Since its founding in 2002 SmithOps has offered program and project management services, products, and training helping clients with geographically dispersed teams succeed under tight constraints of budget and schedule. Along the way SmithOps published a book now sold on Amazon across the US, developed a project management training course that educates managers on the three essential skills for success (situational awareness, enfranchisement, and boundary control), and provided tools (for example Handshake™) that help the people doing the work See It, Own It, Show It™.

This all started when, in 2002, the soon-to-be founder of SmithOps, Norm Smith, became frustrated at the number of cancelled NASA projects and the associated sunk cost. During his tenure as a NASA civil servant he witnessed the cancellation of X33, X34, a rocket-based-combined cycle (RBCC) engine project, and the US Propulsion Module for Space Station. At the time he served as Deputy Manager of Design, Development, Test and Evaluation (DDT&E) of the Propulsion Module, an $800M addition to the International Space Station. Mr. Smith turned his focus from engineering to management to discover the root cause for those project/program cancellations and apply that knowledge to help future government efforts succeed. SmithOps’ first big success was helping the Shuttle Tile Repair Project succeed using a RollingWave RoadMap product that became a trademark of SmithOps in time for the STS-114 Return to Flight following the Columbia accident.

Dao Smith originally joined the company as the Contracts Manager; in 2008 she became President and CEO. With a financial background, she brings a discipline approach to SmithOps business development and capture management. She is active in the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP), the National Management Association (NMA), and the National Contract Management Association (NCMA).

Jeanne Newman joined SmithOps as Business Manager in 2011. As an experienced NASA contract Program Manager, Jeanne brings a wealth of knowledge in such areas as contract management, information technology management, transition planning, and public outreach.

With an established project and program management capability, SmithOps will continue to grow into areas where this capability adds value and the SmithOps executive team has extensive management experience. These areas include robotic systems development, propulsion systems management, mechanical systems development, flight hardware development, and information technology systems management.

SmithOps Executive Management Team: