An Innovative Approach to Learning

Project Management Training at CIA

Joe Keogh and Richard Roy

The Project Management managing complex operations devel-

Course (PMC) was an initiative by oped a project cycle for operations,
CIA’s Directorate of Science and based on the structure of the DS&T
Technology (DS&T) in the 1980s to project cycle.
improve the management of technical
The PMC had a considerable in-
Under this initiative, projects across the directorate. The
learning content was based on lessons fluence on how industry partners and
a DS&T senior intelli- from historical CIA development other government agencies worked
gence officer teamed projects and best practices in indus- with the CIA by providing a forum
for discourse about the behaviors of
with two private sector try. Under this initiative, a DS&T
senior intelligence officer teamed each in managing CIA projects.
consultants and con- with two private sector consultants
ceived, based on expe- and conceived, based on experience,
Origins of PMC
rience, a revolutionary a revolutionary method of training
students in the techniques of project The first PMC was taught in
method of training management and systems engineer- 1989, and ultimately the course was
students in the tech- ing. The course introduced a unique delivered 130 more times until 2001.
niques of project man- project management model that The two-week course was attended
became internationally recognized by more than 2,600 CIA, NSA, NRO,
agement and systems and formed the basis of a widely used and IC staff personnel along with in-
engineering. project management book. dustry partners. The course was cer-
tified as Level III training, meaning
The course and its derivatives had that surveys showed students applied
a positive impact on the CIA’s project what they learned on the job; it was
performance. A one-week Directorate the first course to be so designated.
of Support course called Managing
Agency Projects was based on the The course was unclassified and
concepts of the PMC but tailored to taught in CIA facilities and a con-
less complex projects. It was taught ference center in West Virginia. A
to hundreds of support officers and DS&T office director briefed the
received high ratings for its relevance students about project management
and impact on mission. The PMC successes and challenges in their
also spawned a DS&T Software components during each course,
Project Management Course using demonstrating executive leadership
applicable project management commitment for the training and its
concepts from the PMC but designed importance to mission.
for software projects and taught by
computer science professors Richard During the late 1990s there was
Fairley and Richard Thayer. The increased demand for more non-resi-
Directorate of Operations’ course for dential local training to better balance

The views, opinions, and findings of the author expressed in this article should not be construed as asserting or implying US
government endorsement of its factual statements and interpretations or representing the official positions of any component of
the United States government.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 2024)  41



An Innovative Approach to Learning

theory in the DS&T mission environ-

The PMC Model
ment and PMI training for the DS&T
The PMC was built around a model of project management developed by Kevin was terminated. As a replacement, the
Forsberg, Hal Mooz, and Howard Cotterman, authors of Visualizing Project
DS&T instituted a new case-study-
Management (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1996). The book provided clear visual-
izations of complex processes, simplified understanding of the interaction of the based training approach embodying
many diverse players involved, and showed how to assess a project’s progress. the principles from both PMC and
Their companion book, Communicating Project Management, provided the first PMI to develop employee’s skills
integrated vocabulary of project management and systems engineering. This im- in system engineering and project
portant addition served to resolve the gaps and overlaps caused by the Project management. This case-study–based
Management Institute (PMI) and International Council on Systems Engineering
course continues today.
(INCOSE) separately developing concepts and lexicons.

The model had five essentials.

Why PMC?
1. Project cycle containing three aspects (business, budget, and technical).
Two system development cultures
2. Ten project management elements, each containing the techniques and tools existed in the DS&T. There were
of that element: large, complex, highly visible, and
• Project requirements expensive systems expanding the way
intelligence was collected, such as
• Organizational options KENNEN, a near-real-time imaging
satellite system launched in 1976.
• Project team
These large and complex projects
• Project planning could not be accomplished by the
CIA alone or by a single company.
• Opportunities and their risks
These projects utilized many docu-
• Project control ments, sophisticated configuration
control techniques, and had signifi-
• Project visibility cant oversight. DS&T along with its
• Project status partners in industry had developed
techniques that enabled the success-
• Corrective action ful management of these types of
projects meeting cost, schedule, and
• Leadership
performance.
3. Teamwork between the buyer and seller.
At the same time, there were
4. Integrated project management and system engineering terminology. many smaller projects in the CIA
such as the Tropel camera, for ex-
5. Management commitment.
ample, which was built by a single
person and was so small that it was
the work and life of employees, and to be nationally certified in project
able to be integrated into many types
the agency sought options other management.
of concealments such as a pen, a
than two weeks of offsite training.
In 2009, a DS&T project man- lighter, or a key chain. The camera
In 2000, the CIA held a competi-
agement task force in 2009 lead by was made with such precision and
tion for DS&T project management
James Wilkerson and composed of unique craftsmanship that it could not
training to address this concern.
representatives of each office in the be replicated by others. There were
The winner provided the CIA with
DS&T found that PMI based training companies employing fewer than 10
Project Management Institute (PMI)
was not providing DS&T officers with people working with DS&T officers
certified project management train-
an understanding of how to apply the to build devices such as the “Jack-in-
ing, enabling DS&T staff officers
project management principles and the-Box,” a two-dimensional pop-up
to take local one-week courses and

