knowledge, people and projects
TRANSCRIPT
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Knowledge, People,
and Projects
Dr. Ed Hoffman and Dr. Jon Boyle
NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership
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I. Global Trends in Project Management
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In 2008, the Academy began annually
tracking trends in project management.
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Talent Management
Team Diversity
Transparency
Complexity Sustainability Frugal Innovation
Project Mgmt Certification
Portfolio Management
Smart Networks
Project Academies
Virtual Work
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Four years later, we see patterns.
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Complexity
(CE
RN
)
(DOD)
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Sustainability
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Dr. Nick Johnson, NASA Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris, on the evolution of sustainability for space operations
(Click above to play audio)
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Transparency
(New York Times, Dec. 22, 2010)
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Frugal I
imitation
increments
cost containment
open platforms
LCROSS
“Cost discipline is an intrinsic part of the process, but rather than simply cutting existing costs, frugal engineering seeks to avoid needless costs in the first place.”
Strategy & Business, “The Importance of Frugal Engineering,” May 2010
Innovation
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Talent Management
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Portfolio Management
PROGRAMS
PROJECTS
AERONAUTICS RESEARCH
HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS
SCIENCE
Integrated Systems Research Program
Mars Science LaboratoryEnvironmentally Responsible Aviation Project
MPCV
SPLASH
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Project Management Certification“Companies say the certifications are proof that their current or prospective employees meet an industry-wide standard. And, some companies say a growing number of their clients insist on dealing only with employees who have earned industry designations.”
- Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2010
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A world shortage of top class managers to run increasingly complex projects and programmes, and the requirement by project-led companies for consistent standards across worldwide activities, is fuelling a global trend for organisations to develop talent through their own internal academies.
- Project (Association for Project Management)
Project Academies
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“We possess incredible capacity to think differently. These differences can
provide the seeds of innovation, progress, and understanding.”
- Scott Page,
The Difference
Team Diversity
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(Time, May 25, 2009)
Rob Carter, CIO of Fed Ex, on learning from “World of Warcraft”
3
MSS Control
St. Hubert, Canada
MSS Control
St. Hubert, Canada
POIC
Huntsville, AL
POIC
Huntsville, AL
ISS Mission Control
Houston, TX
ISS Mission Control
Houston, TX
Shuttle Launch Control
KSC, Florida
Shuttle Launch Control
KSC, Florida
Columbus Control Center
Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Columbus Control Center
Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
ATV Control Center
Toulouse, France
ATV Control Center
Toulouse, France
Ariane Launch Control
Kourou, French Guiana
Ariane Launch Control
Kourou, French Guiana
ISS Mission Control
Moscow, Russia
ISS Mission Control
Moscow, Russia
Soyuz Launch Control
Baikonur, Kazakstan
Soyuz Launch Control
Baikonur, Kazakstan
H-IIA Launch Control
Tanegashima, Japan
H-IIA Launch Control
Tanegashima, Japan
JEM/HTV Control
Center Tsukuba, Japan
JEM/HTV Control
Center Tsukuba, Japan
NASA and International Partner OperationsVirtual Work
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Smart Networks (then…“… the somewhat frightening prospect of man’s new capability to store a mass of information and, on signal, send it anywhere in the world.”
– Letter from the Publisher on the launch of Intelsat 1 (“Early Bird”), TIME, May 14, 1965.
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…and now)
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Today’s trends require
a change in mindset.
