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Business/Cost Estimating – The business of aeronautics and space exploration challenges program and project managers to improve performance and innovate. What lessons learned can the business and cost estimating stakeholders share with the agency stakeholders? This fascinating track will present ideas, experiences, and lessons learned on the business side of programs and projects.
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Case Studies – Every project meets challenges, and throughout each project’s life, project managers learn lessons by responding to those challenges. What challenges have projects faced, and what are the lessons learned? This track will give you the opportunity to consider how you would have responded to the challenges encountered.
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Complex Projects – NASA’s projects are the most technically complex and programmatically challenging of any attempted in any field. How does a project manager identify and deal with the unique challenges of this complex world? This track provides an opportunity to learn how project managers have met challenges resulting from the complex environment. |
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Earned Value Management – Earned Value Management is a proven, integrated project management methodology that can help projects finish on time and within budget. How can a project use Earned Value to improve project management? This track will describe the EVM methodology and how NASA is promoting its use. |
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Facilities – Construction and maintenance of NASA’s infrastructure assets are critical to mission success and present unique challenges. What are some of those challenges, and how are the agency’s facilities leaders tackling them? This track will describe some of the key issues and productive responses to those issues. |
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Innovation and Collaboration – A major element of project success can be defined in two words: working together. Given the multiple technological and interpersonal ways available to work together effectively, how can project managers establish and maintain effective communication and collaboration among team members, customers, and stakeholders? This track will showcase many of the creative solutions to enabling “working together.”
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International Project Management –Space has increasingly become an international endeavor for both scientific and human exploration missions at all scales. This trend is likely to continue to expand, as our collective bold visions for the future will be feasible only through extensive international collaborations. We have much to learn from nearly fifty-years of international partnering – the challenges, lessons learned and new opportunities. This track, co-sponsored by APPEL and PMI, will examine these topics, as they might influence the way forward. |
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Independent Review in Action – NASA uses an independent review process that has led to NASA’s outstanding record of success in program and project management. How can an independent review process provide knowledgeable, objective insights into decision making? This track will describe the independent review process and how to make it work for you and lead to ever stronger job performance. |
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Information Technology – Information Technology and Software Development both play key roles in assisting NASA in achieving its mission. What are the techniques and methods that experienced practitioners use and the challenges that they face in delivering IT and software products that meet the Agency’s needs? What are the ramifications of new policy initiatives and agency requirements in the IT and Software Development areas? This track focuses on management of NASA IT programs and projects and the management of software development in both the mission and institutional arenas. This track will help managers and system engineers obtain a better understand of the IT and software development sensitivities and considerations on mission and institutional projects. |
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Lessons Learned –
We cannot change the past, but we can learn from it. How can past missions help us improve how we address the challenges of readying future missions? This track will introduce lessons learned and challenge thinking on how to lead future missions toward greater success. |
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Panel Discussions – Battle-tested project managers can provide keen insight into issues facing all project managers. What might you learn from people with years of experience in a complex project environment? This track will present panels of experienced project managers discussing and debating important topics and realities of project management. |
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+ Click here to view the PM Challenge Panel Nomination Form |
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People and Teams –
The more complex the program or project, the more challenging the teamwork issues. How do talented people work together effectively to resolve complex challenges? This track introduces ways to manage teamwork in the face of project complexity. |
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Policy & Guidance – However important, policy and guidance remain poorly understood aspects of program and project planning and control processes. What are the views of agency experts on topics such as Joint Confidence Levels, “baselines” and “rebaselines,” obligations and costing, and progress reporting to OMB and GAO? This track will feature agency experts who will review new and ongoing agency policy and guidance and increase understanding of their impact. |
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Risk, Safety and Mission Assurance – Safety and mission assurance remain core to NASA culture. How can project managers identify and deal with risk, promote mission success, and prevent disastrous failure? This track will offer cutting-edge ideas and solutions to help project managers better address the complexities of risk, safety, and mission assurance on NASA programs and projects. |
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Scheduling – Time is money, and proper schedule management is vital to mission success at NASA. So PM Challenge feedback was, “Please add a track on project scheduling.” What are practical approaches to scheduling that will contribute to effective project management? This track, new to the PM Challenge, will highlight ideas and techniques for better scheduling. |
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Spotlight on Constellation – The Moon, Mars, and beyond. Exploring these destinations poses not only significant scientific and technical challenges but also programmatic and management challenges. What are some best practices, lessons learned, and new ideas? This track will show how CxP is leveraging solutions to achieve the agency’s strategic goals. |
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Systems Engineering –Systems engineering and engineering management are disciplines critical to any project’s mission success. What are lessons learned and innovative solutions that can heighten this discipline’s contributions? This track will feature new ideas that can ensure high value systems engineering. |
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Words of Wisdom –Most project managers have questions for NASA management and seek opportunities to explore issues outside the pressures of daily project life. What are the topics of interest affecting program or project success? This track will present senior leaders from the agency and provide an opportunity for informal, insightful dialogue on key topics affecting agency and project success. |
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