Free Essay

Learning from the Titanic

In:

Submitted By suranthe
Words 903
Pages 4
Learning from the Titanic
Post-Mortem
Hailmar Suranthe de Silva

Overview
• Snapshot • Understand what went wrong • Blame-game and performance evaluation • Factors during voyage • Learning from History • How it relates to the IT field

Snapshot of circumstance...
• Business case
• • • • Safety and Luxury through new technology Unparalled Customer Experience 6 year construction and 2 year breakeven. 75% of revenue from first class – reflects in space allocation: 60% for 905 first-class and 7% for 1134 third-class Lavish attention and money substituted processes Marketing drive: ‘unsinkable ship’ Traditional safety (life-boats) given low priority Project Manager (Captain Smith) didn’t trust new methodologies (ice bucket test)

• Implied non-functional requirements due to perception/assumptions
• • • •

• Over-confidence • Old School

• Political Influence
• •

Project Sponsor (Bruce Ismay) High Expectations set – arrive a day early

Snapshot of what happened...
• Business and Economic pressures
• • • • • • • Under-prepared (lack of equipment) and untrained crew – 83 of 900 were mariners Under-quality material substituted Untested processes/methods Traditional safety methods (life-boats) given low priority Safety: only mitigation by technology and no contingency/worst-case (life-boats) Testing: was maiden voyage Prove Titanic is the best ship even when grounded (Fatal)

• Over-confidence

• Decisions based on aesthetics and luxury compromised individual safety features
• • • • • • 16 vs 48 lifeboats – uninterrupted 1st class view Double skin not continued above water line – room for Ballroom Compromised Bulkhead height

• Proper Disaster Recovery and Change Management not established
Business and Economic pressures still effecting Undermined event due to over-confidence No proper recovery process (gut feeling)

Blame - game...
• It was Captain Smith’s fault:
Project Manager The ship’s speed was too fast for the ice berg conditions and he refused to slow down Implementer The ship’s rivets were made of sub-standard iron and the impact caused the Titanic to come apart Sponsor Managing Director of the White Star Line was obsessed with crossing the Atlantic in six days so he pressured Captain Smith not to slow down

• It was the Ship Builder’s fault:

• It was Bruce Ismay’s fault:

• It was Thomas Andrew’s fault:

Architect (Design) The watertight compartments didn’t reach as high as they should have because the shipping company wanted more room for first class passengers Support The Californian was 19 miles from the disaster and when they saw the flares, even they had warned the Titanic of ice bergs in the area, he ignored the flares and did not travel to the Titanic to help

• It was Captain Lord’s fault:

Project Performance...
Against Goal
• Original goal: Be world-class and premier in technology, safety and luxury. • Actual: Unequal focus on above three elements created contradicting decisions.

Against Schedule
• Schedule goal: Set sail on specified date and arrive a day early • Actual: Launch date achieved, however never completed voyage

Project Performance...
Against Quality
• Quality goal: The quality should be unmatched and provide unparalleled experience whilst maintaining safety and speed • Actual: Aesthetic quality over-rode quality of safety on several occasions and created a false sense of confidence (implied nonfunctional requirements)

Against Budget
• Budget goal: Money was not an issue in the venture – 2 year payback period • Actual: Investment never realised. Rather caused economic and business pressures directly on project team

Post-Mortem
By Phase

Phase-wise Post-Mortem...
Conception Design Implementation Testing Deployment Disater Recovery
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ambitious Goals Realisation of goals more difficult due to high expectation Marketing and Sales not inline with rest of the team Prototyped design Worst-case scenario tested Design compromised due to political pressure Crashed schedule Inferior Material Design compromisations not challenged No testing done Behaviour of such a large ship unknown as no precedent Pressures - even safety drills were not performed properly Pushing to the limit without testing – over-confidence/pressure Mistrust of new technology Support protocols not established Disaster protocols not planned for due to over-confidence Project Manager not in control of event

Key Lessons

Lessons-Learnt...
What went right?
• Ambitious Goal and Business Case • Excellent (original) Design Concept • Prototyping • Was in a position to deliver the customer experience planned for

What went wrong?
• The Project Manager allowed the Sponsor to dictate terms – no pushback • The Sponsor often took-over control and interfered with actual delivery • The Project Manager did not have trust in his tools and people • No final testing • Impact analysis not done on design modifications • No disaster recovery protocols or processes • Project benefits were not managed throughout each phase of the project (safety compromised)

