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PMI Mass Bay Chapter, Inc.
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November 21, 2009
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VOLUME 4
ISSUE 2
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Mark Kozak-Holland is given a small boat and certificate from the chapter by Ann O'Connell, Programs Committee Chair,
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LETTERS
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[POST LETTER]
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Titanic Lessons for IT Projects: IT Projects from Hell
September Speaker Review - presentation by Mark Kozak-Holland
http://www.lessons-from-history.com
by Michelle Runge, PMP, VP of Marketing and Communications
Mark Kozak-Holland of HP Services made a very strong case that the causes leading to the sinking of the Titantic are very similar to reasons IT projects fail. The shipping company White Star had a mission to meet competitive pressures by launching 3 new super liners to service travelers from Europe to America in 1909. Mark stepped us through the construction of the Titanic, highlighting significant decisions made and interjecting the business influences that contributed to the fate of the project.
The fact that White Star developed a new business strategy and embraced an emerging technology underscores the similarities to today's challenge of rolling out new projects. Coupled with the course of construction, Mark illustrated how the building of the Titanic, in many ways, followed the best practices of project management without the existence of project management as a discipline. In many ways the Titanic project team should have succeeded because of the attention to minimize risks by
· looking at the operational side as well as incorporating potential risks
· investing in a pilot model to analyze exposure to the possibility of loss
· employing safety features to reduce risk.
But decisions were made that compromised those risk reduction features in addition to strong business pressures to "go live" before completing the testing phase. In the end, the belief that the Titanic was unsinkable contributed to its demise in much the same way as an IT project is marketed to its target user base and expectations are not met due to short changing the project process.
It was a very informative and eye-opening presentation. Mark invited us to gain more from lessons learned from the Titanic by going to the website www.lessons-from-history.com.
To view the handouts from this and other PMI Mass Bay Chapter programs click here: http://pmimassbay.org/newpage_nf3.cfm?pagename=Presentations&slot=a4
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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Published by
Copyright © 2006 PMI Mass Bay Chapter, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Website: www.pmimassbay.org / Email: info@pmimassbay.org / Edited by: Michelle Runge, PMP, Director of Marketing and Communications
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