The Project Manager 项目经理
Rule #1: A project manager should visit everyone who is building anything for his project at least once, should know all the managers on his project (both government and contractor), and know the integration team members. People like to know that the project manager is interested in their work and the best proof is for the manager to visit them and see first hand what they are doing.
规则#1:项目经理应该拜访每一个对项目构建有帮助的人至少一次;认识所有和项目有关的经理(ZF和承包商),还有所有的团队成员。人们希望知道项目经理对他的工作感兴趣,对此最好的证明就是拜访他们,亲自看看他们在做些什么。
Rule #2: A project manager must know what motivates the project contractors (i.e., their award system, their fiscal system, their policies, and their company culture).
规则#2:项目经理必须知道项目承包商的激励因素是什么(例如,他们的奖励系统、财政系统、相关政策和公司文化)。
Rule #3: Management principles still are the same. It is just that the tools have changed. You still find the right people to do the work and get out of the way so they can do it.
规则#3:管理的原则始终都是一样的,变化的只是方法。你只需找到合适的人然后自己让开,让他放手去做。
Rule #4: Whoever you deal with, deal fairly. Space is not a big playing field. You may be surprised how often you have to work with the same people. Better they respect you than carry a grudge.
规则#4:公平地对待任何人。太空可不是大运动场。你也许会诧异于怎么会经常与相同的一些人共事。受到他们的尊重总比嫉恨要好。
Rule #5: Vicious, despicable, or thoroughly disliked persons, gentlemen, and ladies can be project managers. Lost souls, procrastinators, and wishy-washy cannot.
规则#5:恶意的、卑鄙的或者你完全讨厌的人,男人,女人都可以成为项目经理。神魂颠倒,拖拖拉拉,优柔寡断的人绝对不行。
Rule #6: A comfortable project manager is one waiting for his next assignment or one on the verge of failure. Security is not normal to project management.
规则#6:等待下一个任务的项目经理是惬意的,但也可以说他已经处于失败的边缘。对于项目管理来说安全是不正常的。
Rule #7: One problem new managers face is that everyone wants to solve their problems. Old managers were told by senior management - "solve your darn problems that is what we hired you to do.
规则#7:新的项目经理们面对的问题是每个人都在想让他帮助解决他们的问题;而老的项目经理们都曾被他们的上级告诫:“我们雇佣你就是让你解决你自己应负责的问题”。
Rule #8: Running fast does not take the place of thinking for yourself. You must take time to smell the roses. For your work, you must take time to understand the consequences of your actions.
规则#8:动作迅速代替不了自己思考。你一定要花时间去闻玫瑰的香味。对于工作,你一定要花时间去考虑行动的后果。
Rule #9: The boss may not know how to do the work but he has to know what he wants. The boss had better find out what he expects and wants if he does not know. A blind leader tends to go in circles.
规则#9:作为老板,可能不知道如何去工作,但是必须知道他想要什么。如果不知道的话,最好能找到他所期望和想要的。一个缺乏眼光的领导者容易原地打转。
Rule #10: Not all successful managers are competent and not all failed managers are incompetent. Luck still plays a part in success or failure but luck favors the competent hard working manager.
规则#10:所有成功的管理者并不是都是有能力的,所有失败的管理者也并不都是没有能力的。机会也是能否成功或失败的一个组成部分,但是幸运之神总是眷顾那些有能力的并且辛苦工作的管理者。
Rule #11: Never try to get even for some slight by anyone on the project. It is not good form and it puts you on the same level as the other person and, besides, probably ends up hurting the project getting done.
规则#11:不要为项目中的任何人的某些小事去追求公平。这并不是一个好方式,它会使你和其他人处于同一级别,很可能到最后会影响到整个项目的完成。
Rule #12: Do not get too egotistical so that you cannot change your position, especially if your personnel tell you that you are wrong. You should cultivate an attitude on the project where your personnel know they can tell you of wrong decisions.
规则#12:不要过于以自我为中心,否则你会变得很顽固,特别当你的团队成员指出你的错误时。应当在项目中培养这样一种氛围:你的团队成员知道他们可以指出你的错误。
Rule #13: A manager who is his own systems engineer or financial manager is one who will probably try to do open heart surgery on himself.
规则#13:一个亲自兼任项目系统工程师或财务经理的项目经理很可能是一个试图为自己进行心脏外科手术的人。
Rule #14: Most managers succeed on the strength and skill of their staff.
