Tech Musing - Project Mgmt. Related to NASA News Update

Introduction

Humans face the greatest threat for a prolonged future of life from the dramatic effects of climate change which can be felt anywhere in the world. Plant life is critical for the survival of virtually every organism on the planet. NASA has reported positive news for possible plant cultivation in space¹. Although the blossoming of a zinnia flower aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is significant, plants have been grown in space vehicles for longer than a decade¹. NASA astronauts are planning to develop tomato plants in 2018. With a mission to Mars in the near future and the current condition of food produce on Earth, food producers should acknowledge this update. For a manager using the agile methodology the software delivery is highest priority.

Project Managers’ Role

Aside from the societal prominence of extending life outside Earth, the project managers of businesses involved within the food industry predominantly must notify employees of any alterations in tasks moving forward. The first step the manager takes is evident to conceiving and initiating a project’s plan. To further elaborate on this subject, take a farming corporation into consideration for the remaining cycle of a project manager.

Business Management Methods

The agile method is one of several fundamental methods a manager chooses to take with future business projections. Another main method would be the waterfall method which indicates how most actions are explored for outer space missions as everything is documented formally without brisk changes. Agile is almost the opposite in this case as the employees conducting software development for these missions would be monotonous to meet safety conditions for people and/or vehicles venturing along with cost and time for example. The food corporation’s head project manager chooses to plan a vegetable operation to sell to consumers in current grocery stores. After determining reasons for his proposal, he notifies employees of changes the corporation must take regarding this plan after their approval.

Core Processes

Once the manager informs workers about a new organization mission, he evaluates a problem in the industry and attempts to reach approval from others and manage a new task. Second, the farming corporation project manager establishes a business environment and plan involving the work to be completed and those held responsible while discussing new findings and consulting others. Following the activity’s planning, researchers report to other teams on the project that the zinnia plant has strict light and environmental parameters for it to grow.¹ Tomatoes, which the manager placed on the list of agricultural products to produce on the mission, would need a broad amount of days before collecting for market. This update influences other parts of the mission recalling there is an estimated system completion time.²

Conclusion

Managing projects is imperative to every business and as students we must comprehend each of the core processes, which only two out of five are described above. The project manager identifies the problem to be approved, plans and monitors the project, discovers/understands details, designs system components, builds/tests/integrates system components and finally completes system testing before deployment.  For the food production project manager to use the agile method, scope, time, cost, risk and quality would require consistent monitoring for project success. In other words, the manager specifies actions taken following past estimation accuracy.²

References:

1. Shektman, L. (2016, January 18). NASA has officially grown the first zinnia flower in space. Retrieved January 27, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-has-officially-grown-the-first-zinnia-flower-in-space-2016-1

2. Satzinger, J. W., Jackson, R. B., & Burd, S. D. (2012). Systems analysis and design in a changing world (6th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Course Technology.