ASK OCE — November 3, 2006 — Vol. 1, Issue 15

Collaboration was the theme of the thirteenth Masters Forum, hosted by the Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership at Babson College in mid-September.

The conference brought together outside experts and NASA practitioners. Dr. Paul Adler, Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, addressed the importance of building a sense of community for a successful collaboration. This framework provided the basis for discussing a NASA-specific case study of collaboration presented by David Jacobsen, manager of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate project office. ASK Magazine Editor-in-Chief Larry Prusak explored the role of trust and social capital, noting that individuals in any organization ultimately have to trust each other and share a core set of social values in order to share knowledge effectively.

Other highlights included a presentation and demonstration by Helen Greiner, a co-founder of iRobot, a commercial robot manufacturer that has developed products for both military and consumer markets. Participants also toured the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Space Systems Laboratory.

The Masters Forum is a biennial invitational conference held over three days for a small group of practitioners to learn from past masters of project management. Attendees build cross-center relationships, develop leadership expertise, and participate in a community of practice focusing on lessons learned and unique practices. The next event will be held in March 2007.

Learn more about past Masters Forums.