How it fits with modern IT projects...
Roots of Titanic’s disaster in project
• • • • • Compromises to safety features Elevation of expectations Allowed business pressures to override operational procedures Disaster Recovery ignored due to over-confidence clearly set-out and defined

Project Governance and Manage People and Teams: Project Roles need to be

Avoiding our • Manage Project Communications: The Project Manager has a responsibility to say ‘NO’ project • Managing Scope: Set the right expectations becoming the • Managing Quality: Quality checkpoints and testing (final and integrated) are a must next Titanic
• • completion Manage Benefits: Have an integrated benefit management plan and track it to

Disaster Recovery program that is detailed and have escalated action phases

Manage Risks: No matter how great the outlook seems – plan for the worst. Have a

Questions & Comments

References



“Titanic Lessons for IT Projects” - IT Projects from Hell , Authored by Mark KozakHolland, HP Services (July 13th, 2007) Presentation for the Center for the Management of Information Technology (CMIT) Lessons-from-History Link: http://www2.commerce.virginia.edu/cmit/activities/Lessons_from_Titanic_for%20Project sv7.pdf

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Enhancing Efl College Students' Speed Reading and Content Comprehension of Computerized Texts

...rates and their reading comprehension of computerized texts. Introduction: With the explosion of information we live in nowadays, with the growing emphasis and on the importance concepts of information as and communication with such globalization,informatization, and intercultural communication, strong reading skills, as Kasper (2003) states, are essential not only for students' academic success, but also for their social and economic advancement". As a matter of fact, information is, not only increasing rapidly, but also moving instantaneously in every part of the world at the same time, and one has no choice but to try and to increase the intake of information. On the other hand, with the advent of the internet in the 1980’s, "Reading from computer screens is becoming more and more common in our daily lives...

Words: 6851 - Pages: 28

Premium Essay

Where The Red Fern Grows By Joey Graceffa Summary

...whole time, his parents were conclusive about disagreeing to buy him a dog, because of the need to save money, but despite his parents decision, he was inveterate about having his own coon dog, and he ended up with two, because he was determined to achieve his goal, and he earned every bit of it himself and was not selfish even when they died. He was determined to earn the money for his dogs, to take care of his dogs, to own two coon dogs, and even to cut down the big tree for his dogs. Billy Colman showed determination throughout the story, even if it was a small example. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson: When reading Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson, I noticed the writing style that Deborah Hopkinson used was not extremely formal, but more relaxed instead of giving facts right on the spot. She let the words flow out, creating a mood for the readers, learning about the tragic disaster, and she voiced the survivors, describing the terror and emotion, the victims knowing it was their time. With this writing style, she creates an aura of comfort and relaxation, making the writing easier to read and understand the lives of the survivors, feeling sympathy for them. She tells the story of the catastrophe, as a story. She doesn't spew facts in every sentence but adds amazing word choice to describe the tragedy. ...

Words: 479 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Introduce Myself

...this is Raghda Al Suwaina from Saudi Arabia. I have been here in the state since dec 2012 to continue my study which is Information Technology and this is my first semester at NOVA as academic. I'm planning to open my own business after I finish my degree. My favorite hobby is taking picture especially for people and print it, also i enjoy watching movie at theater and listen to music while I'm walking around to relax. Titanic and The call my favorite movies and Blame it on me for Akon. my expectation in this class is to learn a lot of things and improve my writing well. The benefits of learning a second language from my opinion: There are several benefits of being a bilingual. First of all, learning a second language make people smarter especially if they start early. Based on studies that I read before, learning a second language make the brainwork better by using the brain to learn something not too easy, they used their studies on children. Second, it is important to speak a second language to succeed in a job. Because a lot of companies, especially in my countries depend on international employees, so you have to have a second language to communicate with other employees easily. Third, learning a second language makes people more awareness to other culture. For me, I start to learn different culture especially American culture when I came here to learn English. Also, it’s better to know other culture to improve ourselves by taking good things from other culture. For instance...

