| Date
Learned |
Lesson
Category |
Lesson
Summary |
Full
Text |
Source |
| 02/04/2004 |
Training |
Have specific assignments to support class development. |
Beyond reviewers, people who are providing content information need to be explicitly assigned, not hunted down on an ad hoc basis. This is the single largest cause of time lags. Everyone is very busy, so it is natural for contributors to take a while to review or produce material, or to be able to schedule meetings. |
Mission SW dry run |
| 06/15/2004 |
Training |
Readability of Slides |
Check quality of projector before class to ensure that projection is clear and slides will be readable. Slides should be printed large enough to ensure that class participants can read them easily, especially if the lights need to be dimmed for optimal slide viewing. |
Quantitative SW management offering |
| 06/15/2004 |
Training |
Match material available and amount of time available. |
Second day of this class was shortened to allow an additional module from GSFC. Many comments were received on the wealth of material presented in the shortened modules. Some slides were shown and not discussed (intentionally skipped); the instructor was behind schedule almost from the start; and very little time was allotted for questions. Second day of the class should have been lengthened to allow for wealth of material.
Lessons: Add time in schedule for class questions and discussion. Allow sufficient time to cover material planned for class. |
Quantitative SW management offering |
| 06/15/2004 |
Training |
Clearly define logistics responsibilities. |
There should be only one person in charge of making handout copies, and one person assuring that all equipment is properly set up and loaded with files. We had several miscommunications over who was doing what, and this was magnified by working with people on both coasts. We managed to get everything done OK with some last-minute scrambling, but clear assignment for making copies and equipment set up would have made this work smoothly. |
Quantitative SW management offering |
| 06/15/2004 |
Training |
Exercises need to be piloted. |
This is needed to iron out instructions. The exercises adapted from JPL material were OK, but our wide-band Delphi exercise needed more precise instructions. Specifically, students needed to be told to assume that anything not written into the scenario could be treated as being nominal. |
Quantitative SW management offering |
| 02/04/2004 |
Training |
Iterate & review often. |
This was an unfortunate first course to learn this lesson on, but you need review at every stage from outlining the course, to outlining each module, to reviewing slides. Before doing dry runs, slides should be reviewed, and the author should do an informal walkthrough describing what points are being made at each stage.
The consequence of this is that we did not detect and correct problems early in the game, as we do with software inspections and walkthroughs. We need this kind of process in the training area for the same reason we need it for software. |
Mission SW dry run |
| 02/04/2004 |
Training |
Have a single person in charge of course development. |
Usually this should be the author, who is the subject matter expert. In the case of the Mission Software for Project Managers course, the views of different managers with conflicting perspectives need to be resolved. This class development was much smoother process once an Associate Division Chief was acknowledged to be in charge. |
Mission SW dry run |
| 02/04/2004 |
Training |
Make sure the reviewers of the course represent the intended audience. |
We should have discovered a lot earlier in the process that the JPL course concept (which essentially focused on SW development topics post-formulation, and evolved more into product development lead training) would not work w/ Project Managers. An early walkthrough involving a Project Manager might have hit on the concept of organizing the course around the mission timeline way earlier than the 2/4/04 dry run.
The vacillating on whether intended audience is just project managers or includes system engineers also should have indicated a problem and made us stop & think. |
Mission SW dry run |
