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PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIALS

  • Lessons Learned for Mission Success
    Lessons Learned for Mission Success

Skill Level: Team/Subsystem Leads or higher.

This three-day course addresses the five types of critical thinking which can be leveraged within the NASA environment - strategic, tactical, analytical, innovative, and implicative - whereby participants can practice using the different thinking approaches to help achieve maximum results leading to mission success.

Before You Attend


This course requires pre-reading, which will be provided upon registration. This may include case studies, articles, and or chapters from relevant books. Pre-reading will align all attendees and prepare them for conversations and topics covered in the course.

This course is designed for members of the NASA technical workforce who work within the NASA programs and project lifecycle. Personnel who are Intermediate/advanced in their primary skills or beginning/intermediate in terms of operating within the NASA environment are encouraged to attend.

Project Management Competencies
Common Competencies

Click here to view the Competency Models.

Related Resources

Resource Category

Overview of NASA Lessons Learned Information System –
SMA-QE-WBT-215 (NASA Only)
Course
Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005. Book
LeGault, Michael R. Think! Why Crucial Decisions Can’t Be Made in the Blink of an Eye. New York: Threshold Editions, 2006. Book
Prather, Charles W., and Lisa K. Gundry. Blueprints for Innovation: How Creative Processes Can Make You and Your Company More Competitive. Annapolis, MD: Bottom Line Innovation Associates, 2003. Book
Significant Incidents & Close Calls in Human Spaceflight Website

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Leverage current theories on human thought to improve your performance and that of your team members.
  • Discriminate between the different types of critical thinking styles, and determine when to use each type in the NASA environment.
  • Identify problems and opportunities and learn how to address them (analyze their root causes).
  • Assess the internal and external environmental factors surrounding problems and opportunities.
  • Document a wide range of potential responses to a problem or opportunity.
  • Evaluate potential responses to a problem or opportunity to determine the best response.
  • Persuade stakeholders to support the best response, design an action plan for implementing the best response, and successfully execute the action plan.
  • Apply the Problem/Opportunity Response Process to address a problem or opportunity in your work environment.