UC San Diego SITC Research Briefs

Title Red, But More Expert: The Evolution of China’s “Two Chiefs” Program Manager System

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Journal SITC Research Briefs, 2015(No.4)

Author POLLPETER, Kevin

Publication Date 2015

eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California STUDY OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY IN CHINA RESEARCH BRIEF 2015-4 January 2015 Red, But More Expert: The Evolution of China’s “Two Chiefs” Program Manager System

Kevin POLLPETER

his research brief examines the role of project management in China’s Tdefense research and development system, in particular its chief commander and chief designer system. Spurred on by technical failures over a 50-year period, China’s space program leaders sought to address

and fostered better coordination. In doing so, China’s space program has deficiencies by instituting reforms that gradually exerted more control

administrative leaders in favor of managers who are both technically and clarified the chain of command and reduced the role of pure political and managerially competent. The study concludes that for large defense programs to be successful, a strong systems management approach is required that entrusts a single person with the authority to run the program. In making

development (R&D) management structure has moved to increase the this conclusion, it finds that since the 1950s China’s defense research and authority of its program managers. This study aslo concludes that effective

communication and coordination of knowledge flows facilitated by a single

programThe Study office of isInnovation essential and to Technology the success in China of large-scale (SITC) is a project R&D programs.of the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. SITC Research Briefs provide analysis and recommendations based on the work of project participants. Author’s views are their own. This material is based upon work supported by, or in part by, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Office through the Minerva Initiative under grant #W911NF-09-1-0081. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Army Research Office.

1 INTRODUCTION chief commanders have overall re- tion as a deputy chief designer. Most sponsibility for their particular proj- commanders, on the other hand, had Defense projects, especially aviation ect within a program. They approve been laboratory directors. In addi- and space projects, can be complex its design, plan, budget, and sched- tion, many commanders had experi- endeavors that require large numbers ule and submit these for approval to ence as an institute director or dep- of personnel from a variety of organi- the program’s chief commander. The uty chief designer before becoming a zations working in a coordinated way project chief designer reports to the to accomplish a common goal. The program chief designer and is respon- the desire to balance managerial skill complexity of these projects requires sible for the design, testing, and man- withchief technicalcommander. competence, Probably thereflecting quick- a program management structure ufacture of their particular system or est route to a chief commander posi- that can integrate numerous people subsystem. tion was to have previously served and organizations into a multidisci- The State Administration for as a deputy chief designer, whereas plinary workforce capable of creating Science, Technology, and Industry for those who mainly served in the com- National Defense (SASTIND) nomi- mand track had the longest road to and within the required budget and nates and selects chief commander becoming a chief commander. technologies to desired specifications schedule. and chief designer candidates. Prime Chief designers had two career The science and technology lead- contractors nominate deputy chief ers who manage these efforts are commanders and deputy chief de- balance managerial skill with techni- an important part of this structure. signers as well as project-level chief calpaths. competence, Again, reflecting the path the that desire led to These leaders must have a combina- and deputy chief commanders and the quickest promotion to chief de- tion of technical and managerial skills designers. These nominees are then signer involved managerial experi- necessary to understand the technol- selected by SASTIND. ence as a laboratory director before ogy being developed, organize the In order to be eligible for a chief being promoted to a deputy chief de- technology development effort, and commander or chief designer posi- signer and then chief designer. The effectively interact with subordinates, tion, candidates must have had pri- other career path involved a career superiors, customers, and stakehold- or experience as a project-level chief path entirely within the designer ers. Moreover, these leaders must be commander, deputy chief command- track as a lead designer, before be- entrusted with the authority to make er, chief designer, or deputy chief de- coming a deputy chief designer and decisions and compel others to carry signer. They cannot be over the age chief designer. out those decisions. of 65 at the time of appointment and Research was also conducted on they must step down from their po- the backgrounds of 42 chief com- CHIEF COMMANDERS sition at age 70. Project-level commanders and chief designers who AND CHIEF DESIGNERS manders and chief designers must China’s program management system have participated in at least one com- program from 1992 to the present. is bifurcated into chief commander plete project or participated in the Theserved average in China’s age humanof these spaceflight program and chief designer lines of author- important phases of two or more managers was 46 and they took an ity that are loosely broken down be- projects. Newly appointed project average of 21 years to reach their po- tween administrative and technical commanders and chief designers can- sition. More than 50 percent have an responsibilities. Under this system, not be over the age of 56 at the time of M.S. degree, only two had PhDs, and chief commanders have overall re- appointment. Project chief designers just two had foreign experience, sug- sponsibility for the program and re- must have also participated in the de- port to the program’s leading small velopment of a system or subsystem, industry derived from foreign educat- group or lead organization. They are have demonstrated problem-solving edgesting personnel that benefits may be forlimited. China’s space responsible for the management of skills, and have at least two years’ ex- There are, however, noticeable perience as a deputy chief designer. differences in the backgrounds of personnel management, scheduling, The maximum age for project com- those who attained their positions andthe project,overseeing including the work financial of the chief and manders and chief designers is 65. in the 1990s and those who attained designer. Chief designers, on the oth- A 2014 Chinese study of 84 chief their positions in the 2000s. The aver hand, are responsible for technol- commanders and chief designers re- erage age of chief commanders and ogy development, including research, vealed that the career paths of chief chief designers in the 1990s was 55, design, and manufacture. commanders and chief designers con- and they had been employed an aver- Below chief commanders and age of 35 years before they reached chief designers are project-level chief above. The study reveals that all commanders and designers. Project chiefform designers to the qualifications held a previous set posi forth- decreasing age of China’s defense in- these positions. Reflecting the overall

