Question

Discussion: Communication Breakdown on Mars?

Instructions!

Please respond by posting a minimum of one short paragraph. Word totals for these posts should be in the 75–100-word range. Whether you agree or disagree, explain why with supporting evidence and concepts from the readings or a related experience. The goal of your response is to extend discussions already taking place or pose new possibilities or opinions not previously voiced. Your goal should be to motivate the group discussions and present a creative approach.

The questions that I answered

1. What barriers to effective communication do you think might have contributed to the Mars Climate Orbiter failure?
2. Based on what you learned from the video and any additional research you conducted, identify the factors that you think played the biggest role in the communication breakdown.
3. How do you think a miscommunication like the one responsible for the Mars Climate Orbiter failure could have been avoided? What practices could NASA implement to make sure this kind of miscommunication doesn’t happen again?

1.Barriers of effective communication, I think might have contributed to the Mars Climate Orbiter failure is information overload and semantics. Information Overload because the Clinton Administration required NASA to restructure their design which meant they had to start all over. Semantics as a barrier of communication because their failure was due to a “Metric Mishap”, the programmers was in two different teams. One team were measuring with “Metric” and the other team measured using the “English Units”.

2. The factors I think that played the biggest role in the communication breakdown was failure to execute effectively. Also, the systems engineering, project management, institutional involvement, communication among project elements, and last but not least mission assurance.

3. The miscommunication for the Mars Climate Orbiter failure could have been avoided by doing a complete thorough process that ensured that every one is on the same page and have an understanding. Practices NASA could implement to make sure this miscommunication doesn’t happen again is by using the Communication-Process Model or an Interactive Communication Process. Also, they can ask questions in order to clarify any misinterpretation. This will give them the organization they need to avoid missteps and practice being a good listener.

Answer 1

Answer: (1) I agree that Communication barriers play a very important role in the success or failure of any project. The Mars Climate Orbit Failure was a result of two communication barriers namely the information overload and semantics. Because of these two factors the teams involved in the project were unable to make accurate sense from the messages and use the information for better decision making. It is therefore important that the project managers involved in such large projects should understand the importance of communication.

(2) I agree that improper execution and development of the communication plan was a major reason behind this failure. If the project managers would have given proper attention towards the development of a communication plan as per the needs and requirements of this project, this failure could have stopped. Also it is important that the communication plans are properly handled and executed. As the execution was not proper hence the deviations could not be controlled and the failure took place.

(3) I agree that better planning, development of the right processes and practices and proper monitoring could have saved this project from failure. NASA in future should therefore carry out a detailed assessment about the project requirements and develop a proper communication plan. All the important communication nodes should be identified and the possible communication barriers should be identified. Based on this the proper communication channels, processes and practices should be evolved. An implementation and control plan is also mandatory.