Thanks Mom!

One good blog deserves another. I've started a blog for the PMI Alabama Symposium which is a two day training event for project managers here in Birmingham. I accidentally posted this to my personal blog. I decided to keep it since it is family related after all. Plus, some of you are into project management as part of your jobs. Check out the full Alabama Symposium blog.


I’m sure most mothers and daughters talk about shopping, grandchildren and food. My mom and I like to add one more thing to that traditional topic list. We talk about managing projects. We talk about managing BIG projects. Coming from a family of rocket scientists is a chore. They always have that snappy comeback of “Why, yes. I am a rocket scientist.” Plus it’s weird when your parent has their own Wikipedia entry. However, as an adult, I shamelessly tap my mother for help when I am facing a project difficulty. Her experience with NASA projects from Apollo to Constellation provide some awesome insight into overcoming challenges. She has this great Risk Management chart that I’ve used on several projects with success once I saw it in one of her proposals. Not only that, I’ve taken things she has learned and successfully applied it to much smaller, less critical projects. Read the synopsis below and I know you will find her one of the most useful speakers you’ve heard. Register today to hear her speak on March 10th at PMI (Project Management Institute's) Alabama Symposium!


Synopsis: A brief history of the NASA program to go to the moon the first time with their challenges and lessons. Evolution through the development of the Space Shuttle and International Space Station; How the NASA culture and ways of doing PM have changed since Apollo. The development of a standard PM approach and process, including Risk Management. The Challenger and Columbia accidents and PM related root causes. The Constellation Program and human's return to the moon and beyond. What makes projects successful and what PMs leave behind as their legacy.