HG 100K High Speed Camera and Imaging System

© 2009 Wind River Systems, Inc.

HG 100K High Speed Camera and Imaging System

The TAZ Project

Project Manager – Rick Baker

Program Manager – Ken Furie

Division Manager – Chris Perret

Consultant and Coach – Marty Wartenberg


The Initial Scenario

• Wind River Services- San Diego

• Redlake MASD – Subsidiary of Roper Industries

• Former Kodak Division

• Kodak discontinued Optics necessary

• Redlake could not produce its product and a whole lot of people would be laid-off

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Crash Test Camera System – High Speed and High Impact


The Project

• Four week T and M contract to define specifications and initial design

• Fixed Price Design and build contract

• Initial contract in 20 Million Range (final 23.5M)

• Initial requirements included building up to 6 deliverable prototypes

• One big surprise in 3rd month3


Approach to Project Management

• Full time dedicated teams (25 core members and up to an additional 20)

• Extensive planning

• Bring in experts for specialized activities

• Scope changes under the control of the Project Manager

• Use CCPM

• Escalation Rule

The Eleventh Commandment

(an addendum to the original ten)

Thou shalt escalate!

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Project Management Best Practices

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© 2009 Wind River Systems, Inc. 6

Methodologies for this Project

• Rapid Development Methodology

• Time Boxed Project

• Fast Tracked (Massive Parallelism)

• Multi-stage integration (minimum surprises at the end)

• Frequent stand-up meetings regarding progress against plans

• Highly interactive and connected sub-project dependencies

• Practice “true” team work…

• Early indication of problems (No secrets) “confess early, confess often”

• The key job description for members of this project team is ”..do whatever you can to help move this project to a successful completion”


Project Leadership and Management Issues

• Project Manager has responsibility for delivering project on-time and in conformance with customer requirements

• Due to the nature of a rapid development project – individual sub-system leads will deal with the great majority of personnel and design issues at the subsystem and team levels.

• The Project Manager will primarily spend most of his time on making sure that individual teams are meeting goals and that inter subsystem dependencies are being met (with help from the SE)

• This project will largely be managed by exception. As long as goals and target are being met there will be periodic drilling-down to verify performance.

• Additional help will be provided by the PM in any area that is having trouble meeting the key goals and schedules.


DEFINING THE CRITICAL PATH

Three critical concepts form the basis for efficient project execution…

We must manage the critical path each and every day to maintain schedule.

Transaction Costs -

Critical-Path Tasks -

Any barrier to the free flow of information and material between

project tasks causes us to pay a transaction cost - wasted time,

additional cost, mistakes, lost opportunities, diminished creativity, and more.

Tasks in the critical path must occur serially, with each task being

dependent on previous tasks for execution. Rapid Development project

Managers manage the critical path, the near critical paths on a regular basis

and require slips to be made up!

High Risk Paths -

Tasks that include high risk items from the risk lists will also be given

a lot of attention from the project leads and PM.


APPLYING RESOURCES TO THE CRITICAL PATH

Applying adequate resources to the critical path is

the first rule of efficient project management.

When a team member is on the critical path

his or her time should be 100% dedicated:

• No fire fighting

• No time-sharing between projects

• No overrides by upper management

Once the team member is off of the critical path

they immediately revert to their normal status and activities.

We will maintain this rule and any exception can only be made

By the PROJECT MANAGER

Too Many Tasks!


Our Core Values (Interpreted for this effort)

1. Customers – Building Trust and Satisfaction means meeting commitments and delivering what was promised.

2. People – Creating a climate of trust means that we will individually honor our commitments to each other and to the team

3. Integrity – Meeting our commitments and owning our problems – no blame or scape-goating

4. Innovation – Focus your innovative and inventive spirit on solving the projects problems and meeting our schedule dates.

5. Operational Excellence – Focus on doing the “right” things and do them “right” the first time and if you screw up fix it fast


Major System Technical Issues/Concerns

• System Management, integration, project controls…

• Camera back-end…

• The optics are the major area of invention

• Hub…

• CCU/DCU/Legacy…

• Camera Front-End…

• Manufacturing Services…

• Supporting characters…


Major Systems Management Issues / Values• Team’s absolute commitment required for client’s success

• Missed dates by one person can ruin the entire project

• Prevention of missed dates/commitments is primary goal

• Integration Milestones Can’t be overshot

• Requires Personal Time Management, monthly, weekly, daily goals

• Email Overload, one-way vs. two-way conversation (handout)

• Confess Early, Confess Often

• Who’s your customer (external *and* internal)

• Grumbling and “talkin’ trash”

• Personal commitment to team, managers and project

• Only Project Manager gives/authorizes dates, cost commitments, changes after consultation with management

• Parking Lot for other issues and concerns


E-Mail Protocols• Acknowledge Action requests within 24 hours or 1 business day

• Keep messages short

• Focus on single subjects per message

• Avoid multiple recipients wherever possible

• Use very descriptive headings for e – mails (subject, importance)

• Avoid including everyone on FYI, place data in common data base available to all if wanted

• Use to: for those who must take actions, cc: for interest or information

• Be careful of language, idioms, jargon and other issues with people with different technical language and jargon

• Explicitly state the response expected from designated action personnel including when the action is required

• For really important stuff that needs immediate action, use the POTS or physically go see some one


1. Everything’s not always going to go right

2. Hope for best but expect worse, Murphy is on project full time.

3. Don’t get bent out of shape if someone doesn’t say please or thank-you.

4. First names only (no us-and-them, teams, mgt, whatever).


Skunkworks Rules for Commercial Rapid Dev.

1. PM complete control

2. PMO assistance

3. Minimum # of good people

4. Simple documentation

5. Minimum reports

6. PM Monthly cost review

7. Quality Acceptable

8. Specs. frozen early, A, B C types

9. Order all parts early

10. Mutual trust client & our company

11. Access by outsiders—NO!

12. Co-locate within earshot when possible

13. Review status daily (4pm)

14. Have no Fear if you follow PMs methodologies/values

15. Pick the right team!

16. Remember: Time is the most critical factor. Get something out quickly and fix it even quicker.

The Kelly Lockheed Skunk Works Rulres


The Eleventh Commandment

Thou Shall Escalate

You don’t own the problem--general 4-hour escalation rule.

Team members confronted with a problem should escalate the problem to Team Leads within four hours (4-hours). Time spent trying to troubleshoot or resolve technical or interpersonal problems can take your work significantly off track. After 4 hours of an unresolved issue you need to take it to your project lead and ask for help by saying "I am escalating this issue to you" which forms the basis of an issue resolution team--you and your project lead. Don't wait to escalate or put in "heroic efforts" by yourself. Get help--fast!


Summary• Rapid Development means FAST

• No time for blame, alibi’s, finger pointing or “talk’in trash”

• Everyone must focus on solving problems and moving the project forward

• We will be under stress and must learn to have a hi level of tolerance for each other

• We will periodically do something to relieve built-up stress and strain

• Everyone must be focused on the project goals and put personal feelings aside until key milestones are met

• Wind River Services has a high degree of success, because we choose to be successful


Final Results

• Really nice bonus to Wind River and members of the team

• Additional work from Roper Industries

• Entry into a new business area

• Learned some really great PM skills

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Documents

HG 100K High Speed Camera and Imaging System