42  Studies in Intelligence Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 2024)

 

An Innovative Approach to Learning

manikin that would look like a of the DS&T and began sharing ideas Unique Aspects
passenger in a car seat. These projects on teaching project management.
Looking back, a few things
were successful without the full suite Len’s concept of a project cycle and
distinguished the PMC from general
of project management and system Hal’s PM elements model along
courses.
integration processes needed on the with a repertoire of techniques were
larger more complex endeavors. combined to form the beginning of a Government and industry part-
unique PM model. ners (buyers and sellers) jointly
During the early 1980s, when
attending an in-residence two-week
the CIA was experiencing a growth During the PMC development
course. The PMC introduced the
in budgets under President Reagan, Hal and Kevin formed the Center for
practice of teamwork through a novel
a many DS&T projects were expe- Systems Management (CSM) dedi-
teaching concept that emphasized
riencing budget overruns and late cated to serving the government, in-
managing the relationship between
deliveries. To address this issue, R. dustry, and academia in all matters re-
the CIA buyer and industry seller.
Evans Hineman, the deputy director lating to managing complex technical
Recognizing the issues caused by
of the DS&T, asked Len Malinowski developments. Clients ranged from
a lack of a mutual understanding
to develop a project management CIA, NSA, NASA, and Department
and differing goal, the PMC trained
training course for the directorate. of State to most CIA partner con-
buyers and sellers together to fos-
Len was a senior intelligence officer tractors and academic institutions
ter teamwork focusing on mission
in the DS&T with more than 20 years including George Washington
success. The team focus was on
of CIA experience managing complex University, Massachusetts Institute of
mission success while maintaining a
technical projects in the directorate. Technology, Stanford University, and
professional, ethical business rela-
Len also had industry experience prior the Naval Postgraduate School.
tionship. To our knowledge the PMC
to joining the CIA.
Initially the PMC was jointly is the first and only course dedicated
Len solicited help from Consulting taught by these three individuals, to improving the communication and
Resources International (CRI) in enabling the students to gain experi- understanding of the relationship be-
San Francisco. Hal Mooz was the enced insight into both the world of tween government and industry part-
founder of CRI, and had a master’s industry as well as the Agency. Later, ners throughout the project lifecycle.
degree in in engineering and more the CIA and CSM added qualified
This joint training was imple-
than 25 years’ experience as a chief instructors to handle the increasing
mented in three ways. First, the
systems engineer and project man- demand for the PMC. Discourse often
instructor team was composed of an
ager at Lockheed Missiles and Space evolved into a lively back and forth
experienced DS&T officer and an
Corporation (LMSC), now Lockheed debate exploring both industry and
experienced industry project man-
Martin Corporation. Most of Hal’s CIA perspectives and rational for the
ager. Second, CIA officers and their
experience was on CIA projects. Later actions taken by each.
industry development project man-
Dr. Kevin Forsberg joined Hal as a
Both Hal and Kevin received a CIA ager attended the course together,
principal in the company. Kevin had
seal medallion in recognition for their worked class exercises together,
more than 30 years of experience
unique contribution to project manage- took identical final examinations,
as a materials engineer and project
ment methodology and to the CIA’s and shared meals together. Third, the
manager of NASA’s Space Shuttle tile
mission. The CIA Seal Medallion officer–industry pair were provided
program. Both Hal and Kevin worked
(now the Agency Seal Medal) is with living arrangements containing a
with Len to develop the PMC and the
awarded to non-CIA personnel who private area to discuss the application
three jointly taught the first running of
have made significant contributions of their learning experience to their
the course.
to the CIA’s intelligence efforts. Hal specific project.
Len was introduced to Hal at a and Kevin were also awarded the
The course attendees started
PM course Hal was teaching at TRW. International Council on Systems
skeptical on day one of what value
Len felt the ideas being taught by Hal Engineering (INCOSE) Pioneer Award
the course could provide them but
were consistent with the philosophy for their pioneering work.
were vocal with praise at the end of

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 2024)  43



An Innovative Approach to Learning

cycle contained three periods—study,

acquisition, and operations—later
updated to four with deactivation
as the final stage. The logic used in
selecting activities and control gates
for the transition from development
to operations was based on best prac-
tices lessons learned from technical
collection operations. The cycle
provides control gates to control the
progress and manage risk.

