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By Dr. Alexander Laufer Today’s fast-changing projects call for managers to be highly responsive to the unexpected — those surprises that can alter the course of a well-laid plan

By Ed Hoffman Culture [is] a pattern of basic assumptions — invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration — that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way […]

By Denise Lee The first issue of ASK Magazine was released in January 2001, the brainchild of Dr. Edward Hoffman and Dr. Alexander Laufer.

  Since being tapped by NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe to head the team analyzing the findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), your name has been associated with the agency’s efforts to make needed changes. What was the charter of the “Diaz Team” in addressing the CAIB report?

By John Casani I first came to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 48 years ago, and was taught that what’s most important for project success is bringing good people on board, getting them to come together as a team, making certain that they’re all on the same page, and setting up the mechanisms to keep […]

By Ray Morgan The first solar plane we developed at AeroVironment was named the Gossamer Penguin.

By Scott Tibbitts Firm fixed price (FFP) contracting is a sporty proposition. An FFP program that is significantly overrunning will bring a company to its knees. Conversely, when successful, profits can be substantial.

By Annette Simmons ASK Magazine is not alone when it comes to using storytelling to capture lessons learned and share knowledge.

By Major Norman Patnode A while back, I was working on a team to reengineer the Air Force’s logistics process for all the reparable items in the inventory, everything from engines to oxygen regulators to electronic circuit cards.