NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications: Process, Priorities and Goals Page: 24
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NASA's Office of Space Science and Alpplications
assurance. The implementation of such procedures were described as overly-
bureaucratic, inflexible, and even counterproductive at times. One participant cited
the example of a small satellite project in which individual electronic components were
given detailed laboratory testing but could not be properly tested on a systems level
because of schedule delays and increased costs incurred at the component level. One
participant summed up the general concern very succinctly as follows: "we need to
separate the desire for 'no risk' from the issue of whether present approaches can
deliver it." The workshop offered few specific suggestions on what might be done to
reverse a drift toward more conservative program management, since it is deeply
embedded in the NASA organizational culture. NASA project managers see high
professional risk in making serious technical errors but relatively little reward in saving
time or money in the conduct of a complex and inherently risky project. Several
participants offered the view that shifting toward the launch of smaller, more focused
scientific projects should make project managers somewhat less risk-averse because
there would be less riding on any one mission. One workshop member stressed that
NASA's problems of program/project management are not unique; other Federal
agencies with high technology programs experience similar problems of overpromising,
underperformance, and turmoil resulting from the Federal budget process. Finally, it
was observed that the recommendations of the "Hearth Report"34on NASA
program/project management still apply and should be heeded.
o Coordination Improvements - Participants raised a number of issues concerning the
need for improved coordination both within OSSA and in the outside organizations
that interact with OSSA Within OSSA "interdisciplinary" research faces very difficult
34 Donald P. Hearth, "Notes on Conclusions and Recommendations to Accompany Briefing Charts on
NASA Project Management Study," NASA History Office, 1979; Donald P. Hearth, "Project Management
in NASA: 1980 and Today." In Issues in NASA Program and Project Management, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, Spring 1991, pp. 5-10.page 24
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United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications: Process, Priorities and Goals, report, January 1992; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc39698/m1/31/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.