Module 1 – Case

PROJECT SELECTION AND INITIATION

Case Assignment

About the Case Study:

In the early morning hours of July 16, 1945, the first nuclear weapon – an A-bomb, in 20^th century parlance — was detonated in the New Mexico desert. Dr. Theodore Taylor was one of the project scientists. Here, minus some technical details, is his description of such an explosion:

When (a bomb) is detonated, the temperature in the core builds up to several hundred million degrees in one-hundred millionth of a second. That is many times the temperature at the center of the Sun. Pressures build up to 100 million atmospheres, and the core begins to expand at five million miles per hour. (Every chemical element) is in there; barium, iodine, cesium strontium, hydrogen, tin, copper, gold…(The initial fireball is) something 12 inches across, expanding faster than anything in our Galaxy. Conditions there are quite different, perhaps, from anywhere else in the Universe, unless there are other people who make bombs. (McPhee, 1973; pgs. 118-9).

Seventy years ago, we saw the birth of something utterly new;new not only for us humans but also, perhaps, for the entire Universe. That event was a turning point in human history. It was, perhaps, the beginning of the end of human history. The rest of the story is still being written, in places as dissimilar as Pakistan, North Korea and Iran.

The famous project that produced the A-bomb, which moved from untested theory to deliverable weapons in the middle of World War Two, was the Manhattan Project. At its peak, the project employed 130,000 people, most of whom had no idea what they were doing, and consumed as much energy and materiel as the American automobile industry. Not only every project manager, but every world citizen, should know about the Project, because it changed every citizen’s life.

The Manhattan Project did not run smoothly. It’s the classic example of a project succeeding because it had to; it was simply unimaginable that either Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan would win the War. Despite its rocky history, however, it’s worthwhile to examine the evolution of the Project, and compare it to the stages of an ideal project, both to appreciate what could have been done better, and to acquire a sense of humility concerning the entire project management enterprise. It is, after all, amazing what people can accomplish, either with or without report-generation software.

The definitive on-line source concerning the Manhattan Project is provided by AtomicArchive.com (AJ, 2015). For an overview, you should scan the entire 99 page site. The material is voluminous, but well organized, and tightly edited. The definitive print source is Rhodes (1986; paperback edition 1995), which is now available used , online, for less than one dollar. Anyone with even a passing interest in either management, science, technology or history should own a copy.

About Case 1:

For this case, we will examine the Origination and Initiation (NY Guide, 2002; Chaps. 3.1 & 3.2) of the Manhattan Project (AJ, 2015; Rhodes, 1995). For information about these phases of the project, please refer to the Module 1 Homepage.

When contemplating something totally new, the alternatives are simple; either try to do it, or don’t. In this case, we know which alternative was selected.

For Case 1, write an essay answering the following questions:

Q1; What were the factors that entered into the decision? Describe and explain.

Q2: Since the decision involved unknowns, risk estimation was highly subjective. What factors (e.g., familiarity, manageability) played roles in the estimation process? Explain.

Assignment Expectations

• Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay. Feel free to use tables and bulleted lists, if appropriate.
• The readings do not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Project’s history, plus the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 1 – SLP

PROJECT SELECTION AND INITIATION

While the four Cases track the progress of a major historical project that succeeded, the four SLPs examine a small fictitious project that failed.

In the Woody 2000 case study, Wideman (2015) describes a family-owned woodworking company that needs to expand its manufacturing capacity. Begin by reading the first sections of the case: Introduction, Background, Corporate Profile, Key Players, the Opportunity and Project Concept. Then, address the following questions in a short essay. (These are found at the end of the Case.)

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Don’t write in checklist form. Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay.
• The Case does not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Case, and the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 2 – Case

PROJECT PLANNING

Case Assignment

The biggest challenge facing the Manhattan Project was the production of weapons-grade uranium. There are two types, or isotopes, of uranium, U-235 and U-238, which differ only in the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The first isotope, which is only 0.72% of naturally occurring uranium, can sustain a fast fission chain reaction; i.e., a nuclear explosion. The second isotope cannot.

U-235 and U-238 are chemically identical; a chemical compound made with U-235 is indistinguishable from one made with U-238. The two isotopes have the same melting and boiling points. This similarity means that conventional refining methods cannot separate them. Rather, they have to be separated atom by atom, taking advantage of the 1% difference in nuclear mass. There are several techniques, but all require a massive amount of energy. They are –

• Electromagnetic separation
• Centrifugal separation (In the news: Search the Web for “Iran nuclear program.”)
• Gaseous diffusion
• Thermal diffusion

The first planning challenge facing the Project was to determine the best way of purifying the uranium, which they solved in a unique, cost-is-no-object fashion.

Q1: What did they do?

As the program continued, the advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques became clear.

Q2: What were the advantages and disadvantages of each? List and discuss.

Near the end of the program, some of the purification techniques were combined, and some were eliminated.

Q3: Explain.

Obviously, the sort of brute-force approach applied to the Manhattan Project, by a rich nation involved in a total war, isn’t the sort of approach one would recommend to a private company developing (say) a new phone. Just the same —

Q4: What, if any, lessons are there for a company working on the cutting edge of science and technology?

Assignment Expectations

• Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay. Feel free to use tables and bulleted lists, if appropriate.
• The readings do not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Project’s history, plus the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 2 – SLP

PROJECT PLANNING

Continue to read the Woody 2000 case. (Wideman, 2015) case, paying particular attention to Planning,and Design. Then, address the following questions in a short essay. (These are found at the end of the Case.)

