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PMI Mass Bay Chapter, Inc.
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December 19, 2008
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VOLUME 4
ISSUE 1
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LETTERS
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[POST LETTER]
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September 2006 Chapter Meeting - Thursday, 21 September
Titanic Lessons for IT Projects, Mark Kozak-Holland, guest speaker
http://216.65.103.123/booking.cfm?bevaID...
by Ann O'Connell, PMP, Programs
Titanic Lessons for IT Projects
Presenter: Mark Kozak – Holland
Thursday, September 21, 2006, Burlington Marriott, Burlington, MA
Agenda -
* Networking Period 5:30 - 6:30
* Dinner 6:30 - 7:30
* Presentation 7:30 - 9:00
Sign up here - http://216.65.103.123/booking.cfm?bevaID=116864Presentation Summary:
RMS Titanic was promoted to the public as an unsinkable ship. With redundant safety systems, the ship was considered so safe that it did not need a full complement of lifeboats. Only four days into its maiden voyage, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and became known as one of the worst maritime disasters in history.
By attending Mark Kozak-Holland’s presentation “Titanic Lessons for IT Projects” on September 21st, you will learn some fascinating historical information about the major risks that took place during the design/build of this project. His presentation tells an important story that will drive home some lessons for all project managers. In modern IT projects, we often have situations where we believe that we have designed, built, or launched a "perfect" solution. Mr. Kozak-Holland juxtaposes the Titanic story and modern IT projects so that we can learn from that historic disaster and avoid making similar mistakes.
J. Bruce Ismay was probably the most important player in the RMS Titanic project and building of her sister ships already in service, the RMS Olympic and RMS Brittanic. As chairman of the White Star Line, he had an absolutely critical role in planning, designing, and building the RMS Titanic. He was the project sponsor responsible for initiating the project. Ismay articulated the vision of the Olympic class liners with Lord Pirie, Chairman of Harland and Wolff Shipbuilders,and built the business case for the venture.
J. Bruce Ismay
Ismay had a very specific agenda related to the vision he helped create that was centered around building a reputation for the liners as being the very best in luxury. In targeting the first class passengers he shaped everything around the ultimate passenger experience. However, this proved to be detrimental because he interfered with decision making processes especially with regard to safety through the design and construction of the project.
In reality, his meddling forced compromises to be made beyond what could be recognized as reasonable. Further his drive in securing publicity around the RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage led to risks being taken to prove RMS Titanic was technically superior to RMS Olympic. Ismay also adopted the role of pseudo captain on the maiden voyage pushing the crew to hit maximum speed through the treacherous ice strewn waters. After the collision newspapers called Ismay "The Most-Talked-of Man in the World" chiefly because he saved himself. This was a dubious honor when the title was put in context with such terms as "public opinion," "on trial," and "pariah."
Mark Kozak-Holland authored a series of books “Lessons from History”. He is a business consultant to Fortune 500 companies and has recently published a book, "Titanic Lessons for IT Projects", on which his presentation is based.
To order this book or learn about the “Lessons from History” series, you may access his website at:
http://www.lessons-from-history.com/
Presenter's Bio:
Mark Kozak-Holland
Mark Kozak-Holland is a Senior Consultant and is certified in the consulting profession. He specializes in helping organizations evaluate how emerging technologies can impact their business. Mark puts a different spin on complex business problems by applying lessons from history. He has written several books which use relevant historical case studies to examine how projects and emerging technologies of the past solved complex problems. Mark is very passionate about history and believes it has relevance in business today.
This Meeting is Sponsored by:
Diversified Business Communications
Diversified Business Communications produces dozens of trade shows on four continents - Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. These shows include BusinessAnalyst World, ProjectWorld, and many others.
Project Summit & BusinessAnalystWorld provide the Project Management and Business Analysis communities the best place to learn, collaborate, network and research. We create the industry’s leading regional events through real-world case studies, essential tools and techniques, and cutting edge education to allow you to successfully complete projects and requirements on-time and on-budget.
For more information see http://www.projectsummit.com
[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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