A copy of the project cycle was

given to each student as a large,
fold-out chart that included logically
sequenced activities, associated
documents, and control gates. Bear
in mind this was before the advent of
automated dashboards like Tableau.
An appendix to the course material
The Technical Aspect of the Project Cycle, or the Vee diagram, depicts decomposition and
integration in the vertical dimension. Decomposition is a set of steps that breaks down the contained exemplar documents and
overall functions of a system into its smaller parts that can be analyzed and built. An exam- guides for control gates as an aid to
ple of decomposition in designing a house would be to identify the functions and needs of understanding the context and value.
each room before construction. Integration is the process of bringing together the smaller
components into a single system. An example of integration in building a house would be Tailoring the project manage-
adding the plumbing, heating, and air conditioning to the building. The Vee diagram was ment to the needs of the project.
first presented in Chattanooga, Tennesee, in 1991 at the first INCOSE convention (then Recognizing that projects in the
known as NCOSE, it became “International” in 1995). The Vee diagram has since been
DS&T can have a range of complexi-
incorporated into the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook and has spread worldwide
as the systems-engineering standard. ties, different motivation factors, and
different execution tactics, the project
the second week. It gave both buyers This was a different approach than cycle and project techniques included
and sellers valuable insight for more most of the technical support to the flexibility to address these differ-
effective communication and helped HUMINT operations which was to ences. Participants were encouraged
gain appreciation of each other’s cir- build something and deploy it quickly to tailor or adapt the project processes
cumstances that could not be obtained to meet the dynamics and urgency to the uniqueness of their project and
in any other way. This was the true of the mission. The most successful not to follow the project cycle and
uniqueness and value-added provided CIA projects were ones in which the elements blindly.
by the PMC. development team knew exactly what
was needed. The effort expended do- Integration of system engineer-
Project cycle matched to the ing studies allowed the development ing and project management. The
best business practices of the team to understand the operational KENNEN project had seven major
DS&T. One of the lessons learned opportunity or problem and identify segments. The development team
from the KENNEN project was to the “right” and affordable thing to do had the challenge of identifying the
start a project with a series of stud- to be successful. necessary systems image quality,
ies; including requirements analysis, feasibility of the concept and how to
program definition, and system vul- The PMC project cycle incorpo- partition the system into segments
nerability, and to conduct advanced rated this lesson along with additional that could be built within industry’s
technology development activities lessons learned from other DS&T capabilities at the time. The devel-
prior to commencing development. and industry projects. The original opment of these multiple segments

44  Studies in Intelligence Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 2024)

 

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required different contractor capabil- have a purpose to keep the project • Proceed as planned; all required
ities along with options preserved in on plan and are more appropriately accomplishments were almost
each and yet be able to be integrated called “corrective action reviews.” achieved, and plans are execut-
into a system. Strong system engi- This requires the project have a plan, able, with minor corrections to be
neering talent in the government as a mechanism for authorizing activity resolved within a set date.
well as project management capabil- to expend resources against the plan,
ity was required to frame and direct reporting project status by comparing • Redo the control gate after all
the system definition studies. activity accomplished to the plan, and required accomplishments have
then taking the actions necessary to been achieved and plans execut-
Once the definition studies were get the project on plan or keeping on able.
complete the requirements and in- plan. Students often commented that
terface documents had to be updated • Terminate the project. Industry
action items assigned at the routine
requiring robust system engineering was expected to provide evidence
“periodic” reviews often do not relate
talent in the government. The de- that the criteria had been met.
to getting the project back or keep-
velopment of this system required Control gates were scheduled
ing on plan and become unplanned
integrated system engineering and when the evidence was complete,
work that contributes to cost and
project management on the DS&T not at an arbitrary target date. The
schedule overruns on completion type
and industry sides to build and suc- message was that both govern-
contracts.
cessfully integrate the seven seg- ment and industry had active roles
ments into an operational system. The Active project leadership. at a control gate with a joint focus
successful development and operation Project leadership was emphasized as on mission success.
of this system fostered the integration an active role in managing a project.
of system engineering and project One memorable Hal Mooz quote:
management throughout the DS&T. “Project management is not a specta- Importance to Stakeholders
tor sport.” The image of a symphony One of the PM elements in the
The integration of system engi- conductor was used to convey the model is the project team. The natural
neering and project management was important role of the project manager. tendency is to think about the person-
implemented into the course in two nel executing the project, but there
ways: through the technical aspect of are often many additional personnel
the project cycle (the Vee diagram) Control Gates that have a stake in the project. The
and through the project requirements course provided insight and tools
Another key innovation intro-
that covered all aspects of managing necessary to involve all critical
duced in the course was the use of
requirements in a systematic and logi- stakeholders.
joint control gates rather than mile-
cal way.
stones. A control gate was labeled as
The first two phases of a project
Cards-on-the-wall planning “a milestone with teeth” meaning a
are typically performed by the CIA
technique. Planning is a key part of decision had to be made at a control
system engineer, COTR, and industry
any project, but difficult to accom- gate. The purpose of a control gate
contractor. The role of operations and
plish with a team larger than a few was twofold; measure accomplish-
mission data user personnel is typi-
people. The course introduced the ment and establish an executable
cally not well understood, and many
Cards-on-the-Wall technique, which plan. Criteria for completing the con-
times not considered during these
used the wall as a planning landscape trol gate was established by the gov-
phases. The course provided role
enabling teams to visibly interact, ernment and included in the contract
definition of system validation for
establish, and challenge the plan. Statement of Work. The decision-
the operations officer and intelligence
maker was the government project
analyst during these initial periods of
Periodic corrective action manager who had four options:
a project life cycle.
reviews. The course clarified the
purpose of periodic reviews used on • Proceed as planned; all required
The transition from development
cost reimbursable contracts by in- accomplishments were achieved,
COTR to operations personnel is
troducing the idea that these reviews and plans are executable.

