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PMDE RETREAT : "Project Management under New (Obama) Administration"
+ View Agenda (Updated 10-27-09)
An Introduction
No, we didn't make a mistake. We really meant "Emprise," and not as you might have suspected, "Enterprise" (although the latter is a reasonably close synonym). Looking at Webster's Third New International Dictionary under emprise, we note the following: "an undertaking; ... adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise..." Or as in the Knights of King Arthur; hence our logo of a chess piece 'knight.' The latter is stressed in Webster's New World Dictionary where it describes emprise as: "prowess or daring: as knights of great emprise."
Well, you might have guessed by now that that is what the creators of this program wanted you to think about. That you were embarking on an adventure wherein. If totally successful you could some day become a space flight Project Manager (or even aspire higher; if possible). These individuals, Deputy Director for Business Paul Mowatt (who espied the word emprise) and his counterpart, Dale Harris, Deputy Director of Projects, also conceived of a dual path of study and application in the resource field. Here, candidates could aspire to positions as high as Deputy Project Manager for Resources (DPMR).
PMDE's first class was in 1990 and the latest was selected in 2007/08. PMDE graduates now can be found throughout the Projects Directorate as Project Managers, Deputy PM (technical), DPMRs, Mission Business Managers, Financial Managers, Resource Managers, Observatory Managers, Instrument Managers, and on. Oh yes, how can I forget; the directorate also has an Associate Director and an Assistant Director, who are PMDE graduates.
And, although we prefer to have our graduates become part of Code 400 (FPD), we also take credit for the Deputy Director of Code 200, an Assistant Director for Code 200, The Director of the Office of Human Capital Management, an Assistant to the Center Director, and a number of branch heads throughout the Center. Nor should I exclude a graduate who went on to a Senior Executive Services (SES) position at another Federal Agency, or a small number who went on to senior positions in the private sector after graduation.
Since the program began, 68 individuals have successfully competed for entry into this extraordinary program. In the first year of the program (1990) well over 100 applicants competed for entry, 37 of whom were interviewed over a period of two weeks. Eight were selected. Applicants have dropped over the years as more and more competing leadership programs have entered the field. So new applicants, your chances of selection are dramatically improved if you really want to be part of space flight projects.
Nor should I neglect to mention that NASA Headquarters was so taken by the success of PMDE that in 1995 they held a meeting at KSC of Project leaders from throughout the Agency to attempt to develop a program where consistent training could be given to projects personnel. Thus was created PMDP/Project Management Development Process. This program, absorbed major functions from PMDE, added their own sections, and is still extant today.
Thanks for listening.
Howard Ottenstein
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