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Image from Voyager 2 (1981)
2. Exploring Saturn and Its Moons:A Case Study in Complex Project
Management
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Cassini-Huygens U.S. - European mission to explore Saturn
NASA and Italian Space Agency: Cassini spacecraft
European Space Agency: Huygens probe
Launched October 1997
6.7 year voyage to Saturn
$3.27 billion total cost to date
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Cassini and HuygensCassini
• Delivered Huygens probe to Titan
• Remained in orbit around Saturn for detailed studies of the planet, its rings and satellites (moons)
Huygens• Released by Cassini to land
on surface of Saturn’s moon Titan
• Investigated characteristics of Titan’s atmosphere and surface
Cassini
Saturn
Titan
Huygens
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The Complex Project Environment
Complex Project-Based Organization
Functional Organization
Problems Novel Routine
Technology New/invented Improved/more efficient
Team Global, multidisciplinary Local, homogeneous
Cost Life cycle Unit
Schedule Project completion Productivity rate
Customer Involved at inception Involved at point of sale
Survival skill
Adaptation Control/stability
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Zero room for error:
Journey to Saturn included “gravity assists” (slingshot acceleration effects) from Venus, Earth and Jupiter - incredibly precise timing
Cassini orbiter would “insert” Huygens probe in orbit of Titan (one of Saturn’s moons)
Complex communications among Cassini, Huygens, Deep Space Network, and ground system
Technical Complexity
Huygens descent to surface of Titan
Cassini trajectory to Saturn
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Italian Space Agency ESA
Cassini high-gain antenna; radio subsystemequipment
Organizational and Strategic Complexity
NASA
Cassini orbiter; launch vehicleand associatedintegration & test
Huygens probeand associatedcommunications equipment on Cassini orbiter
International partnerships affect organizational and strategic complexity
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Organizational Complexity
The science mission:• 260 scientists
• 17 countries • 10 time zones
• 18 scientific instruments (payloads) with Principal Investigators
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Project Management ChallengeAll 18 payloads had reserves- Cost ($ per fiscal year) - Mass (kg)- Power (watts)- Data rate to the spacecraft bus (kilobytes/sec) Overruns would lead to de-scoping (instruments cut)
Problem:How would you manage the reserves to increase the likelihood that all instruments would fly on the spacecraft?
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Challenge Resolved
Solution:
Electronic trading exchange for Principal Investigators to trade reserves in cost, mass, power, and data rate.
• Governed by project management team (incl. veto power)• Created win-win incentive for all• Gave PIs ownership / assured buy-in
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New Way of Thinking and Learning
To cope with a challenging world, any entity must develop the capacity ofshifting and changing—of developing new skills and attitudes; in short the capacity of learning.
Arie De Geus, The Living Company
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Adaptive Organization1. Elephants in the room are named.
2. Responsibility for the future is shared.
3. Independent judgment is expected.
4. Leadership capacity is developed.
5. Reflection and continuous learning are
institutionalized.
Source: Grashow, Heifetz, & Linsky, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership
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Project-Based Environment
• Adaptable to changing circumstances
• Customer orientation
• Focus on product, not organization
• Multidisciplinary teams
Strengths Weaknesses
• Diffuse authority / lack of direct control
• Tunnel vision
• Organizational cohesion Decentralized
learning Knowledge sharing
across community
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3. Developing Project Managers
at NASA
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Why Projects Fail Factors that Drive Program Costs and Technical Risks
(1992 Jack Lee Study)• Inadequate Phase B definition (i.e., before Preliminary Design
Review)• Unrealistic dependence on unproven technology• Annual funding instability• Complex organizational structure, including multiple unclear
interfaces• Cost estimates that are often misused• Scope additions due to “requirements creep”• Schedule slips• Acquisition strategy that does not promote cost containment
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“7 Deadly Sins”
1. Vague roles, accountability, and delegated authority.
2. Team leaders in over their heads / ineffective.
3. Poor acquisition planning with poorly incentivized / structured
contracts. (Or contractors doing the wrong work.)
4. The defined scope is not doable within available resources.
5. Structures don’t support efficient systems engineering.
6. Ineffective risk management process.
7. Broken project team context.
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Review Boards and ExpertsChallenger “… signals of potential danger … were repeatedly normalized … at the intersection of the social and technical …. “Normalization of Deviance.” (Diane Vaughn)
Hubble “A leadership failure was the root cause.” (Lew Allen)
Mars Climate Orbiter “Communications failure was the root cause.” (Noel Hinners)
Columbia “In our view, the NASA organizational culture had as much to do with this accident as the foam. Organizational culture refers to the basic values, norms, beliefs, and practices that characterize the functioning of an institution.” (Doug Osheroff)
PMI “… ultimately projects fail or succeed on the basis of the individuals assigned to the project team, the culture and the leadership.” (Eleanor Haupt)
Technical expertise and process excellence are necessary but not sufficient for success.