规则#14:大多数项目经理的成功之处在于发挥了团队的力量和技能。
Initial Work 初始工作
Rule #15: The seeds of problems are laid down early. Initial planning is the most vital part of a project. The review of most failed projects or project problems indicate the disasters were well planned to happen from the start.
规则#15:问题的种子很早就被种下。初步策划是项目最重要的一部分。回顾大多数失败的项目或项目的困境,灾难往往在一开始就被安排了进来。
Communications 沟通
Rule #16: Cooperative efforts require good communications and early warning systems. A project manager should try to keep his partners aware of what is going on and should be the one who tells them first of any rumor or actual changes in plan. The partners should be consulted before things are put in final form, even if they only have a small piece of the action. A project manager who blindsides his partners will be treated in kind and will be considered a person of no integrity.
规则#16:努力合作需要良好的沟通和及早的预警。项目经理应该让他的同伴感知项目的进展情况,他应该是第一个告诉他们任何与项目有关的传闻或实际计划变更的人。在做出任何决定之前,都应咨询同伴的意见,哪怕和他们只有一点关系。一个对同事封闭的项目经理会遭到同样的待遇,他会被当做一个缺乏整体观念的人。
Rule #17: Talk is not cheap; but the best way to understand a personnel or technical problem is to talk to the right people. Lack of talk at the right levels is deadly.
规则#17:交谈不仅不是廉价的,而且了解一个人或技术问题的最佳方式就是与恰当的人进行交谈。缺乏应有的交谈将是致命的(缺陷)。
Rule #18: Most international meetings are held in English. This is a foreign language to most participants such as Americans, Germans, Italians, etc. It is important to have adequate discussions so that there are no misinterpretations of what is said.
规则#18:大多数国际会议都使用英语。对大部分会议的参加者来说这都是外语,比如,美洲人,德国人,意大利人。充分的讨论是很必要的,这样才能避免翻译过程中出现的误解。
Rule #19: You cannot be ignorant of the language of the area you manage or with that of areas with which you interface. Education is a must for the modern manager. There are simple courses available to learn computerese, communications and all the rest of the modern "ese’s" of the world. You cannot manage if you do not understand what is being said or written.
规则#19:不要忽视你负责或面对的领域所使用的语言。对现代项目经理来说,教育是很重要的事情。有很多初级课程都教人学习计算机术语,通信术语和其他一些当今流行的术语。如果你不理解你听到的和看到的东西,你会感到手足无措。
People 人
Rule #20: You cannot watch everything. What you can watch is the people. They have to know you will not accept a poor job.
规则#20:你观察不到所有的事情。你所能观察到的是“人”。一定要让他们认识到你不会接受任何糟糕的工作。
Rule #21: We have developed a set of people whose self-interest is more paramount than the work or at least it appears so to older managers. It appears to the older managers that the newer ones are more interested in form than in substance. The question is are old managers right or just old? Consider both viewpoints.
规则#21:我们已经发现很多人把自己的个人兴趣看得比工作重要,至少那些老经理们看上去是这样。老经理们都认为那些新人对形式的兴趣超过内容。问题在于是老家伙们正确还是仅仅因为他们的资格老?两种观点都应该考虑。
Rule #22: A good technician, quality inspector, and straw boss are more important in obtaining a good product than all the paper and reviews.
规则#22:在得到一件好产品的过程中,一个好技师、质检员还有班组长远比那些文件和检查重要。
Rule #23: The source of most problems is people, but darned if they will admit it. Know the people working on your project to know what the real weak spots are.
规则#23:大多数麻烦的起因都是人,但没有人会承认。要想知道你的真正弱点就得了解在项目中工作的人。
Rule #24: One must pay close attention to workaholics, if they get going in the wrong direction, they can do a lot of damage in a short time. It is possible to overload them and cause premature burnout but hard to determine if the load is too much, since much of it is self-generated. It is important to make sure such people take enough time off and that the workload does not exceed 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 times what is normal.
规则#24:一定要注意那些工作狂,他们一旦犯错误就会马上造成巨大损失。他们很有可能会超负荷运转导致过早耗尽。但负荷是否过重很难判断,因为很多行为都是自发的。重要的是一定要让他们有充足的时间休息,工作量不要超过正常负荷的1/4到1/2。
Rule #25: Always try to negotiate your internal support at the lowest level. What you want is the support of the person doing the work, and the closer you can get to him in negotiations the better.
规则#25:尽量经常从与最基层的沟通中获得内部支持,你需要的是干活的人的支持,在沟通中与他们越近越好。
Rule #26: If you have someone who does not look, ask, and analyze; ask them to transfer.
规则#26:如果你手下有人不看、不问、不分析,告诉他一定要改变。
Rule #27: Personal time is very important. You must be careful as a manager that you realize the value of other people’s time (i.e., the work you hand out and meetings should be necessary). You must, where possible, shield your staff from unnecessary work (i.e., some requests should be ignored or a refusal sent to the requestor).
规则#27:个人时间非常宝贵。作为经理你一定要意识到别人时间的重要性(比如,你安排的工作和会议都是必要的)你必须尽可能地避免让你的员工从事不必要的工作(比如,某些人的某些要求可以被忽略或者拒绝)
Rule #28: People who monitor work and don’t help get it done never seem to know exactly what is going on (being involved is the key to excellence).
规则#28:那些监督者和对完成工作没有任何帮助的人,永远也不会知道现在发生了什么(只有参与进来才是最好的)。
Rule #29: There is no greater motivation than giving a good person his piece of the puzzle to control, but a pat on the back or an award helps.
规则#29:除了鼓励或奖励以外,对一个好员工来说最大的激励就是让他在自己负责的范围内有决策权。
Rule #30: It is mainly the incompetent that don’t like to show off their work.
规则#30:那些不愿意展示自己工作的人大部分都是不称职的人。
Rule #31: There are rare times when only one man can do the job. These are in technical areas that are more art and skill than normal. Cherish these people, but get their work done as soon as possible. Getting the work done by someone else takes two or three times longer and the product is normally below standard.
规则#31:很少能有一个人能做的工作。在比普通工作更需要技巧和技能的技术领域更是如此。珍惜这些同事,但让他们尽快完成任务。让其他的人完成这些工作要花费2到3倍的时间,而且完成的质量通常还达不到标准。
Rule #32: People have reasons for doing things the way they do them. Most people want to do a good job and, if they don’t, the problem is they probably donot know how or exactly what is expected
规则#32:人们做事的方式都有自己的理由。大多数人都想把工作做好,如果他们不想做好,很可能是因为他们不知道怎样去做,或者更确切地说,他们并不知道你所期望的结果是什么。
Rule #33: If you have a problem that requires additional people to solve, you should approach putting people on like a cook who has under-salted the food.
规则#33:如果你有什么问题需要增加人手才能解决,在加人的时候应该像厨师在加盐时那样小心。
Reviews and Reports 考评与报告
Rule #34: NASA has established a set of reviewers and a set of reviews. Once firmly established, the system will fight to stay alive, so make the most of it. Try to find a way for the reviews to work for you.
规则#34:NASA 已经建立了一整套的考评制度。系统一旦建立就应该坚持,最大限度的利用它。争取找到让考评为你服务的办法。
Rule #35: The number of reviews is increasing but the knowledge transfer remains the same; therefore, all your charts and presentation material should be constructed with this fact in mind. This means you should be able to construct a set of slides that only needs to be shuffled from presentation to presentation.
规则#35:考评的项目在增长,但知识传递依旧,因此你在构思图表和介绍材料时应记住这一点。就是说你应该做一组幻灯片,这样在做不同介绍时就只需将材料重新组织一下就可以。
Rule #36: Hide nothing from the reviewers. Their reputation and yours is on the line. Expose all the warts and pimples. Don’t offer excuses-just state facts.
规则#36:不要在考评者面前隐藏什么。他们的名誉和你的名誉息息相关。暴露所有的缺点和不足。不要找借口,陈述事实就可以了。
Rule #37: External reviews are scheduled at the worst possible time, therefore, keep an up-to-date set of business and technical data so that you can rapidly respond. Not having up-to-date data should be cause for dismissal.
规则#37:外部考评被安排在最不利的时机,因此要保持业务和技术数据的实时更新以便快速响应。否则就应被视为解雇的理由。
Rule #38: Never undercut your staff in public (i.e., In public meetings, don’t reverse decisions on work that you have given them to do). Even if you direct a change, never take the responsibility for implementing away from your staff.
规则#38:不要在公开场合让你的下属感到受到戏弄(比如,在公开会议上,颠倒已经做出的工作决定)。就算是你执意要改变,也不要让他们能够推卸执行的责任。
Rule #39: Reviews are for the reviewed and not the reviewer. The review is a failure if the reviewed learn nothing from it.
规则#39:考评是被考评者的考评而不是考评者的考评。如果被考评者不能从中学到任何东西那考评就是失败的考评。
Rule #40: A working meeting has about six people attending. Meetings larger than this are for information transfer (management science has shown that, in a group greater than twelve, some are wasting their time).
规则#40:一个工作会议应大约有6个人参加。超过此人数的会议适合信息传递(管理科学表明,当与会人数超过12人时,对有些人来说就纯属浪费时间)。
Rule #41: The amount of reviews and reports are proportional to management’s understanding (i.e., the less management knows or understands the activities, the more they require reviews and reports). It is necessary in this type of environment to make sure that data is presented so that the average person, slightly familiar with activities, can understand it. Keeping the data simple and clear never insults anyone’s intelligence.
规则#41:审核和报告的数量与管理层的理解成正比 (即管理人员知道或理解活动的程度越少, 他们就越需要审阅和报告)。在这种类型的环境中, 必须确保数据被呈现出来, 使一般人, 稍微熟悉一些活动, 能够理解它。保持数据的简洁明了从不侮辱任何人的智慧。
Rule #42: Managers who rely only on the paperwork to do the reporting of activities are known failures.
规则#42:那些只依靠文书工作来报告活动的管理者是众所周知的失败。
Rule #43: Documentation does not take the place of knowledge. There is a great difference in what is supposed to be, what is thought to have happened, and reality. Documents are normally a static picture in time that get outdated rapidly.
规则#43:文档不代替知识。文档在应该是什么, 被认为发生了什么, 和现实有很大的不同。文件通常是一个静态实时的图片,如不能更新将快速过时。
Rule #44: Just because you give monthly reports, don’t think that you can abbreviate anything in a yearly report. If management understood the monthlies, they wouldn’t need a yearly.
规则#44:仅仅因为你给出月度报告, 不要认为你可以在年度报告中缩写任何东西。如果管理层能够理解月刊, 他们就不需要一年一个。
Rule #45: Abbreviations are getting to be a pain. Each project now has a few thousand. This calls on senior management to know hundreds. Use them sparingly in presentations unless your objective is to confuse.
规则#45:缩写是一种痛苦,每个项目现在有几千个。这就要求高级管理层理解数百个缩写。在演示中尽量少用它们, 除非你的目的是为了混淆。
Rule #46: Remember, it is often easier to do foolish paperwork that to fight the need for it. Fight only if it is a global issue which will save much future work.
规则#46:请记住, 做愚蠢的文书工作往往更容易满足它的需要。只有这是一个全局的问题, 并将为未来节省大量工作的时候,才去做。
Contractors and Contracting 承包商和订约
Rule #47: A project manager is not the monitor of the contractor’s work but is to be the driver. In award fee situations, the government personnel should be making every effort possible to make sure the contractor gets a high score (i.e., be on schedule and produce good work). Contractors don’t fail, NASA does and that is why one must be proactive in support. This is also why a low score damages the government project manager as much as the contractor’s manager because it means that he is not getting the job done.
规则#47:项目经理不是承包商工作的监督者, 而是驱动者。在奖励费情况下, 政府人员应尽一切努力确保承包商获得高分 (即按期完成并产生良好的工作)。承包商不能失败, 美国宇航局的每个人必须积极支持。这也是为什么低比分损害了政府项目经理和承包商的经理一样多, 因为这意味着他没有完成工作。
Rule #48: Award fee is a good tool that puts discipline both on the contractor and the government. The score given represents the status of the project as well as the management skills of both parties. The project management measurement system (PMS) should be used to verify the scores. Consistent poor scores require senior management intervention to determine the reason. Consistent good scores which are consistent with PMS reflect a well-run project, but if these scores are not consistent with the PMS, senior management must take action to find out why.
规则#48:奖励费是一个很好的工具, 这种奖惩可以用在承包商和政府身上。项目达成的分数代表了项目的状态以及双方的管理技能。项目管理测量系统 (PMS) 应用于验证评分,一致的差评需要高级管理层干预来确定原因。与PMS一致的好评反映了一个运行良好的项目, 但如果这些分数和 PMS不一致, 高级管理层必须采取行动找出原因。
Rule #49: Morale of the contractor’s personnel is important to a government manager. Just as you don’t want to buy a car built by disgruntled employees, you don’t want to buy flight hardware developed by under- motivated people. You should take an active role in motivating all personnel on the project.
规则#49:承包商人员的士气对政府经理很重要。就像你不想购买一辆由心怀不满的员工制造的汽车一样, 你也不希望购买缺乏动力的人开发的飞行硬件。你应该积极参与激励项目中的所有成员。
Rule #50: Being friendly with a contractor is fine—being a friend of a contractor is dangerous to your objectivity.
规则#50:与承包商保持友好关系很好,但作为承包商的朋友对你的客观性是很危险的。
Rule #51: Remember, your contractor has a tendency to have a one-on-one interface with your staff. Every member of your staff costs you at least one person on the contract per year.
规则#51:请记住,您的承包商倾向于与您的员工建立一对一的界面。 每位员工每年至少花费一人合同。
Rule #52: Contractors respond well to the customer that pays attention to what they are doing but not too well to the customer that continually second-guesses their activity. The basic rule is a customer is always right but the cost will escalate if a customer always has things done his way instead of how the contractor planned on doing it. The ground rule is: never change a contractor s plans unless they are flawed or too costly (i. e., the old saying that better is the enemy of good).
规则#52:对那些关注他们在干什么的客户,承包商们总是反应良好,对那些总是干预他们活动的客户,他们的反应就不是很好了。“客户总是正确的”是基本的原则,但是如果客户总是想让承包商按照他们的方式去做,而不是按照承包商自己的计划进行,这样成本就会不断增加。这时的基本原则是:不要改变承包商的计划,除非计划的确有问题或成本过高(比如,俗话说:过犹不及)。
Rule #53: Contractors tend to size up the government counterparts and staff their part of the project accordingly. If they think yours are clunkers, they will take their poorer people to put on your project.
规则#53:承包商们总是在和政府对应部门和人员进行比较。如果他们认为你们的人都不够资格,他们会在你的项目上安排较差的人来对付你。
Rule #54: There is only one solution to a weak project manager in industry- get rid of him fast. The main job of a project manager in industry is to keep the customer happy. Make sure the one working with you knows that it is not flattery but on-schedule, on-cost, and a good product that makes you happy.
规则#54:对待行业中差劲的项目经理只有一个办法,就是尽快免职。项目经理的主要工作就是让客户开心。一定要让和你共同工作的人知道,这不是奉承,而是应有的,预算内的,并且正是让你高兴的结果。
Engineers and Scientists 工程师和科学家
Rule #55: Over-engineering is common. Engineers like puzzles and mazes. Try to make them keep their designs simple.
规则#55:过量工程学是常见的。工程师们喜欢难题和迷宫。要让他们保持简洁的设计。
Rule #56: The first sign of trouble comes from the schedule or the cost curve. Engineers are the last to know they are in trouble. Engineers are born optimists.
规则#56:最初的麻烦来自计划和成本曲线。工程师们是最后知道他们自己是深陷困境的人。他们是天生的乐天派。
Rule #57: The project has many resources within itself. There probably are five or ten system engineers considering all the contractors and instrument developers. This is a powerful resource that can be used to attack problems.
规则#57:项目本身就有很多资源。算上所有的承包商和设备开发商,大概有5到10个系统工程师。这就是强大的攻关资源。
Rule #58: Many managers, just because they have the scientists under contract on their project, forget that the scientists are their customers and many times have easier access to top management than the managers do.
规则#58:正是因为项目合同中有专家们的参与,许多经理就忘记了这些专家们的客户身份,很多时候他们比经理们更容易接近高层。
Rule#59: Most scientists are rational unless you endanger their chance to do their experiment. They will work with you if they believe you are telling them the truth. This includes reducing their own plans.
规则#59:大多数专家都是理性的,除非你危及到他们的实验。如果他们相信你所说的话,他们就会与你合作,包括削减他们自己的计划。
Hardware Rule 硬件规则
Rule #60: In the space business, there is no such thing as previously flown hardware. The people who build the next unit probably never saw the previous unit. There are probably minor changes (perhaps even major changes); the operational environment has probably changed; the people who check the unit out in most cases will not understand the unit or the test equipment.
规则#60:在航天领域,与制造以往飞行器不同的是,制造下一个部件的人永远也看不到前一个部件的样子。两个部件可能相差无几(也可能截然不同);操作环境也有可能发生变化;负责检验的人员大多数时候都不了解他们要检验的部件或者检验用的设备。
Rule #61: Most equipment works as built, not as the designer planned. This is due to layout of the design, poor understanding on the designer s part, or poor understanding of component specifications.
规则#61:大多数设备如何工作取决于它被生产成什么样子,而不是设计成什么样子。问题出在设计制图上,错误理解了设计者的意图或者元器件的特性。
Rule #62: Not using modern techniques, like computer systems, is a great mistake, but forgetting that the computer simulates thinking is a still greater mistake.
