About this episode
As PMI celebrates its 50th anniversary, we look back at some of the most influential projects of the past 50 years. Guests discuss how these projects led to new ways of thinking, new technologies and how they changed the world. Ahmed Bouzid, the former head of product on Amazon’s Alexa team, shares what inspired the project. Plus, he talks about how focusing on a minimum viable product helped the team gain feedback from customers—and ultimately deliver a mega-successful product. Antti Heinonen, former director of banknotes at the European Central Bank, discusses how the team made the largest currency changeover of all time happen—without a glitch. Aristides Patrinos, former director of biological and environmental research at the U.S. Department of Energy, talks about the inspiration for the Human Genome Project and what it could mean for medicine in the future. Ilya Marotta, the Panama Canal’s chief operating officer, shares why the project to expand the canal was so important to the country, and how clear structure and strong leadership helped keep team members on track. Key themes [00:23] Most influential projects of the past 50 years [03:12] Q&A with Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa [05:41] Focusing on minimum viable product and customer feedback [07:46] Hopes for Alexa—and her role in human interaction [09:39] How the euro was launched [11:23] Taking exceptional measures to prepare billions of coins and banknotes [14:29] The euro’s role in cultural change [16:03] Inspiration for the Human Genome Project [17:47] A new approach and specific roles for scientific researchers [19:59] A completed genome sequence: what followed and what’s to come [21:26] The importance of the Panama Canal expansion to the country’s economy [22:42] Building a project team that could deliver on time