2 dustrial workforce, the average age of tent program managers more control existed with the delineation of re- chief commanders and chief design- within a streamlined program man- sponsibilities and the lack of a formal- ers appointed in the 2000s was 45, agement system. During the 1950s, ly designated program head. In fact, and they had been employed just 20 Chinese leaders’ view of the country’s command of a project was shared be- years before they reached their posi- strategic situation dictated that China tween the administrative command- tions. Moreover, whereas those pro- needed to develop strategic weapons er and chief designer. Moreover, the gram managers who attained their that were technologically complex administrative commander and chief positions in the 1990s were educated and novel to China. China, however, designer were often from different at a variety of schools, those brought - organizations with different chains on in the 2000s were predominant- cilities to develop nuclear weapons of command whose organizational ly educated at Beijing University of andlacked ballistic qualified missiles personnel as well and as thethe cafa- interests and views on how the work Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nan- pacity to manage programs involving should be done often differed. jing University of Aeronautics and hundreds of organizations and thou- - Astronautics, Harbin Institute of sands of personnel. came evident in the mid-1990s with Technology, and the National Defense At this time, the success of China’s a seriesThe effectof launch of these failures deficiencies that result be- University of Technology, indicating weapons programs hinged on the ca- ed in more than 60 internal investi- the importance of these schools with- pabilities of a few top scientists who gations into the R&D system used by in the defense industrial system. No had extensive foreign experience and China’s space industry. These investi- chief commander or chief designer who had to rely on their own individ- had formal business education. ual abilities, rather than a program two line command system. In doing The hiring of a younger cohort of management system, to bring proj- so,gations it changed led to reformsthe name that of theunified admin the- chief commanders and chief design- ects to success. These massive pro- istrative commander to project com- ers has introduced its own challeng- grams spanned the breadth of China’s mander and gave that position to- es, however. The rapid increase in the R&D system and economy and also tal responsibility for the project. The number of projects in the space in- required a leader who had the author- chief designer retained responsibility dustry since 2000 has led to the hir- ity that these scientists did not have for technology development, but now ing of chief commanders and chief to mobilize the country’s resources. explicitly reported to the chief com- designers who lack managerial skills As a result, these programs were usu- mander. and have uneven levels of technical ally led by a party leader with little To provide oversight of this sys- experience. Because of their inexpe- technical knowledge, who often made tem, each defense conglomerate with- rience, the ability of the two chiefs political decisions that interfered in China’s space industry as well as to recognize risk and to make timely with the management of the research each academy, institute, and factory decisions regarding risk remains a organizations. underneath these companies estab- concern. To overcome these challeng- This system’s shortcomings were lished a science and technology com- es, the China Aerospace Science and mittee to oversee their respective role Technology Corporation introduced in a program or project. This system a training regimen for new project inmade 1962 evident ended in when failure. the In first the after flight- managers in which senior chief com- mathtest of of China’sthat launch, first the ballistic birthplace missile of the organizational structure for the manders and chief designers were China’s space industry, the Ministry continues today and is reflected in asked to provide lessons from their of National Defense Fifth Academy, Chang’e-1 lunar exploration program. experiences. This resulted in a series established a set of regulations that human spaceflight program and the- of courses covering 20 topic areas on formed a two line command system gram, also known as the 921 Program, lessons learned, best practices, and made up of an administrative com- is oneChina’s of China’s human largest spaceflight defense pro - the “do’s and don’ts” of project man- mander and a chief designer. This grams ever. The chief commander agement. provided the foundation for the cur- for the 921 program is the General rent program management system as Armament Department (GAD) com- described earlier. The use of this sys- mander, who is joined by the GAD THE EVOLUTION OF tem, however, was disrupted by the political commissar and deputy chief CHINA’S PROJECT Cultural Revolution. program commanders from major MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The system’s reestablishment in stakeholders within the military, gov- The program manager system de- 1984 is said to have improved the ernment, and industry to form the scribed above has been the result of management of projects by shorten- program’s headquarters (see Figure more than 50 years of reform that ing development times, saving money, 1). These include a deputy GAD com- has sought to give technically compe- and improving quality, but problems mander, the SASTIND director, the

