QSO 645: Project Mgmt for PMP Certification
Southern New Hampshire University
May 3, 2026
, NFL Next Gen Stats Platform
Project Details
The National Football League's Next Gen Stats platform stands as one of the most technically
ambitious data-infrastructure projects in professional sports history. Launched in partnership with
Amazon Web Services and Zebra Technologies, the initiative transformed how player
performance data is captured, processed, and distributed across the league. At the heart of the
system are radio-frequency identification chips embedded in player shoulder pads and footballs,
enabling real-time tracking of speed, acceleration, route patterns, and spatial positioning across all
30 NFL stadiums (Boudway, 2015). The data generated by each game is processed through AWS
cloud infrastructure and made available to coaches, broadcast partners, fantasy platforms, and fans
with sub-100 millisecond latency. It’s estimated to track over three trillion data points per season
(Amazon Web Services, 2020).
The project's methods and practices aligned with a hybrid development approach. A hybrid
approach can be defined as combining "elements from a predictive approach" with those "from an
adaptive approach," making it very useful when deliverables can be modularized or developed by
different teams (PMI, 2021). The NGS initiative reflected this structure very well. Stadium
hardware installation and sensor calibration followed a predictive, phase-gated model with fixed
technical specifications and compliance standards, while the software development layer,
including analytics dashboards, API feeds, and broadcast overlays, was developed iteratively
based on stakeholder feedback from franchise coaches and broadcast partners (Amazon Web
Services, 2020).
The project followed a phased life cycle that the PMI would describe as inclusive of feasibility,
design, build, test, deploy, and close phases (PMI, 2021). The NGS rollout began with a pilot in
Southern New Hampshire University
May 3, 2026
, NFL Next Gen Stats Platform
Project Details
The National Football League's Next Gen Stats platform stands as one of the most technically
ambitious data-infrastructure projects in professional sports history. Launched in partnership with
Amazon Web Services and Zebra Technologies, the initiative transformed how player
performance data is captured, processed, and distributed across the league. At the heart of the
system are radio-frequency identification chips embedded in player shoulder pads and footballs,
enabling real-time tracking of speed, acceleration, route patterns, and spatial positioning across all
30 NFL stadiums (Boudway, 2015). The data generated by each game is processed through AWS
cloud infrastructure and made available to coaches, broadcast partners, fantasy platforms, and fans
with sub-100 millisecond latency. It’s estimated to track over three trillion data points per season
(Amazon Web Services, 2020).
The project's methods and practices aligned with a hybrid development approach. A hybrid
approach can be defined as combining "elements from a predictive approach" with those "from an
adaptive approach," making it very useful when deliverables can be modularized or developed by
different teams (PMI, 2021). The NGS initiative reflected this structure very well. Stadium
hardware installation and sensor calibration followed a predictive, phase-gated model with fixed
technical specifications and compliance standards, while the software development layer,
including analytics dashboards, API feeds, and broadcast overlays, was developed iteratively
based on stakeholder feedback from franchise coaches and broadcast partners (Amazon Web
Services, 2020).
The project followed a phased life cycle that the PMI would describe as inclusive of feasibility,
design, build, test, deploy, and close phases (PMI, 2021). The NGS rollout began with a pilot in
