GOTO Berlin is a vendor independent international software development conference with more that 60 top speakers and 600 attendees. The conference covers topics such as Java, Open Source, Agile, Architecture, Design, Web, Cloud, New Languages and Processes.

Stephen Carver, Lecturer, consultant & speaker in Project & Programme Management at Cranfield University School of Management

Stephen Carver

Biography: Stephen Carver

Stephen is rated as one of the top 3 lecturers at one of Europe’s top MBA Business Schools. He has a reputation of taking complex management concepts such as Project, Programme Change and Crisis Management and being able to distil them down, into highly informative and fun lectures - often using “storytelling” techniques. His attitude is “if you haven’t done it – you shouldn’t be teaching it!”

Unusually, for an academic, he has actually has spent most of his working life in real business and still runs his own, highly successful, Project Management Company.

Stephen is an unusual blend of Academic, Businessman and Teller of Tales. He has lectured Worldwide and has worked with civilian and military organisations in the field of risk analysis and safety.

Twitter: @CarverStephen

Presentation: Morning Keynote: Space Shuttle

Time: Friday 09:00 - 09:50 / Location: Hall 1

January 28th 1986 - the space shuttle Challenger explodes just one minute after launch. As the world looked on horrified, few realised that this was an inevitable accident that had been predicted by the designers for years. Indeed, the day before the key engineers believed that there was “essentially a 100% probability of disaster”.

After the accident NASA realised that they had pushed the boundaries too far and embarked upon major management reforms. Sadly the reforms made the launches look almost too safe and as a result over the subsequent years standards and relationships slipped once more.

Then in February 2003 – the Space Shuttle Colombia burns up on re-entry and the entire crew perish. The chilling fact was that this was a management repeat of the Challenger disaster – NASA had not truly learned the lessons of the past.

Key Messages: 

• Importance of real Communication
• Risk Assessment
• Inter-organisational Co-ordination
• Keeping Organisational Learning alive
• Dangers of Groupthink