A NASA Project Manager’s Lessons Learned – Part 4

 

Originally documented by Jerry Madden NASA Associate Director

Modified for ProjectManagement.com by David A. Maynard

Who is Jerry Madden?

During Jerry Madden's 37-year career at NASA, the federal agency launched its first satellite, achieved the first lunar landing, and deployed the Hubble telescope. It also innovated outside the edges, bringing satellite TV, air-cushioned sneakers, and solar panels to the masses. In other words, NASA was an idea factory running at full steam.

Madden, who retired in 1995 as associate director of flight projects at Goddard Space Flight Center, was critical to the operation. As one of NASA's premiere project managers, he saw to it that great ideas became tangible innovations; he coordinated the technology, teams, and bureaucracy needed to propel science forward.

Along the way, Madden also curated and penned a now-infamous list of 128 lessons for project managers, which still circulates through NASA today.

Source of this document

You can download the original (free) at http://go.nasa.gov/2fBULlK  But some of it is NASA-specific, or at least Aerospace-specific.   I’ve modified these slightly to make them less “application specific” and more in-tune with current Project Management theory.  I’m taking them about 25 at a time  - the actual count depends upon my editing.

From the original document: “None of these are original--It's just that we don't know where they were stolen from!”

The same goes for me!

Discussions

I think the community here can add / subtract and modified from these.  Please feel free to post corrections, insults, additions, or general impressions.  Maybe even pick out your favorites. 

                                               Space Shuttle Atlantis

The Project Manager

79.   Award fee is a good tool that puts discipline both on the contractor and the government. The score given represents the status of the project as well as the management skills of both parties. 

80.   A project manager is not the monitor of the work but should be the driver. Contractors don't fail, NASA does, and that is why one must be proactive in support.  This is also why a low score damages the government project manager as much as the contractor's manager because it means they are not doing their job.

81.   There is no greater motivation than giving a-good person their piece of the puzzle to control however a pat on the back or an award helps.

82.   Morale of a contractor's personnel is important to the project manager.  Just as you don't want to buy a car built by disgruntled employees, you don't want to buy flight hardware built by them.  You should take an active role in motivating all personnel on the project.

83.   People who monitor work and don't help get it done, never seem to know exactly what is going on.

84.   Never assume someone knows something or has done something unless you have asked them.  Even the obvious is overlooked or ignored on occasion--especially in a high-stress activity.

85.   Don't assume you know why senior management has done something.  If you feel you need to know, ask. You get some amazing answers that will dumbfound you.

86.   If you have someone who doesn't look, ask, and analyze, ask them to transfer.

87.   Bastards, gentlemen, and ladies can be project manager. Lost souls, procrastinators, and wishy-washers cannot.

88.   A person's time is very important. You must be careful as a manager that you realize the value of other people's time.   You must, where possible, shield your staff from unnecessary work, i.e., some requests should be ignored or a refusal sent to the requester.

89.   A good technician, quality inspector, and strawboss are more important in obtaining a good product than all the paper and reviews.

90.   The seeds of problems are laid down early. Initial planning is the most vital part of a project.  Review of most failed projects or of project problems indicates that the disasters were well planned to happen from the start.

91.   A comfortable project manager is one waiting for his next assignment or one on the verge of failure.  Job security is not normal to project management.

93.    Always try to negotiate your internal support at the lowest level. What you want is the support of the person doing the work, and the closer you can get to him in negotiations the better.

94.   Whoever said beggars can't be choosers doesn't understand project management.  Many times, it is better to trust to luck than to get known poor support.

97.   Talk is not cheap.  The best way to understand a personnel or technical problem is to talk to the right people. Lack of talk at the right levels is deadly.

98.   Projects require teamwork to succeed. Remember most teams have a coach and not a boss, but the coach still must call some of the plays.

99.   In the rush to get things done, it is always important to remember who you work for. Blindsiding your  boss will not be to your benefit in the long run.

100.    Over-engineering is common.  Engineers like puzzles and mazes--try to make them keep their designs simple.

101.   Never make a decision from a cartoon / drawing.  Look at the actual hardware or what real information is available, such as layouts. Too much time is wasted by people trying to cure a cartoon whose function is to explain the principle.

102.   A company’s age can be estimated by the number of reports and meetings it has. The older it gets, the more the paperwork increases and the less product is delivered per dollar. Many people have suggested that a company self-destruct every 25 years and be reborn starting from scratch.

103.   False starts are normal in today’s environment. More than ever, in this type of environment, one must keep an ear open for the starting gun and be prepared to move out in quick and orderly fashion once it is sounded. In the past, too many false starts have resulted in the project not hearing the real starting gun or jumping off and falling on its face.

104.   There are still some individuals who think important decisions are made in meetings. This is rarely the case. Normally, the decision-makers meet over lunch or have a brief meeting to decide the issue and then (at a meeting called to discuss the issue) make it appear that the decision was made because of the meeting.

105.    In political decisions, do not look for logic – look for politics.

106.    In dealing with international partners, the usual strategy is to go 1 day early, meet with your counterpart, discuss all issues to be brought up at a meeting, arrive at an agreeable response (or a decision to table the issue for later discussion), and agree not to take any firm positions on any new issues brought up at the meeting. This makes it appear to the rest of the world that you and your counterpart are of one mind and that the work is in good hands. All disputes are held behind closed doors with the minimum number of participants.