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Learning from Failure (Part 1) Responses to Failures Examples
Standards and policies Revised procedures and requirements for project management; revised governance model
Communications Procedures to encourage dissenting opinions; case studies on lessons learned; senior leadership focus on communications
Training and development NASA Academy (individual training, team support, organizational learning)
Technical excellence NASA Engineering and Safety Center; NASA Safety Center; technical authority
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Learning from Failure (Part 2)
“NASA's current organization…has not demonstrated the characteristics of alearning organization.”Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report
Challenger accident
Mars failures
Columbia accident
1986
1999
2003
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Meeting Multiple Needs
COMPETENCIES
PROJECT SUCCESS
SUSTAINABILITYORGANIZATION
TEAM
INDIVIDUAL
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Integrated Competency Model
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The 4 A’s
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Academy Roles and Responsibilities
Project workforce development
Advocacy for the learning requirements of practitioners
Defining key concepts and vocabulary for the project community
Alignment with corporate strategy
Alignment with external stakeholders
Promotion of communities of lifelong learning
Promotion of sustainable organizational capability
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Key Assumptions and Biases
Practitioners know best.
85-90% of learning takes place on the job.
Learning is contextual — different career stages have
different requirements.
Optimal performance and learning come together at the team level.
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TEAMINDIVIDUAL
Individual, Team, Organization
• Training curriculum• Development programs
• core
curriculum• in-depth
offerings• hands-on
opportunities
Direct support to
project teams
• online
assessments • workshops• mentoring /
coaching• expert practitioners• team building• technical support
Knowledge sharing
• forums • publications• case studies• multimedia• communities of practice
ORGANIZATION
APPROACH
ACTIVITIES
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Individual
Training curriculum
- Core for 4 career levels
- In-depth offerings
Hands-on opportunities and
developmental assignments
PMI Registered Provider of Professional Development Units
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4-Level Career Development Framework
ENTRYPROJECT TEAM MEMBER OR TECHNICAL ENGINEER
MID-CAREERSMALL PROJECT MANAGER OR SUBSYSTEM LEAD
MID-CAREERLARGE PM OR SYSTEMS MANAGER
EXECUTIVE LEVELPROGRAM OR VERY LARGE PROJECT MANAGER
Core: Foundations of Aerospace at NASA
Obtain mentor
Join professional associations
Core: Project Management & Systems Engineering
In-depth courses; team lead assignments; Project HOPE
Attendance at technical conferences or knowledge sharing activities
Core: Advanced Project Management & Systems Engineering
Mentoring
In-depth courses; rotational assignments
Participation in knowledge sharing activities
Core: Executive Program
Mentoring; Administrator’s Executive Forum
Leadership by example in knowledge sharing
Non-traditional and hands-on learning experiences
Developmental assignments
APPEL core curriculum
Cohort selected by NASA senior leaders
Performance enhancementfor teams
Knowledge sharing forumsKnowledge sharing forums
Performance enhancementfor teams
LEARNING STRATEGIES
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Core Curriculum
Foundations of Aerospace at NASA
Advanced PM & Advanced SE
Project Management & Sys. Engineering
Executive Program
Guiding Principles:
3. Competency-based.
5. Focuses on building NASA-specific expertise and capability in project management and systems engineering, making extensive use of NASA case studies.
8. Intended to supplement academic and professional work experience.
PMI Registered Provider of Professional Development Units
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Team
Direct support to project teams
Online assessments Workshops Mentoring and coaching Expert practitioners and technical
lifecycle support Team building and process
support
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Direct Support to TeamsAvailable at any point in the project life cycle for:
• Team and Leadership Development • Requirements Development• Planning and Scheduling• Program Control Analysis• Systems Integration Support• Risk Management• Software Management• Technical Review Support
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NASA Team Results Summary
BottomQuintile
n = 198NASA 7'08
1st Assessment
2nd Assessment
3rd Assessment
4th Assessment
198 teams with multiple assessments grouped by quintiles. The image below is the ~40 teams beginning in the bottom quintile.
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Progress Per Team Reassessment
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Knowledge sharing Forums for project managers,
systems engineers, and
principal investigators Publications Case studies Multimedia Communities of practice
Organization
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Developing Excellence
In a world of complex projects, adaptability is critical.
Project excellence depends on capability and knowledge at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
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Stories in pictures.
Quick, timely updates.
Transferable knowledge.
On-the-go learning.
Share and discuss.
Connect and Learn with the Academy
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