Words: 291 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Jerry Flynn Research Paper

...with a name for their child. The selection of Ann’s name appears to have been a difficult choice.* When Ann’s birth certificate is made out, five days after she is born, no name has yet been chosen. For Jerry, the day of his sixth daughter’s birth is bittersweet. Assuredly, happy that his newborn daughter is healthy, he is disappointed that he lost his last chance to have a son. With the name, Patrick Jeremiah Flynn, almost certainly ready to be placed upon his newborn son, Jerry’s expresses his disappointment in the birth of another daughter by going out and getting drunk. For Ann, a sensitive person, her father’s disappointment is felt throughout her lifetime. It is not known if Ann’s feelings emanate from learning about her father’s getting drunk right after she is born or from subtle things that may have been said and done by her father when she is growing up. For Ann, there is a quest, as long as her father is alive, to please and get his approval. (F1) (F22) (F29) (F368) *The name of Ann may have been chosen because one of Jerry Flynn’s first cousins, the daughter of his Uncle Sean Flynn, was named Ann. Sean’s other children were given the same names that Jerry’s. During the years 1910 through 1912, the Flynn family not only attends Mass at Sacred Heart, but also Jerry and Nora send their three oldest daughters to Sacred Heart Grade School. During winter, Jerry and Nora make their way to Sacred Heart to observe their daughter, Nellie (Helen), make her First Holy Communion...

Words: 1060 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Travel Guide of Dublin

...couple of the guys and I then went on to our “regular” bar, and by “regular” I mean: “We had been there a few times.” Here we listened to probably the best musician I have ever seen. He was a white man with long blond dreadlocks hanging from the top of his head, and it was not just the fact that he absolutely mastered the guitar; he also played a drum and a mouth organ to the verge of flawlessness, and don’t even get me started on his voice, it was just brilliant. Sadly for me, I was so stupid not to get his name written down anywhere, so for now he’s just remains a mystery. On that experience we marched on down the street with cosy and harmony-filled pubs surrounding us and ended up at a new pub where another musical experience was awaiting us. “Badass-Bar” was the name, and as lame that might sound it was in fact one of the best places we visited that night. A young fellow was seated here with his guitar, where he played a lot of classics and we all sang along. As the night progressed we agreed that it was time for some dancing, and we therefore moved on to the aforementioned club, “The Mess”, where a band, consisting of 5 members, was playing. It was a female lead singer with a voice that simply rocked my world. They mostly played music from the 80’s, but ended their act playing an updated version of The Isley Brothers’ “Shout”, and people went...

Words: 616 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Children's Informational Book Literary Analysis

...Informational Analysis Exploring the Deep By: Savanna Wills For the final literary analysis that was assigned, I went into writing this paper with the notion that this might just be the least exciting analysis of Children’s Literature that we were ever going to have to do. To my surprise, I gained much knowledge from taking the time to read an informational non-fiction children’s book. I realized that if I were to find a concept in a children’s informational book that interested me, I would gain knowledge I didn’t realize I wanted or needed as a sophomore in college. For our final analysis, I chose the book Exploring the Deep by Chloe Rhodes. In all honesty, I didn’t have a lot of choices for books that I really wanted to read, but Exploring the Deep stood out to me because I realized that our oceans are wondrous and full of mystery. This strange and interesting piece is a fantastic non-fictional book for children who want to learn about the planet’s oceans and everything that occurs, lives, and is found within it. As soon as I began reading I found the book very intriguing. It captivated my attention, and taught me things I probably never would have learned in the rest of my years living. This book was filled with interesting facts about our planet’s oceans. It gave significant details of some living creatures that make the Earth’s oceans their home. Along with giving detailed facts, there were very real pictures of the wildlife that lurks beneath the waves, allowing...

Words: 1144 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Oedipus Rex

...and bed his mother, leading him to run far away from the place he considered his home. However, as many Greek playwrights, Sophocles underscored the impossibility of fighting a fate set by the cunning, often cruel, gods, making Oedipus fulfill the prophecy, which ultimately leads to his downfall. A story brimming with irony, foreshadowing and paradox, Oedipus Rex weaves the tale of a man who was his own destruction, acting as his own antagonist in the play, sending the audience a clear moral: fate is immutable. In the beginning of the play, Oedipus possesses many child-like characteristics, perhaps a way to foreshadow his true relationship with Jocasta, his wife, and Creon, his brother-in-law, both of whom are significantly older than him. His irrationality, quick temper and inability to keep emotions separate from his decision-making, lead to him alienate Creon, a useful guide and father figure to Oedipus. As Creon states, “Attitudes like yours [Oedipus’s] always hurt the person who has them.” (Sophocles, Act II, scene i, page 7) His response of outrage towards Tiresias, who at first withheld the truth to help Oedipus, distanced him from the soothsayer as well. Tiresias was so angered by Oedipus that he placed a curse upon Oedipus, condemning him to be driven from his home, Thebes, “with darkness over your [Oedipus’s] eyes.” (Act I, scene i, page 9) This behavior may be viewed as destructive in nature since it isolates Oedipus from both Tiresias and Creon himself, both of who...