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 2024)  45



An Innovative Approach to Learning

often “throw it over the transom” be- used. They also shared experiences to the multi-billion satellite
havior. Instead, PMC treated the man- and gained insight into each other’s development programs) that
agement of this transition activity as environment. An important aspect staff members began to see the
control gates—dubbed readiness and for an executive is the critical points value of applying the project
acceptance reviews—with criteria to engage with a project and the management precepts, even if
established by the operations officers types of resources needed. Robert notionally. The gap between no
and intelligence analysts to be satis- Wallace, an experienced Directorate formal oversight processes and
fied by the COTR prior to transition. of Operations and DS&T leader, full-blown oversight processes
The course material was written in attended the executive course and gradually closed. Application of
engineering terms, but instructors recounted: project management guidelines
were able to convert this terminol- on a level suited to the scope
ogy into terms used by the CIA’s The criticality of a positive, and cost of projects became
non-technical workforce using “war mutually respectful COTR-con- more routine.
stories” and case studies to enable the tractor relationship, technical
understanding and application to the and personal, the lack of which When industry partners returned
entire life cycle of a project. became an element of every to their companies after attending the
project requiring attention. PMC, their positive feedback often
On the industry side, compa- prompted their companies to contract
nies are initially concerned with For Office of Technical Services with CSM to teach the PMC mes-
winning the competition and invest (OTS) project managers, “fluen- sages to their internal project teams.
corporate independent research and cy” in project management was This secondary effect enabled partner
development funds to increase their as important to their success industries to incorporate PMC tech-
probability of winning. The course as language training was to a niques for managing projects and to
emphasized the value of integrating case officer being assigned to a have a clearer understanding of how
system engineering into these early foreign county.” to work with the CIA.
activities and highlighted the need to
ensure these activities were on track Project management is a natural
with what the customer was requiring PMC’s Legacy partner to all aspects of the agency
by utilizing internal corporate control The Office of Technical Collection because it is about doing things and
gates with criteria important to the (OTC) had a mix of projects, some doing things “right.” While the joint
capture team. complex and some simple. The chal- training has been lost, the value of
lenge the OTC director had was how teamwork to the agency both in its
The language used in projects is to consistently apply adequate and relationships with industry and other
not always understood by the broader efficient PM practices across this mix entities is an important characteristic
industrial and CIA communities. To of projects. Peter Daniher, the OTC and value to accomplishing its mis-
remedy this, there was a three-day director, commented: sion. These unique PMC practices are
course for executives, partnered with key to the CIA project management
industry senior executive to explain At some point, circa 1993, philosophy, continue to be taught, and
the PM model, terminology, and need enough staff members had been will benefit the agency long into the
for senior management commitment. through the Project Manage- future, especially for today’s mis-
Executive attendees commented that ment Course to reach a tipping sion-center structure where multiple
the executive course allowed them point where the training caught cultures must be integrated.
to quickly learn the broad concept on. There had been enough
of how projects were executed, the issues in many small to me-
logic of the steps, and the language dium cost programs (relative

v v v

The authors: Joe Keogh and Richard Roy were career staff officers in CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology who
helped develop and teach the PMC during the early 1990s. Both are now retired.

46  Studies in Intelligence Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 2024)