The Old Tired Dog

Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc., from Project Management Success Stories: Lessons of Project Leaders. Copyright © 2000 by Edward Hoffman and Alexander Laufer. This book is available at all bookstores, online booksellers and from the Wiley Web site at www.wiley.com or 1-800-CALL WILEY.

By Rex Geveden, NASA

The instrument had failed its vibration test, and all of us on the team were extremely disappointed. We'd been working like crazy for the past five months attempting to build, test and deliver the Optical Transient Detector (OTD). We all knew a test failure would probably mean a big schedule setback that we simply couldn't afford.

OTD was a NASA project designed to detect lightning from low earth orbit. But it was not only a scientific experiment, it was also a management experiment. Our organization was attempting to prove that the development of scientific space instruments could be radically reduced from a typical 36-month cycle to seven months. Meeting the project goals would be difficult. However, I was optimistic because upper management had given our team the authority to make autonomous decisions and, if necessary, to defy standard conventions and procedures. Furthermore, within the team, decision-making was being delegated to the lowest practical levels so that decisions could be made rapidly.

Rapid decision-making came naturally to OTD chief engineer Fred Sanders, a real bulldog. His endearing qualities included persistence, energy, a sense of urgency and a healthy disrespect for bureaucracy. Fred was results-driven, and he almost always got results. He knew how to motivate people and get things done. Fred, who also possessed a good sense of humor, took the OTD acronym and nicknamed our project the "Old Tired Dog."

The vibration test had failed because a bracket that connected our instrument to the spacecraft was not strong enough. Therefore, the instrument could vibrate too rapidly and possibly break free during launch. At a minimum, fixing the problem would normally require going through the standard procedural steps for an engineering change. The bracket would have to be redesigned to ensure its resistance to vibration. The bracket drawings would have to be released for review and approval and then sent to the fabrication division with a work request. Flight-qualified materials for the part would have to be purchased. The bracket would then have to be manufactured, inspected and stored in a bonded area until it was ready for assembly. Even by optimistic assessments, following procedures would delay the project by a couple of weeks.

Fred and I talked about what could be done to shorten the recovery time and get OTD back on track. Fred had a radical idea: He himself would take the bracket and strengthen it. Fred had practical experience with various types of flight hardware in addition to having built private airplanes, overhauled car engines and constructed an addition to his home. He had the knowledge, skills and tools; all he needed was flight-quality hardware. I trusted Fred and gave him the green light.

On the same afternoon of the test failure, Fred sketched a hardware modification for the bracket. He proposed beefing up the existing bracket with metal panels. The panels would be neither elegant nor optimal, but they just might work by giving the bracket the necessary support. Fred had our shop cut the pieces that afternoon according to his sketch. He then took the pieces, along with some borrowed pins and screws, to his home, where he drilled and tapped the instrument bracket and fastened the panels. We were back in test the next day, and were overjoyed to see that the hardware passed the vibration test. Had there been safety concerns, weight problems or more serious interface issues, we might have been forced to take a more traditional approach to solving the problem, and we probably would have lost two precious weeks. But Fred understood the circumstances, the risks and the urgency of the matter and made a sensible decision.

OTD was delivered within a total of nine months-two months beyond our original goal but well ahead of when it was eventually needed for integration into the spacecraft. Today, OTD has been operational for three years, creating the world's first global lightning database and changing scientists' understanding of lightning flash rates and thunderstorm evolution.

Rex Geveden is program manager for Gravity
Probe-B at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Among his various awards is the prestigious Silver Snoopy, given by astronauts to those who provide exemplary support to spaceflight missions.

Lessons

• Successful projects come from the innate desire and talent of team members, not from prescriptive guidelines and formal processes.
• A dynamic environment calls for maximum autonomy that fosters a strong sense of mission by team members.
• Make sure that you have at least one "Fred" on your team.