Leadership of fast track projects

Fast track missions require leadership above all else. Leadership is manifested in vision and commitment. The vision must be communicated by the project leadership and adopted by all members of the team including suppliers. Thorough planning, organization, implementation and control are essential leadership skills. An effective risk management process is key to survival in today's cost constrained environment. Well thought out mission descope plans with clearly defined minimum performance floors and firm trigger points are required to execute programs within constrained resources The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is an eagerly awaited and potentially historic NASA space science mission. MAP is on the leading edge of the newest generation of Explorer missions that trace a long and distinguished lineage of over 70 successful missions since 1958. The MAP mission presents an increasingly common management and design challenge. How does one implement a top ranked science mission with an aggressive schedule and firm cost cap? Can you really achieve all three: better, cheaper and faster? This paper discusses these conflicting priorities and some new and some not-so-new mission management principles employed on MAP to ensure the technical and programmatic success of the mission.