SpaceX From a Project Management Perspective
ITOnlineLearning recently published an interesting blog post on SpaceX, the BFR, and how we might look at all of it from a project management perspective. Elon Musk, founder, CEO and lead designer of SpaceX, is paving the way for life on Mars. In order to gain more revenue for his plan, Musk and his team will make travel by rocket open to the public by designing rockets for short distances AND long distances. As author, Jacky Harrison, points out, the latest SpaceX design of reusable spacecraft, the BFR, promises to allow people to travel to any city on earth in under an hour.
In terms of project management, these endeavor are impressive for many reasons. When you consider the risks and demands, SpaceX is following project management best practices when it comes to communication, leadership, ability to negotiate, risk management skills, cost control, and more. It is easy to see why SpaceX can inform our own project management principles and provide valuable insights.
PMI’s upcoming SeminarsWorld® Event in Seattle to be Held April 9 -12
Attendees are invited to join expert SeminarsWorld® instructors in Seattle to network and learn with peers in small-group, topic-intensive seminars aligned with the PMI Talent Triangle®. There is an opportunity to earn up to 28 PDUs and 2.8 Continuing Education Units at this event. John Maher, PhD, CSM. CSPO, SPC4.5, Executive Agile Transformation Consultant, IBM and Bill Bear, SPC4.5, Agile Coach, IBM will be the keynote speakers.
PMI urges its attendees to consider that most agile assessments make primary use of questionnaires and spreadsheets to determine a client’s capability to adopt Agile. These instruments can be valuable, but can often miss obtaining an understanding of the organizational ecosystem. A whole system approach that simply can’t be captured with spreadsheets, will be explored.
Applying Agile to Instructional Design
The Association for Talent Development recently opened a discussion on Agile project management and Instructional Design, defining Agile as a iterative, incremental process and approach for guiding the design and build of projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner. Agile also got props from author, Megan Torrance, for its focus on maximizing customer value and fostering high team engagement.
With the success of the Agile project management in the software industry, she points out that it comes as no surprise that the Learning and Development field has sought to adopt it.
What do you think? Is Agile a good fit for instructional design and/or e-learning projects?
Tired of Failed Projects?
Matthew Leach, VP of business analysis and project management practice for NTT DATA Services, authored an article on CIO DIVE’s website last month. He explores the topic of failed projects and points out the “dismal success rate” of many IT projects. What if, Leach points out, the problem is counterintuitive? Could it be that solving everything with technical solutions (more automation, software development, etc.) misses the bigger picture?
