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NASA in the News NASA’s PM Challenge 2007, the Agency’s fourth annual project management conference, will be held February 6–7, 2007, in Galveston, Texas, near the Johnson Space Center.

By Laurence Prusak During the last decade or so, journalists and executives of many organizations have talked a lot about a set of related words that includes knowledge, expertise, talent, human capital, know-how, capabilities and capacities, skills, and intelligence.

From time to time, the editors will offer brief reviews of books they believe will especially interest ASK readers. Here are descriptions of two books, very different from one another, that we admire.

Early knowledge management projects usually focused either on collecting and sharing documents or connecting people. As these examples suggest, neither of those strategies is always the right one — the choice should depend partly on what you are trying to communicate. And sometimes combining collection and connection enhances the value of both approaches.

By Ed Hoffman “Rocket science” has become a catchphrase for anything that is extremely difficult, and the popular understanding is right: rocket science deals with technological marvels and the daunting challenges of complex systems.

In one way or another, many of the articles in this issue of ASK are about the importance of seeing the big picture.

By Frederick Manzer Have you ever thought, “This will never work, but if I tell management they’ll fire me”? Have you suppressed information, such as a growing estimate at completion, to prevent unwanted attention, criticism, or help?

By William H. Gerstenmaier Any project or program manager will tell you that the key to successful execution lies in mastering a toolkit of basic techniques.

By Brent Robertson and Jerry Klein Wouldn’t it be nice to have a project management crystal ball that revealed all problems before they occurred?