Jesse Aronson

Presentation: R&D Project Management – Is it Agile?

Abstract: Research and Development bears a superficial resemblance to Agile Development. Requirements often cannot be specified up front, leading to iterative planning and execution. Similarly, responding to change is a centerpiece of R&D projects. However, while Agile projects typical have an evolving understanding of the “known”, R&D focuses on exploring the “unknown”. A comparison of the two types of project management is presented, with highlights of interest to practitioners in both areas.

PMI Talent Triangle Skill: Technical Project Management

Biography: Jesse Aronson serves as Executive Program Director at Synectics, where he manages the company’s Health IT practice. He has over thirty years of experience in the government science and technology space, working with organizations including NASA, DARPA, NIH, and DHS S&T. He has also managed technology scouting and solution architecture efforts, both at Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology and at SAIC, where as a technology Vice President he headed the company’s enterprise solution center.

Mr. Aronson holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from NYU Polytechnic Institute of New York.