Words: 731 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Music in Movies

...The Effects of Music in Movies Music is used in everyday life. Some people use it for relaxing, some for learning and some as a profession. It’s undeniable that music has a special place in your life at some point. The sound of one note, one chord, can take you to a certain time or place in your life like a childhood memory, your wedding day or even a movie. Composers are known for having this ability to pull on the emotions and change the mood of their audience. One of the most underrated aspects for music is how filmmakers use these ablilities when choosing music for their movies. The role of music in a motion picture is in direct relation to the level of ambiguity in a particular scene. The more ambiguous a scene is, the more filmmakers rely on the music to develop a mood that interprets the meaning of the scene for their audience. Therefore, music provides a cue for the listener to tell whether the narrative is suppose to be perceived as scary, romantic, funny, sad, or happy--ultimately, affecting the audience's mood. Horror movies are great examples of that concept. Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), is a perfect example of how a music can tell its audience what's about to come. The most memorable scene in the film was the brutal shower stabbing scene with Janet Leigh. The use of music in this scene allows the viewer to achieve a fear of the unknown. As Leigh is showering, the camera view point is of Bates walking into her room. Then, the music gets eerie and scary. The...

Words: 775 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Personal Exploration of Knowledge

...someone to ask why one would choose to embark on a titanic venture.   This residency has encouraged me to withstand in my program.   There were more than a few eye-openers that revealed progress and improvement as a doctoral student.   In the last five days, various lessons and experiences were imparted and learned but the most important lessons for me include the learning team experiences, scholarly writing, and reflective journaling on the lessons learned. Learning Teams During this residency experience, I acquired a lot about learning teams.   In my academic and professional experience, I have been a part of numerous teams.   I have had some bad encounters with teams during my period with the University of Phoenix and acknowledged that the team experiences at residency would be similar.   I definitely applied my situatedness but I understand now a cohort of different personalities can form a successful team where all opinions are heard, all ideas count, all contribute and all appear to demonstrate an authentic interest for one another. We had various chances to work in learning teams.   We reviewed course articles, course competencies, and were given several activities to develop team organization.Team learning arose from collaborative learning, finding its way in educational and organizational science (Dechant, 1993; Edmonson, 2007; Illeris, 2009). In educational science, studies focussed on the effects of team learning as a...

Words: 1536 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Afafafa

...傻词同义替换-坚决不用傻词!供写作中参考! 傻词同义替换 新版 ——坚决不用高频出现的傻词!供大家收藏及写作时参考! 连词篇:(介词,副词) Firstly: previously, beforehand, foremost, initially, originally, formerly, principally, mainly, essentially, basically, generally, commonly, universally, on the whole, fundamentally, to begin with, to start with, first of all, at the outset… Then: subsequently, afterward, thereafter, after that, succeeding (adj.), Secondarily, what is more, furthermore (further more)… Lastly: ultimately, eventually, in conclusion, to conclude, as a final point, last of all, last but not least, finally… Too: as well (句末), in addition, besides, moreover, additionally, to boot, excessively, also… And: plus, as well as, along with, in addition, bonus, with… +Or: otherwise, if not, before, or else… So (adv): therefore, thus, consequently, accordingly, as a result, for that reason, hence, that’s why Because: as, due to, since, as to, in that, for the reason that, for, now that… But: however, moreover, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, 让步although, even thought, though, even if, while, as, despite the fact that… Only: just, merely, barely, singly, solely, rarely… Without: excluding, Very: extremely, acutely, decidedly, deeply, exceedingly, greatly, highly, uncommonly, profoundly, unusually… Actually: as a matter of fact, indeed, in fact, in point of fact, in reality, in truth, literally, truly … 形容词/副词 Important: essential, significant, vital, crucial...

Words: 1750 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

1. “Human Nature Is Bad.”-- Xunzi / "人之性惡." -- 荀子 Explain Why You Agree or Disagree with Xunzi's Statement.

...that human nature is bad. Nonetheless, there is no lack of incidents shedding light on the empathy, selflessness and righteousness of humans in such cases as the engineers on RMS Titanic discharging their duties till the very last moment of their lives or the three men succumbing to massive doses of radiation to save millions of others in Chernobyl. Human nature defined as our intuitive and automatic impulses as opposed to rational reflection based on conscious thoughts, our tendencies towards altruism point to the goodness of human nature, coupled with the external influence contributing to the bad behavior, thus refuting the statement that human nature is bad. To commence with, the altruistic deeds performed for people in distress serve as corroboration of human nature being good. Despite the contention ventured by believers of the evil nature of human that altruism is disguised self-interest, such a claim is repudiated by innumerable and consistent instances of people helping others in jeopardy. The promptness exhibited in such decisions precludes the materialization of conscious weighing of costs and benefits, which would have otherwise forestalled the assistance rendered in traumatic events like the September 11 attacks. Instead of people trampling over one another for the earliest evacuation from the World Trade Center at others’ expense, what they did was give priority and care to the vulnerable ones – the pregnant and disabled. Such actions carried out by people in mortal...