规则#62:不使用诸如计算机系统之类的现代技术是一个重大错误,但忘记计算机只是思维的模仿是一个更大的错误。
Computers and Software 计算机和软件
Rule #63: Software has now taken on all the parameters of hardware (i.e., requirement creep, high percentage of flight mission cost, need for quality control, need for validation procedures, etc.). It has the added feature that it is hard as blazes to determine it is not flawed. Get the basic system working first and then add the bells and whistles. Never throw away a version that works even if you have all the confidence in the world that the newer version works. It is necessary to have contingency plans for software.
规则#63:软件已经承担了一切硬件的参数 (例如,需求延伸,高比例飞行成本,质量控制需求,过程确认要求等) 。还有个特点是,谁也不敢确定新功能不存在错误。首先让基本系统工作,然后再加上铃铛和哨音。永远不要淘汰还能用的版本,就算你有十足的把握更新的版本已能胜任工作。有必要对软件准备应急方案。
Rule #64: Knowledge is often revised by simulations or testing, but computer models have hidden flaws not the least of which is poor input data.
规则#64:知识经常通过仿真和测试进行修改,但计算机模型存在隐藏的缺陷,其中最重要的是输入数据存在问题。
Rule #65: In olden times, engineers had hands-on experience, technicians understood how the electronics worked and what it was supposed to do, and layout technicians knew too- but today only the computer knows for sure and it is not talking.
规则#65:在过去,工程师们有亲手制作的经验,技术人员知道元器件们是如何工作的,还有它们应该怎样工作,制图的技术人员也知道,但是,现在只有计算机才确切地知道其中的奥妙,但它还不会说出来。
Senior Management, Program Offices, and Above Rule 高级管理、项目办公室及以上规则
Rule #66: Don’t assume you know why senior management has done something. If you feel you need to know, ask. You get some amazing answers that will astonish you.
规则#66:不要假设你清楚高层管理者们做某些事的原因。如果你感到有必要了解,一定要问他们。你会得到令你感到惊讶的怪异的回答。
Rule #67: Know your management- some like a good joke, others only like a joke if they tell it.
规则#67:了解你的管理层-有些人喜欢听高明的笑话,还有些人只喜欢自己讲的笑话。
Rule #68: Remember the boss has the right to make decisions. Even if you think they are wrong, tell the boss what you think but if he still wants it done his way; do it his way and do your best to make sure the outcome is successful.
规则#68:记住,老板有权力做决定。就算你认为他们错了,也要告诉老板你的想法,但如果他还坚持,就按他的决定去做,你只能尽你的最大努力去确保成功的结果。
Rule #69: Never ask management to make a decision that you can make. Assume you have the authority to make decisions unless you know there is a document that states unequivocally that you cannot.
规则#69:永远不要让你的上级做本来你可以做的决定。你可以假设你有权做出决定,除非有明文规定你无权决策。
Rule #70: You and the Program Manager should work as a team. The Program Manager is your advocate at NASA HQ and must be tied into the decision makers and should aid your efforts to be tied in also.
规则#70:你和大项目经理应该像一个团队一样互相协助。他在NASA总部是你的支持者,他必须成为决策者之一,他会帮助你,让决策层意识到你的努力。
Rule #71: Know who the decision makers on the program are. It may be someone outside who has the ear of Congress or the Administrator, or the Associate Administrator, or one of the scientists- someone in the chain of command- whoever they are. Try to get a line of communication to them on a formal or informal basis.
规则#71:搞清楚哪些人是项目的决策者。可能是拥有国会议员或管理员或副管理员的外部人员,或者是指挥系统中的某个科学家 - 无论他们是谁。 尝试在正式或非正式的基础上与他们进行沟通。
Program Planning, Budgeting, and Estimating Rule 计划、预算和评估规则
Rule #72: Today one must push the state of the art, be within budget, take risks, not fail, and be on time. Strangely, all these are consistent as long as the ground rules such as funding profile and schedule are established up front and maintained.
规则#72:项目经理一定要追求卓越,符合预算、敢于冒险、不能失败还要按时完成。奇怪的是,这些要求已成为定律,比如投资规模和项目进度,被确定下来就要保持不变。
Rule #73: Most of yesteryear s projects overran because of poor estimates and not because of mistakes. Getting better estimates will not lower costs but will improve NASA s business reputation. Actually, there is a high probability that getting better estimates will increase costs and assure a higher profit to industry unless the fee is reduced to reflect lower risk on the part of industry. A better reputation is necessary in the present environment.