3 Chang Wanquan 921 Program Commander GAD Commander

Wang Hongyao GAD Political Commissar

Niu Hongguan Chen Qiufa Yin Hejun Ma Xingrui Xu Dazhe Xiong Qunli Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Program Commander Program Commander Program Commander Program Commander Program Commander Program Commander RTERS HEADQUA Deputy GAD Commander SASTIND Director CAS Vice President CASC President CASIC President CETC President

Zhou Jianping Zhao Yuqi CMSEO Wang Zhonggui Zheng Min Chief Program Designer Deputy Chief Program Designer Deputy Chief Program Designer Deputy Chief Program Designer

tem tem tem m m m tem yste te ystem yste r Sys Sys Sys Sys e S y S tion ite S &C it ca mmander mmander ehicle Sys TT ator Commandergner Co gner Co gner V ommander ommander mmandergner ommander ommande Astronautict t e Capsulet C t Co abor C t Desi e Appli ct Desi ct Desi ct t Designer Launchct S C t Designer ct Desi Landingct S C t Designer e L ct t Designer ojec ojec ojec oje Spac ojec oje Launchoje oje ojec oje oje Spac Projec ojec oje ojec Spac Projec Chief Pr Chief Pr Chief Pr Chief Pr Chief Pr Chief Pr ChiefChief Pr ChiefChief Pr Pr ChiefChief Pr Pr ChiefChief Pr Pr ChiefChief Pr

