All We Need to Know About Software Project Management, We Can Learn from Watching Star Trek

摘要

A few months ago, I watched a cable TV show which asserted that a Star Trek actor had changed the world. While the idea that William Shatner had single-handedly brought about the 21st century as we know it was funny, the information presented was pretty convincing that the science fiction show had a major impact on modern technology. Just call your bank's voice-recognition computer using your flip-phone and you'll get the picture. And it does not end with the original series; those reconfigurable, flat-panel touch screens that Geordi and Data sit in front of in 'The Next Generation' can now be found in just about every fast food restaurant. As I marveled at the effects a television series has had on our modern lives, I suddenly realized that most of the current software generation had grown up with Star Trek. I began wondering what effect this had on our approaches to software development and management. What I discovered I have termed 'the Gene Roddenberry Effect': Everything we do in software project management originated with Star Trek. I have developed a list of lessons learned from Star Trek that I regularly employ.