we're 90% done" gives them something to hang on to. I think the numbers are meaningless.

-- Don Wegner (donfmwyo@earthlink.net), September 26, 1999.

By my calculation, 88%

-- Southside Ed (Still@home.fornow), September 26, 1999.

Thanks Ed....left my calculator in the car....Wise Guy HA HA

-- Larry (Rampon@cyberramp.net), September 26, 1999.

So... they're pulling totally meaningless numbers out of thin air. But they don't want their totally meaningless numbers to be any worse than anyone else's totally meaningless numbers or it might indicate to the sheeple that they were behind (which of course they are... but who knows by how much). Thus, this close to rollover (and considering how many deadlines have come and gone without completion) they all MUST settle at around 98-99%.

This explains a statement from PG&E's 10Q:

"Even where 100% is reported, there may be remaining items." [well, hey... NERC taught us THAT].

98 percent of the Emperor's mission critical clothing is complete.. you just can't see it. The rest is generally expected to be substantially completed by rollover, pending vendor compliance and barring unforseen problems with electricity, water, communications, transportation and banking.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 27, 1999.

A related question: what does it mean when Horn gives somebody a B+. Did they pass or fail. To me, it's like building a huge bridge -- 90% across the great expanse doesn't really get you anywhere.

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), September 27, 1999.

Larry it's called project management. It may mean nothing to you but it's a field of study that can determine % complete. That's how a company does earned value. Look up the meanings of these words. But I have a feeling you really don't care to know the answer. You just want to confirm your doomer mentality with these other wackos.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), September 27, 1999.