FIGURE 1. China’s human spaceflight program management system

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) CMSEO is responsible for the man- Program Leading Small Group, Zhang vice president, and the presidents agement of the R&D and operation of Qingwei, who was the COSTIND di- of the China Aerospace Science and rector. This leading small group Technology Corporation (CASC), the from project initiation to manufac- also consisted of the vice president China Aerospace Science and Industry China’s human spaceflight program of CASC, the China National Space Corporation (CASIC), and the China It is responsible for the overall tech- Administration director, GAD deputy Electronics Technology Corporation nologyturing todevelopment launch, flight, effort, and landing.coordi- directors, and a CAS deputy director. (CETC). nating with other organizations, and These individuals as well as the The role of the GAD commander for international cooperation. In this chief and deputy chief commanders as the 921 program’s chief command- role it serves as the administrative of- work out of the Lunar Exploration er appears to be largely ceremonial. - The actual running of the daily affairs for planning, budgeting, and person- of the program is done by a deputy nelfice workof the as chief well program as the chief commander program forand Spacethe lunar Program exploration Office, which, program. sim chief commander from the military designer’s design bureau. The CMSEO Beneathilar to the the CMSEO, Lunar is Exploration the work office and who outranks the other deputy com- also oversees the work on eight sys- manders. The GAD commander, how- tems that are each led by a project- project commanders and chief proj- ever, has the authority to mobilize or- level chief commander and chief de- ectSpace designers Program for Officethe satellite, are the launch chief ganizational and material resources signer. vehicle, launch site, telemetry, track- for the program when necessary from A look at leadership organiza- ing, and control, and ground systems. across China’s military, industry, and tion for the much smaller Chang’e-1 It should be noted that the chief com- government, due to his bureaucratic lunar exploration program reveals mander for the satellite system was rank above even ministry leaders. also dual-hatted as the chief designer. Below the deputy chief program The Chang’e-1 program is headed by commanders are the chief program a chief different commander, configuration Luan (FigureEnjie, who 2). designer and three deputy chief pro- was also a deputy director for the CONCLUSION gram designers. These individu- Commission for Science, Technology, - als, along with the chief command- and Industry for National Defense agement as a key enabler of success- er and deputy chief commanders, (COSTIND), the predecessor to fulThis R&D study programs. identifies Program program manage man- work out of the China Manned Space SASTIND. Luan’s work was overseen ment structures, however, must be by the chair of the Lunar Exploration tailored to the needs of a particular

Engineering Office (CMSEO). The 4 LUNAR EXPLORATION AND SPACE PROGRAM CENTER

Zhang Qingwei Lunar Exploration Program Leading Small Group Chair COSTIND Director

Luan Enjie Ma Xingrui Sun Laiyan Zhang Jianqi LEP LSG Deputy Standing Committee Chair LEP LSG Deputy LEP LSG Deputy LEP LSG Deputy Chief Program Commander Vice President CASC CNSA Director GAD Deputy Director LEADING SMALL GROUP COSTIND Director

Hu Shiyang Jiang Mianheng Long Jiang Deputy Program Commander Deputy Program Commander Deputy Program Commander GAD Deputy Director CAS Deputy Director CAST

m T&C ehao yste ehicle T esigner ong L Sun Jiadong L ommander ommander ommander ommander Launch V Ground System Chen Bingzhong Satellitet C S t Designer t C t Designer t C t Designer t C t Designer rogram D ogram Designer ogram Designer Pr Pr rojec rojec ojec rojec rojec rojec ojec rojec

Chief P Chief PChief P Cheif PrChief P Chief PChief P Chief PrChief P

Deputy Chief Deputy Chief

FIGURE 2. China’s lunar exploration program management system project. This study examines program tralized, ad hoc affairs, and it is only for a project. Both systems appear to management systems for large-scale after technical failures or cost over- work. Nevertheless, the methods for space projects and concludes that runs that a more centralized and sys- organizing smaller R&D efforts, espe- these projects require clear lines of temized organizational structure is cially in the commercial sector, may authority with formal and systemat- established. differ substantially from the organi- ic delegation of responsibilities and But this study also concludes that zational structures discussed here. processes. As a result, bureaucracy project management structures can While keeping these limitations in does not necessarily inhibit innova- and should vary according to industry, mind, China has developed a method tion. Systems management can pro- organization, and country. The U.S. Air for organizing large-scale R&D proj- vide a stable environment in which Force and NASA used a system involv- ects that appears to be effective in the sometimes chaotic processes of ing a strong manager supported by a producing technologies according to deputy in which both were responsi- its own national situation. Although a seemingly obvious ble for administrative and technical technology creation can flourish. conclusion, the experience of the U.S. matters. China, on the other hand, de- Kevin POLLPETER is deputy director of Air Force, NASA, and the European cided to bifurcate the responsibilities IGCC’s Project on the Study of Innovation space program reveals that organiza- of its managers along administrative and Technology in China (SITC). tions new to running large-scale R&D and technical lines with a chief com- programs tend to make them decen- mander having overall responsibility