Management Information Systems 17e

KENNETH C. LAUDON AND JANE P. LAUDON

CHAPTER 14 MAKING THE BUSINESS CASE FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND

MANAGING PROJECTS

CASE 2 NASA Project Management Challenges

SUMMARY NASA project managers discuss the key elements of successful project
management, and their experience leading NASA projects over the last thirty
years.

NASA Project Management Challenge 2007 Systems

URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foj6uiZeIvg&t=147s; L= 10:04.

CASE Project management (PM) is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing
resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and
objectives. The discipline of project management has a short history, beginning
in the late 19th century in the United States with the emergence of the first large-
scale industrial factories in the form of steel mills. Since then, the discipline has
evolved into a professional endeavor, with practitioners usually obtaining certifi-
cates in project management. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the
largest professional project management association in the U.S.

A project is a finite endeavor (having specific start and completion dates)

undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial
change or added value. This finite characteristic of projects stands in sharp
contrast to business processes, or operations, which are permanent or semi-
permanent functional work to repetitively produce the same product or service.
Process managers are not the same as project managers. PMs are given the

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Chapter 14, Case 2 NASA Project Management Challenges 2

task to achieve a specific outcome or process. Process managers are expected to

operate and maintain what the PMs deliver.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals
and objectives while honoring the project constraints. Typical constraints are scope,
time, cost and quality. The secondary and more ambitious challenge is to optimize the
allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives. Project
management is also concerned with risk and the mitigation of risk. Each of the follow-
ing four objectives carries risk of failure (see table below):

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS, RISKS, AND MITIGATION

EFFORTS

PROJECT RISKS MITIGATION EFFORTS

CONSTRAINTS

Scope Project creep and unregulated Continuous oversight in the

growth in the mission initial stages to ensure focus
on original objectives. Defend
project against external
expansion forces.
Time Project deadlines slipping, Attention to intermediate
jeopardizing the overall deadlines and avoidance of
completion date slippage. Identify sources of
slippage. Repair. Add resources
where needed.
Cost Cost overruns become routine, Identify cost increase sources;
threatening overall budget search for lower cost resources.
Quality Quality standards reduced Clear quantifiable quality
because of other constraints; standards; identify sources
final product not reliable of quality shortfall. Repair.
Consider adding resources.

A Project Management Framework for Information Systems

There are hundreds of different project management frameworks, some for specific
industries. One that is commonly used in the information systems field is the Program
Investment Life Cycle (PILC). This model merges traditional project manager concerns
with constraints like time, budget, and cost, with the traditional systems development
life cycle approach to system development.

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Chapter 14, Case 2 NASA Project Management Challenges 3

“The Program (Investment) Life Cycle integrates the project management and system
development life cycles with the activities directly associated with system deployment
and operation. By design, system operation management and related activities occur
after the project is complete and are not documented within this guide.”

Project Control Variables

Project Management tries to gain control over risks and to deliver the project within
time, scope, budget, and quality constraints. To properly control these variables a
good project manager has a depth of knowledge and experience in these four areas
(time, cost, scope, and quality), and in six other areas as well: integration, communica-
tion, human resources, quality assurance, schedule development, and procurement.

The traditional project management literature is weak on describing the personal qualities
of good project managers—leadership, passion, and the commitment of individuals who

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Chapter 14, Case 2 NASA Project Management Challenges 4

make up project teams. It is also weak on identifying the qualities of individuals needed
as a prerequisite of any project management framework. Ultimately, people get the work
done, not frameworks. Among the qualities of individuals needed to make teams work
are competence, passion, commitment, and ability to work with others (collaborate).
None of the formal project management frameworks deal with these critical issues. The
NASA video will help you understand just how important these factors can be.

VIDEO 1. What are some of the biggest challenges identified by the various NASA project
CASE managers interviewed in the video?
QUESTIONS
2. Why is team building an important aspect of project management?

3. What are some of the important elements of decision-making identified in the

video?

4. What are some of the perspectives offered by the various project managers inter-
viewed in the video on the role that a project manager plays in a project?

5. Where do good ideas come from in a project and how can they be encouraged?

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