RESEARCH TOPICS IN PROGRAM AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
December 9–10, 2003

Workshop Agenda

Attendee List

Working Group Reports

CPMR Questionnaire/Responses

BACKGROUND & SUMMARY:
The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is developing a new research institute under the sponsorship of the NASA/Academy of Program and Project Leadership (APPL) Program. The new NASA/USRA Center for Program/Project Management Research (CPMR) will draw upon the resources of the national and international university community to advance the knowledge and practice of program and project management relevant to the nation’s aeronautics and space program. The CPMR is being established to leverage the capabilities of university professionals to strengthen the discipline of program/project management, to facilitate research collaborations, and to develop new tools, capabilities and approaches to improve the performance of project management. The CPMR will explore a broad range of topics, including: best practices, complex decision-making processes and new and revolutionary management approaches. These efforts will benefit NASA’s APPL Program by providing access to the research capabilities of the broader academic community to address the critical management challenges in today’s aeronautics and space programs, while also supporting academia’s mission in workforce development, conducting cutting edge research, and in the management of university based projects and programs.
CPMR plans to issue research announcements soliciting proposals from the academic community to conduct research studies on topics of relevance to the field of program and project management in complex environments. In order to identify, define, and prioritize the most critical research topics for inclusion in the first research announcement, CPMR is organizing a workshop to be held on December 9th and 10th in Columbia Maryland. Invitees include representatives from universities, industry, NASA, and other government agencies. Participation is by invitation only. USRA and NASA view participation in this workshop as a service to the community, and therefore, if needed, offer to reimburse travel expenses to participants.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE WORKSHOP:

• Introduce APPL and CPMR to key university representatives involved in PM
• Obtain input on long-term PM research challenges or objectives that should be pursued by CPMR & incorporated into a Research Announcement,
• Hear suggestions on other key issues for APPL and CPMR, and
• Lay out initial plans for CPMR implementation

SYMPOSIUM OUTCOME OR PRODUCT:
USRA expects to generate a summary report of the meeting and a set of defined and prioritized program and project management research challenges and/or topics. This report, along with the specific topics and challenges identified by the working groups, will be posted to a public website for the benefit of the community. More importantly, USRA expects that the recommendations received during this workshop will be directly channeled into, and become an integral component within, the first CPMR research announcement – to be released in late January, 2004.