'10 Planning

This interoffice memorandum, dated August 14, 1972, and addressed to Ken Olsen, outlines an engineer's deep concerns regarding the strategic direction of the PDP-10 ('10) product line. The author argues that management is abandoning critical storage projects (such as the RS10 and RF10/RP04) to shift resources toward the development of the "cheap" KL10 processor.

The memorandum highlights four primary problems:

1. Loss of traditional and new markets: By failing to provide necessary storage growth and performance improvements, DEC is alienating both existing university/research customers and new target markets like data management and inventory control.
2. Poorly defined low-price strategy: The author questions the viability of a market strategy focused solely on a "low price" target without a clear understanding of the specific applications for which the machine will be used.
3. Imminent sales/cash flow crisis: The product line is currently stuck with aging, high-cost equipment while awaiting the KL10, which the author predicts will trigger a financial crisis.
4. Morale and productivity: The frequent, unexplained cancellation and restarting of projects is damaging engineering morale and productivity.

The document concludes with a recommendation to perform a critical, external review of the '10 marketing plan to ensure that development efforts are grounded in realistic, application-specific assumptions rather than vague industry forecasts.