规则#73:大多数上一年度的项目延期都是因为评估失误而不是因为操作失误。好的评估不会降低成本,但会提升NASA的业内声誉。实际上,进行准确的评估很可能会增加成本,同时也会获得更高的利润,除非评估费用降低到它只反映了项目的较低风险。如今,获得好名声还是很有必要的。
Rule #74: All problems are solvable in time, so make sure you have enough schedule contingency- if you don’t, the next project manager that takes your place will.
规则#74:所有问题都是可以及时解决的,所以一定要在进度中留出解决意外问题所需要的时间,如果不这样,你就会被别的项目经理所替换。
Rule #75: The old NASA pushed the limits of technology and science; therefore, it did not worry about requirements creep or overruns. The new NASA has to work as if all projects are fixed price; therefore, requirement creep has become a deadly sin.
规则#75:过去的NASA总是追求科技的极限,因此,不用担心需求延伸或过度。新NASA必须得在固定价格的项目下工作;所以,需求蔓延是绝对不能接受的。
Rule #76: Know the resources of your center and, if possible, other centers. Other centers, if they have the resources, are normally happy to help. It is always surprising how much good help one can get by just asking.
规则#76:了解自己领域所拥有的资源,如有可能还要知道其它领域的资源。如果有,他们通常会乐于伸出援助之手。只是问一句,你总会得到意想不到的帮助。
Rule #77: Other than budget information prior to the President s submittal to Congress, there is probably no secret information on a project- so don’t treat anything like it is secret. Everyone does better if they can see the whole picture so don’t hide any of it from anyone.
规则#77:只要不是总统还没有向国会提交的预算草案,项目中大概就没什么需要保密的内容,不要把什么都当成秘密。如果每人都能看到全局,他会做的更好,所以不要对任何人隐藏什么。
Rule #78: NASA programs compete for budget funds- they do not compete with each other (i. e., you never attack any other program or NASA work with the idea that you should get their funding). Sell what you have on its own merit.
规则#78:NASA的项目会争取预算资金,但他们不会互相竞争(例如,你不会抨击其它项目或者说NASA的工作理念就是你应当去争取属于自己的融资)。要靠自己的优势去争取。
Rule #79: Next year is always the year with adequate funding and schedule. Next year arrives on the 50th year of your career.
规则#79:下一年总是有着充足预算和时间的一年。它会在你职业生涯的50年后到来。
The Customer Rule 客户规则
Rule #80: Remember who the customer is and what his objectives are (i. e., check with him when you go to change anything of significance).
规则#80:记住你的顾客是谁,他的目标是什么(比如,当你想要做某些明显的改变时要得到他们的确认)。
NASA Management Instructions 美国宇航局管理说明
Rule #81: NASA Management Instructions were written by another NASA employee like you; therefore, challenge them if they don’t make sense. It is possible another NASA employee will rewrite them or waive them for you.
规则#81:NASA的管理条例是由其他的像你一样的NASA员工制定的;因此,如果你觉得它们有什么不妥,尽管提出。它们很有可能被其他NASA员工改写,或者就等着你来改写。
Decision Making 决策
Rule#82: Wrong decisions made early can be recovered from. Right decisions made late cannot correct them.
规则#82:早期的错误决定可以挽回。迟到的正确决定于事无补。
Rule #83: Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. It is also occasionally the best help you can give. Just listening is all that is needed on many occasions. You may be the boss, but if you constantly have to solve someone s problems, you are working for him.
规则#83:有时候最好的办法就是什么都不做。这偶尔也是你可以提供的最好的帮助。很多时候需要的只是聆听。也许你是老板,但如果你总是在解决别人的麻烦,那就是在为他工作。
Rule #84: Never make a decision from a cartoon. Look at the actual hardware or what real information is available such as layouts. Too much time is wasted by people trying to cure a cartoon whose function is to explain the principle.
规则#84:永远不要根据草图做出决策。看着实际的物体或者能够反映真实信息的东西,例如设计图纸。当人们试图根据草图下手时,他们往往会浪费大量的时间,这些草图的作用只是对原理做一些解释。
Integrity Rule 完整性规则
Rule #85: Integrity means your subordinates trust you.
规则#85:诚实意味着你的下属对你的信任。
Rule #86: In the rush to get things done, it is always important to remember who you work for. Blindsiding the boss will not be to your benefit in the long run.
