The Smart Mission

<b>Why human skills and expertise not technical tools are what make projects succeed.</b><br><br>The project is the basic unit of work in many industries. Software applications antiviral vaccines launch-ready spacecraft: all were produced by a team and managed as a project. Project management emphasizes control processes and tools&#151;but according to <i>The Smart Mission</i> that is not the right way to run a project. Human skills and expertise not technical tools are what make projects successful. Projects run on knowledge. This paradigm-shifting book&#151;by three project management experts all of whom have decades of experience at NASA and elsewhere&#151;challenges the conventional wisdom on project management focusing on the human dimension: learning collaboration teaming communication and culture.<br>&#160;<br>The authors emphasize three themes: projects are fundamentally about how teams work and learn together to get things done; the local level&#151;not an organization&#146;s upper levels&#151;is where the action happens; and projects don&#146;t operate in a vacuum but exist within organizations that are responsible to stakeholders. Drawing on examples and case studies from NASA and other organizations the authors identify three project models&#151;micro macro and global&#151;and their different knowledge needs. Successful organizations have a knowledge-based culture. Successful project management guides the interplay of knowledge projects and people.