Research Project - Individual Submission

The Martian Movie assignment

The movie "The Martian" can be viewed through the framework of project management. There are two different but simultaneousprojectsgoing on inThe Martian. One is the survival project of Mark Watney and the other is the project aiming to save him. Watney has the right skills for his survival project: he's a botanist, he knows how to repair a broken Pathfinder and the most important thing is he doesn't panic even inhis first dayalone on Mars. On the other hand, he's not alone in this project. The members of the 'remote' team helping him are trying their best to achieve their goal. This is a good example for the importance of the communication between the team even if they are far away!

Question #1

The definition of a project as provided by Pinto (2019): A project is a unique venture with a beginning and end, conducted by people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, schedule, and quality. A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that:

• Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications
• Have defined start and end dates
• Have funding limits, if applicable
• Consume human and nonhuman resources, such as money, people, equipment
• Are multifunctional (i.e., cut across several functional lines)

How does this definition fit the movie personalities and events versus just operations management?

Question #2

Select 3 of the project management processes below. For each of the 3 you must 1) provide a brief description of each process, 2) describe how Mark Watney or one of the project teams manages this process, and 3) provide a specific example of the management of this process from the movie and why this is a good example.

Perform Integrated Change Control

Validate and Control Scope

Control Schedule

Control Costs

Control Quality

Control Resources

Monitor Communications

Monitor Risks

Control Procurements

Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Question #3

Do you think Mark Watney is a champion? Why or why not?