规则#86:在匆忙完成任务的时候,想想你在为谁工作是很重要的。长远来看,屏蔽掉你的老板对你没什么好处。
Project Management and Teamwork 项目管理和团队合作
Rule #87: Projects require teamwork to succeed. Remember, most teams have a coach and not a boss, but the coach still has to call some of the plays.
规则#87:项目的成功离不开团队。记住,大多数团队都有一个教练而不是老板,但是教练仍然需要对某些比赛做出裁决。
Rule #88: Never assume someone knows something or has done something unless you have asked them; even the obvious is overlooked or ignored on occasion, especially in a high stress activity.
规则#88:不要以为人们知道某事或已经做了某事,除非你确认过;即使是明显的事也有可能偶尔被疏漏或忽略,特别是在压力很大的情况下。
Rule #89: Whoever said beggars cannot be choosers does not understand project management, although many times it is better to trust to luck than to get poor support.
规则#89:那些说乞丐不配挑选的人根本就不懂项目管理,尽管很多时候支持不力还不如听天由命。
Rule #90: A puzzle is hard to discern from just one piece; so don’t be surprised if team members deprived of information reach the wrong conclusion.
规则#90:一个谜题很难从一点窥到全局;所以如果有团队成员因信息不足而得出错误的结论,你可不要惊讶。
Rule #91: Remember, the President, Congress, OMB, NASA HQ, senior center management, and your customers all have jobs to do. All you have to do is keep them all happy.
规则#91:记住,总统、国会、OMB、总部、高管和你的客户都有他们该做的工作。你要做的就是让他们满意。
Treating and Avoiding Failures Rule 处理和避免失败规则
Rule #92: In case of a failure:
a) Make a timeline of events and include everything that is known.
b) Put down known facts. Check every theory against them.
c) Don’t beat the data until it confesses (i. e., know when to stop trying to force-fit a scenario).
d) Do not arrive at a conclusion too fast. Make sure any deviation from normal is explained. Remember the wrong conclusion is prologue to the next failure.
e) Know when to stop.
规则#92:为了防止失败:
a) 制作一个包括所有已知活动的时间表。
b)记下已知事实,检查那些理论上解释不通的地方。
c) 不要怀疑数据,除非它们真有问题(比如,懂得何时停止强行闯关)。
d) 不要急于得出结论。确保所有偏离正常值的部分都已得到解释。记住,所有错误结论都会导致下一个失败。
e) 把握停止的时机。
Rule #93: Things that fail are lessons learned for the future. Occasionally things go right: these are also lessons learned. Try to duplicate that which works.
规则#93:失败是将来的教训。偶然的成功也是可以学习的经验。想办法复制成功的经验。
Rule #94: Mistakes are all right but failure is not. Failure is just a mistake you can’t recover from; therefore, try to create contingency plans and alternate approaches for the items or plans that have high risk.
规则#94:错误不算什么但失败可不行。失败是你无法挽回的错误;因此,力争制定应急计划并且为高风险的行动或计划准备备用方案。
Rule #95: History is prologue. There has not been a project yet that has not had a parts problem despite all the qualification and testing done on parts. Time and being prepared to react are the only safeguards.
规则#95:过去是序言。就算是所有的部分都符合要求并且通过了测试,也没有一个项目能够毫无问题。时间和时刻准备应变是最好的措施。
Rule #96: Experience may be fine but testing is better. Knowing something will work never takes the place of proving that it will.
规则#96:经验固然有效但试验更重要。知道某件事会起作用永远不能替代去证实它的确能起作用。
Rule #97: Don’t be afraid to fail or you will not succeed, but always work at your skill to recover. Part of that skill is knowing who can help.
规则#97:不要惧怕失败否则你永远不可能成功,但是你要时刻准备挽回可能的失败。其中一条就是知道谁能帮你。
Rule #98: One of the advantages of NASA in the early days was the fact that everyone knew that the facts we were absolutely sure of could be wrong.
规则#98:早先NASA的优势之一就是每个人都相信我们确信的事情毫无疑问是正确的。
Rule #99: Redundancy in hardware can be a fiction. We are adept at building things to be identical so that if one fails, the other will also fail. Make sure all hardware is treated in a build as if it were one of a kind and needed for mission success.
规则#99:硬件冗余就是一个幻想。我们善于配置两个一模一样的东西,以至于其中一个失效,另一个也会出问题。确保系统中所有的硬件都被看成是成功完成任务所必须的那一类中的一个。
Rule #100: Never make excuses; instead, present plans of actions to be taken.
规则#100:不要找借口;与此相反,要准备将要采取的行动。