NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The NASA Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership (APPEL) and The Center for Project Leadership at Columbia University are pleased to announce a forum on the topic Project Leadership: Project Success Requires Leadership AND Management.

The Forum will be held June 26, 2009, in the NASA Auditorium, NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street SW, Washington, DC. For information about registration, please use the Contact Us form and select Category: Project Leadership Forum.

The purpose of the forum is to examine some of the current and anticipated challenges facing the project management community, and to discuss the critical role that project leadership will play in addressing the increasingly difficult project environment in the coming years, including:

• Delivering unique, innovative products and missions, at an accelerated pace, in the presence of a sometimes volatile and uncertain environment.
• Coping with the impacts of the current economic crisis, severely constrained financial resources, and the loss of confidence and trust by many stakeholders.
• Anticipating the changes to be undertaken by the new Administration — requiring project leaders and managers to be at the forefront of change, with increased transparency and accountability, and under the scrutiny of frequently skeptical media and the public.

The forum will provide an opportunity to hear from a panel of top leaders in this area from government, industry, and academia, who will examine the importance of both project leadership and project management as critical skills for project success.

The panelists will discuss the best approaches and strategies to deliver successful projects in an uncertain environment, and proven principles and practices for seasoned project managers. The discussions will include both specific real-life examples as well as general concepts that are applicable to a wide range of organizations, projects- and people.

The forum will be interactive and will include a question-and-answer session with the panelists to provide an opportunity for participants to gain an understanding of how to apply these principles and practices.

By the conclusion of the forum, participants will have gained significant new insights regarding how:

• To lead and manage a project in a dynamic environment.
• Organizations can foster the development of project leaders.
• Project leaders can identify and foster the development of new project leaders.
• Project leaders can foster their own personal leadership growth.

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Forum Agenda

Speaker Abstracts and Bios

Time	Topic	Speaker
9:00 – 9:15	Welcome and Introduction: The Importance of Project Leadership at NASA	Mr. Chris Scolese, NASA Administrator (Acting)
9:15 – 10:30	Projects Must Be Led, Not Just Managed: Why and How?”	Dr. Alex Laufer Director, Center for Project Leadership Columbia University
10:30 – 10:45	Break
10:45 – 11:45	Leaders Creating Leaders: Wins and Losses	Mr. Terry Little Consultant, Spectrum Group, and Associate Director for Leadership Development Center for Project Leadership Columbia University
11:45 – 12:45	Lunch (no host)
12:45 – 13:45	Software Project Development: The Pharmaceutical Analogy for Project Management	Dr. Alistair Cockburn President, Humans and Technology, Inc.
13:45 – 14:00	Break
14:00 – 14:45	Growing Leaders: The Practice of Learning from Practice	Dr. Ed Hoffman Director, NASA APPEL
14:45 – 15:30	Q&A / Reflections and Comments	Panel Moderator, Dr. Ed Hoffman (with audience participation)
15:30 – 15:45	Conclude Forum	Forum Hosts: Dr. Alex Laufer, Dr. Ed Hoffman