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Don’t write in checklist form. Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay.
• The Case does not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Case, and the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 3 – Case

PROJECT EXECUTION AND CONTROL

Case Assignment

The Manhattan Project was unique in at least one respect; a major industrial enterprise was built in support of a totally new, untested product – one that it may not have been possible to build. Although scientists knew that heavy atoms like uranium spontaneously disintegrated, producing energetic radiation, it was by no means certain that the process could be scaled up to produce an explosion. The only way to find out was to try – and the only way to try was to first separate kilograms of U235 from tons of U238. (A parallel project was aimed at producing fissionable plutonium; both proceeded in parallel, because it was by no means certain that either project would succeed.)

The massive work of uranium separation and plutonium production took place concurrently with basic scientific research and technical weapons design. The first employed thousands of workers, most of them laborers with no scientific background whatsoever. The second employed hundreds of the greatest scientific minds of the day, including (in a supporting role) Albert Einstein.

The production work and the theoretical work required vastly different control mechanisms. The greatest need on the production side was secrecy. The mere fact that the United States had made uranium separation a high national priority would tell scientists in other countries much more than the American government wanted them to know. The greatest need on theoretical side was the free exchange of information among the scientists. If Physicist A wanted to discuss an idea with Physicist B, he wanted to talk to him directly – not draft a report, to be read, classified, and hand-delivered by Military Intelligence.

The solution was to create two entirely different organizations within the Manhattan Project; one managed by military officers, the second by a distinguished, charismatic physicist.

Q1: What were the organizations?

Q2: Who were the managers? How well were they suited to their jobs?

Based upon your detailed knowledge of modern project management techniques,

Q3: Could the control problems have been anticipated?

Q4: What, if anything, should have been done differently at the beginning of the Manhattan Project?

At the risk of giving too much away, we should note that one of the organizations still exists: Los Alamos National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy. Feel free to visit the website. No scientific organization in the world has a more interesting history, or a more distinguished pedigree.

Assignment Expectations

• Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay. Feel free to use tables and bulleted lists, if appropriate.
• The readings do not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Project’s history, plus the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 3 – SLP

PROJECT EXECUTION AND CONTROL

Continue to read the Woody 2000 case. (Wideman, 2015b) case, paying particular attention to Construction, Startup, and Control. Then, address the following questions in a short essay. (These are found at the end of the Case.)

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Don’t write in checklist form. Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay.
• The Case does not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Case, and the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 4 – Case

PROJECT CLOSEOUT

Case Assignment

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

—–William Faulkner

In this Module, we consider what happens to a project once it reaches the finish line, if it ever does.

Some projects, such as the iPhone, are finished at product rollout. Production, of course, continues as a frantic pace, but the design is frozen, at least for a time.

Other major projects, notably telescopes and particle accelerators, are never finished, at least in the eyes of the development teams. Rather, they’re taken away from them by the customers, who are anxious to begin work, and convinced that better is the enemy of good enough.

Other projects just sort of wither away. President Reagan’s ballistic missile defense system, popularly known as Star Wars, encountered a plethora of technical challenges and budget overruns. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 decreased the perceived urgency of a missile defense system, and the program has languished ever since. The first full-scale test, to be followed by an operational deployment, was cancelled in 2009.

The Manhattan Project was enormously successful, yet it stalled at the end of WWII. The US had a monopoly on nuclear weapons, which it wanted to safeguard; yet after the tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, the stockpile of A-bombs was exhausted. The propeller-driven B29 bomber continued to be the only delivery system. The elite team of physicist at Los Alamos dispersed to institutes and university faculties. Although the “Fat Man” bomb was a massive, inefficient device, no new design work was undertaken.

Obviously, nuclear weapons did not go away. In addition to weapons development, a host of ancillary industries have come into being, such as nuclear power generation. The newest generation of thermonuclear weapons, with yields in the megaton range, can be carried in backpacks. What happened?

For this Case, please trace the evolution of the American nuclear weapons program from VJ Day (Sep 2, 1945) through dissolution of the Manhattan Engineer District in 1947. Be sure to address the following questions:

Q1: What steps were taken to consolidate and safeguard the knowledge gained during execution of the Project; that is, to benefit from “lessons learned?”

Q2: What decisions were made concerning the sharing of that knowledge?

Q3: Most American officials were convinced that “the secret” of the A-bomb could remain an American monopoly, given adequate security. Was that realistic? Why or why not?

Q4: How did the organizational legacy of the Manhattan Project, particularly the strong link between basic scientific research and national security, affect American policy going forward?

Q5: With the benefit of hindsight, and modern project management techniques, how could the end of the Manhattan Project have been managed more effectively?

Assignment Expectations

• Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay. Feel free to use tables and bulleted lists, if appropriate.
• The readings do not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Project’s history, plus the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

Module 4 – SLP

PROJECT CLOSEOUT

Read the remainder of the Woody 2000 Case (Wideman, 2015). You will now address the topics of Project Closure and Assessment. Please answer the following questions in a short essay.

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Don’t write in checklist form. Integrate your answers to the above questions into a well-constructed essay.
• The Case does not provide specific answers to every question. You will need to “fill in the gaps,” using your understanding of the Case, and the Background Information.
• Style and format must comply with the Writing Style Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
• This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and style will be penalized.
• Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is encouraged, but not required.
• There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write, neither more nor less.

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