6.3: Project Management Considerations

Managing Technology Projects · LibreTexts

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    Project Management Triangle at Work

    For the original 737 MAX 8 development project, the main pressure point appears to have been time to market, due to competitive pressures (the fear of losing customers who might adopt a new product from a competitor, in this case, Airbus). This resulted in a trade-off against scope/quality and the allocation of resources. With time decreased, scope was decreased.

    See Accessibility Note.

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): In project management, quality sits at the center, shaped by the balance of scope, time, and cost. (Public domain)
    Accessibility Note

    The project management triangle represents tradeoffs between Cost, Time, and Scope (shown at the vertices of a triangle) with the word "Quality" inside the triangle.

    Corrective Actions and Recertification Effort

    As previously discussed, the FAA identified various issues and corrective actions that would be requirements on project scope for implementation in order to re-certify the plane:[1]

    • Use 2 sensors
    • Limit MCAS to one nose-down command
    • Provide pilot control of stabilizer
    • Provide pilot training and procedures
    • Provide a cockpit alert if AOA sensors disagree
    • Modify AOA maintenance procedure

    A starter list for some of the Project Management Tasks for this project might include:

    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Project Management Tasks. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; Robert Slate CIS 79 course material)
    Task Description
    Identify cause of crashes Analyze accident reports from NTSB and FAA investigations.
    Determine scope of corrective actions Revise MCAS to use two sensors, limit nose-down commands, ensure pilot override capability, provide alerts for AOA sensor disagreement, update pilot training and procedures, and modify AOA sensor maintenance requirements.
    Implement MCAS changes Develop implementation schedule and conduct testing.
    Implement AOA sensor disagree alert Develop implementation schedule and conduct testing.
    Pilot training Update pilot training materials and operating procedures related to MCAS and AOA sensor disagreement alerts.
    Maintenance Revise AOA sensor inspection and maintenance procedures.
    Update inventory Modify aircraft not yet delivered to customers.
    Update customer planes Retrofit aircraft already delivered to customers.
    Recertify plane Obtain regulatory approval and recertification in the United States and other countries.

    Root Cause Analysis

    In order to have some assurance that the scope of work is complete, it is important to know that the root cause or causes of the accidents have been thoroughly investigated and that all contributing causes have been assessed. We have reviewed material from the NTSB and FAA for this purpose.

    In the next section, we will look at how quality issues are analyzed and what types of tools are used by quality professionals such as 5 Whys, Ishikawa or fishbone diagrams, and Pareto charts.

    References

    1. FAA, Preliminary Summary of the FAA’s Review of the Boeing 737 MAX, Return to Service of the Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft, August 3, 2020.

    6.3: Project Management Considerations is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.