Words: 1171 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Examination of Clinical Psychology

...of Clinical Psychology In the later part of the 1800’s, psychology was being discovered in several laboratories in different universities. The field of psychology was insisting and leaning more on pure science as the main practice, but a former student of Wilhelm Wundt, named Lightner Witmer, made an impact and changed that view on psychology (Pickren, 2009). Lightner Whitmer in charge of the psychology department in the University of Pennsylvania. Whitmer began to work with a boy who had problems with spelling, and developed a program of tutoring which became a success in helping the boy. The success from the tutoring program Whitmer developed, lead to the event of Whitmer opening a psychological clinic in 1896, which was the first that had opened during that time (Pickren, 2009). Whitmer’s psychological clinic was focused on the children who suffered from various learning disabilities. The term...

Words: 1079 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Causes of Software Development Disaster

...Lorin J. May Crosstalk Associate Editor Most software projects can be considered at least partial failures because few projects meet all their cost, schedule, quality, or requirements objectives. Failures are rarely caused by mysterious causes, but these causes are usually discovered post-mortem, or only after it is too late to change direction. This article is based on interviews with software consultants and practitioners who were asked to provide "autopsies" of failed projects with which they have been acquainted. Although not a comprehensive compilation of failure causes, this article outlines several areas that should demand your attention. few years ago marked the rollout of what could have been called a Titanic of military projects, except the original Titanic was ahead of schedule when it sank. Hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule, the first phase of this huge military system was finally "tossed over the wall" and over the top of a network of separate programs used by thousands of practitioners. Although long hampered by quality problems, big hopes were again riding on the system once it passed acceptance testing. The intended users refused to use the system. It lacked features they said were essential to their jobs while requiring steps they considered unnecessary or burdensome. The project eventually died a visible, painful death amid litigation and congressional inquiries. This failed project was not atypical of chronic problems in...

Words: 3797 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Teaching Strategies for Reading

...Students will use the KWL Chart to Synthesize the story of Yen Sen: A Cinderella Story,by: AI-Ling Louie. They will order, recall, retell and recreate this story to form their own comprehensive perspectives. K What I Know | W What I Want To Learn | L What I Have Learned | Name ____________ Word Bank Word | Definition | Picture | Connections | Word | Definition | Picture | Connections | Word | Definition | Picture | Connections | Word | Definition | Picture | Connections | Date _________________________ | Subject: Reading Questioning/Answering | |   Reading Comprehension As students read the story then I will ask them to draw attention to a few vocabulary words by inserting short definitions. I would also ask open-ended questions in which children must provide explanations rather than one-or two-word responses. After reading, we will discuss vocabulary words in the context of the story and in other contexts.   Facts: | Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by: Bill Martin |   | Brown Bear is going on an adventure. He will be exploring the jungle and viewing it through his own eyes. As you read this story you will be focusing on the events that happen as Brown Bear travels. There will be pages that may not have any words on them. You will need to study the pictures and add your own comprehension of the story. | | Question:...

Words: 1259 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Lesson Plan

...Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 Professional development materials Primary teachers and headteachers Status: Recommended Date of issue: 04-2004 Ref: DfES 0163-2004 ❚❙❘ Contents DVD – extracts from the video Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfES 0628-2003) Introduction Planning meeting Professional development modules 1 Speaking and listening: concepts, skills and knowledge 2 Progression in speaking and listening 3 The role of the teacher in developing effective interaction and identifying and developing language features 4 Organising and managing speaking and listening 5 Speaking and listening: drama Inside front cover 3 5 7 19 35 49 55 This booklet contains suggestions for a planning meeting for embedding speaking and listening across the primary curriculum, and five professional development modules to support the teaching of speaking and listening in primary schools. The planning meeting will require teachers in preparation and follow-up. The professional development modules require time for teachers to read, plan, try out some teaching, watch others teach and discuss. Each module also has a staff meeting lasting between 60 and 75 minutes. Professional development for speaking and listening in mathematics will be available in 2005. © Crown copyright 2004 DfES 0163-2004 Professional development materials 2 Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children...

Words: 24680 - Pages: 99