production of modern satellites and spacecraft,”
Mr. Okumura told reporters.
Such project catastrophes not only devastate the
organizations that delivered them, they can also
add time and cost to future projects if companies
face stricter internal or external rules. But rules
might be on the rise regardless. In the U.S., some
members of Congress have proposed new regula-
tions in response to managing satellite traffic (not
necessarily project failures). These rules could add
greater safety and controls, but many fear they
would complicate project schedules and financing.
Complying with satellite regulations is just one
risk management aspect on these projects, says
Marc Segarra, PMP, project manager, Infineon
Technologies, Munich, Germany. (Mr. Segarra
worked as a project manager at TRYO Aerospace
& Electronics until September; Infineon makes
semiconductors, including for satellites.) He
argues that adhering to a predefined project scope
in such an innovative industry can be the biggest
challenge. “During program execution, a lot of
technical unknowns appear, and thus scope must
be dynamically updated in relation to cost and
schedule,” he says. His team minimizes these challenges by performing a thorough risk analysis as
part of the proposal stage of every project.
That only takes his team so far, though. “Changes
are inevitable; the question is how you handle
them,” he says. To bolster organizational agility, he
advocates building strong reaction capability into
the team dynamic, establishing transparent infor-
mation-sharing channels across the team, and pro-
viding regular project asset updates to stakeholders.
“Good communication can help teams minimize
the impact of unknowns.”
Driving innovation while controlling these risks
can mitigate the chance of disasters. And the
industry has the talent to make that happen, Mr.
Segarra says. “The space industry is a pioneer in
the implementation of project management meth-
odology, which helps us keep risks and schedules
well under control.” —Sarah Fister Gale
Rendering of Japan’s
Hitomi X-ray
astronomy satellite
“The space
industry is a
pioneer in the
implementation
of project
management
methodology,
which helps us
keep risks and
schedules well
under control.”
—Marc Segarra, PMP, Infineon
Technologies, Munich, Germany
