Lab staff complete first project management class
This fall's Project Management: Tools and Techniques course, taught by Dr. Chuck Keating of ODU, is JLab's flagship
"competency-based" management course according to Jean Delayen, Management Development Steering Committee (MDSC) chair.
"The course was designed to address a variety of competencies identified repeatedly by JLab staff," Delayen explained.
"A sub-team of the MDSC representing all divisions wrote the statement of work, interviewed the competitors, scored
the proposals, and selected the provider."
According to Delayen, ODU's Engineering Management Department was chosen because of their commitment to making the
course JLab relevant. "ODU faculty, particularly Dr. Keating, have gone out of their way to find out what we're all
about and how we manage projects," said Bruce Ullman, Staff Development & Training manager.
In fact, Keating met with Lab Director Hermann Grunder and a group of senior managers, as well as conducting individual
interviews with selected line employees before finalizing the curriculum. "ODU also promised to conduct regular feedback
sessions, during and after the course," Delayen added.
That promise was tested when the MDSC asked several of the enrolled staff for an evaluation meeting. The feedback at
that meeting was broadly positive, but there were several suggestions for a "mid-course correction." Karen Hokansson,
User Liaison, suggested more structured exercises using JLab situations. This sentiment was echoed by Yvonne Casalino,
Accelerator Division (ACC), who wanted some more "linkage to real life (JLab) examples and how (we) approached them."
John Mammosser, ACC, liked the opportunity to work together in a small team and plan out a project. He explained that,
"This is beneficial because interfacing with one another and identifying common tools is both relevant and useful."
He added, "When we get to the section on collaboration and post-mortem discussions what went wrong and why we may
have a better understanding of how to apply the concepts at the Lab."
Ricky Campisi, ACC, noted, "During construction we were asked to provide information in a format which was consistent
with Project Management, but we were not always told how the information we were providing would be used. Therefore,
I think everyone, not just project managers, must understand the structure, so everyone can more readily provide the
information which the managers need for their planning."
After a reminder that the initial Project Management course was to be a broad overview with more lab-specific issues
addressed down the road, Will Oren, ACC, commented, "We also need to distinguish whether or not it is worth using the
full project management sequence. What steps are essential, even for a small project, and which are only necessary
for a complex one?" Will also suggested that projects be turned in and graded during the course, to help participants
learn what could have been done better; allowing them to learn from their mistakes. Since everyone agreed that the
text was good, participants felt that time taken for going over assigned reading could be better spent on discussing
more practical applications.
After a reminder that the participants own the program and if it is not meeting their needs, they can change it, all
agreed to share their ideas with Dr. Keating. A week later he spent an hour with the entire class doing just that
and implemented almost all of their suggestions. "This kind of instructor-student interaction is rare," Ullman said,
"but it's a sign of the way we want Management Development at Jefferson Lab, and we intend to do everything we can to
keep it going."
For more information, contact Bruce L. Ullman, JLab Staff Development and Training Manager, at ext. 7170.
Education announces spring lecture schedule
The Jefferson Lab Education department has planned another semester of fun and interesting science lectures.
The Spring 1999 Science Series begins Tuesday, February 9, with a presentation on Holograms by Paul Christie,
Liti Holographics. He will discuss the inner workings of lasers and 3-D holograms from Star Wars to credit cards.
Dr. Scott Price, from JLab, will pose the question, "Which way is up?" Tuesday, March 9. He will guide his audience
from spinning tops to polarized electrons and discuss the source of Jefferson Lab's polarized beam.
Coming in from San Francisco State University, Dr. Lynda Williams will share with her audience a better understanding
of the science behind JLab through song and music in a demonstration titled "Science Entertainment." Her presentation
is scheduled for Thursday, April 22.
All lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the CEBAF Center auditorium. The lectures are free and open to students and adults
with an interest in science.
Ooops, headline should've read polarized beam
The ON TARGET staff apologizes for the headline error on page 3 of the December newsletter.
The word "pulsed" was incorrectly used in the headline for the story about the Lab's "polarized" beam and the
series of seminars explaining polarized beam to the Lab's non-technical staff. We apologize for the error and
thank a reader for pointing out the mistake.
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