Personalities, processes, politics

1. Personalities, processes, politics Lecture 3 IEM5010 Summer 2002 Paul E. Rossler, Ph.D., P.E.

2. Essay 3 questions • What are the characteristics of an effective (or ineffective) new technology or development effort? • How should new technology or development efforts be designed, managed, and led? • How should a leader or manager deal with, for example,“John Harrison” types or a Maurice Wilkins-Rosalind Franklin (or Bragg-Crick) type of personality conflict?

3. Websites • John Harrison http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/museum/harrison/ • Watson and Crick http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/do53dn.html

4. Longitude Act of 1714 sounded good on paper • Objective set (practicable and useful) • Performance criteria and test procedure established • Committee (Board of Longitude) appointed to review proposals

5. 15 years pass and theBoard had not yet met • No single suggested solution had held enough promise to inspire any five commissioners • Suspect many ideas were variations on wounded dogs and signal ships

6. Enter a self-educated watchmaker, John Harrison • Wins support of George Graham • First watch, H1, built between 1730 and 1735 • Portable version of Harrison’s wooden clocks • Linked balance mechanism negates the effects of motion of the clock • After year delay, passes shipboard test in 1736 • Harrison requests financial assistance from the Board of Longitude to make a second marine timekeeper

7. Harrison’s second attempt better…but not in his eyes • Began in 1737, completed in 1940 • Fundamentally same design as H1 but larger and heavier • Wins full backing of the Board • But Harrison “already disgusted with it” - bar balances did not always counter the motion of a ship • Harrison requests more money from the Board to work on a third timekeeper

8. The (long in the making)third attempt • Harrison begins work in 1740 • Re-emerges 19 years later with H3 • Incorporated two innovations still used today: bimetallic strip and Caged roller bearing • Submitted for testing, but withdrawn in favor of H4

9. The very different fourth attempt • In 1753, John Jefferys follows Harrison’s design specs and makes him a pocket watch • Changes Harrison’s vision of the sea clock • H4 takes roughly four years to complete (1755-1759) • Presented to Board in 1760

10. It’s here that the story takes a turn • Astronomy-based methods had been making steady progress • In 1731, Hadley and Godfrey independently created the instrument on which lunar method depended (quadrant or octant  sextant) • By late 1750s, lunar distance method finally looked practical • Flamsteed  Halley  Bradley • Tobias Mayer • Reverend Nevil Maskelyne

11. A long, frustrating wait • H4 tested in 1762, again in 1764 • Board implies watch a fluke; copies must be made and tested • In 1765 Harrison ordered to turn over all watches to Maskelyne • Harrison and son William begin work on H5; recommends Kendall to build K1 • Not recognized until 1773

12. But can it be made? • Kendall’s K2 inferior • Mudge built three (“Maskelyne’s new sparring partner”) • Arnold produced several hundred of high quality • Farmed out bulk of routine work to craftsman

13. But can it be made? (continued) • Mudge’s son built 30, but cost twice as much as Arnold’s, not as good • Arnold and his son’s biggest competition came from Earnshaw • Earnshaw stuck to single basic design • Could turn out chronometer in two months • In “patent” suit with Arnold over escapement design • By 1780s prices down to £80 for an Arnold, £65 for an Earnshaw

14. The road to Watson and Crick, Wilkins and Franklin • In 1943, Oswald Avery proved that DNA carries genetic information • 1948, Linus Pauling discovered that many proteins take the shape of an alpha helix • In 1950, biochemist Erwin Chargaff found that the amount of certain nitrogen bases in DNA always occurred in a one-to-one ratio

15. Two competing (complementary?) paths • At Cambridge University, graduate student Francis Crick and research fellow James Watson employ model building techniques • At King's College in London, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin use X-ray diffraction techniques

16. Various stages of research and development • Exploration • Detailed investigation • Scientific investigation • Modeling • Study/Planning • Testing • Project

17. Who was managing this effort? • Watson and Crick seemed to be in stealth mode • With Watson avoiding, as best he could, learning chemistry • Wilkins and Franklin seemed to be at war

18. Personalities and progress

19. Elements of the process • Using available resources of modern science • Recognizing expertise in various fields • Flexibility of thought (and comfort with errors) • Use of screening mechanisms (grants, review boards, peer review)

20. A footnote • Crick, Wilkins, and Watson awarded Nobel Prize in 1962 • But not Franklin…why?

21. Lessons learned

22. Example Product Development and Management Process (Source: S. Strattan, 2001)

23. The Business Case • Is the opportunity well defined? • Do we understand the market for this product and is it financially justified? • What is the strategic and technical importance of the project and the risks associated with it? • Is the opportunity technically feasible? • What will be our market launch strategy? • Can we meet the market or customer delivery expectations?