Assessing the Influence of System Engineering Processes on Project Success

1. Assessing the Influence of System Engineering Processes on Project Success Presented by Paul J. Componation Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering

2. Outline Project Background Assessment of Historical Projects Project Success Criteria System Engineering Processes Relationships Common and Uncommon Elements Next Steps

3. Project Background An effort has been initiated to address personnel training specific to SE&I, and develop effective ways to tailor standard SE&I processes. This activity will consist of an assessment of historical and current MSFC projects to determine the correlation between SE&I process and organizational implementation with programmatic and technical success. An SE&I Skill Board will be established to provide guidance. Results will be documented on a web-based Systems Engineering Guide currently under development at MSFC. Results will also be used to develop tailoring approaches to standard SE&I processes, and lessons learned.

4. Assessment of Historical Projects International Space Welding Experiment (ISWE) Chandra Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) X37 Express Rack Gravity Probe B (GP-B) ECLSS External Tank SME Advanced Health Monitoring System AXAF Saturn Booster IML

5. Project Success Criteria Score ranges from 1 (low) to 5 (high) Technical success relative to initial requirements Technical success relative to similar projects On schedule relative to original project plan On schedule relative to similar projects On budget relative to original project plan On budget relative to similar projects Satisfaction with project management process Overall project success

7. System Engineering ProcessesNPR 7123.1

8. Assessment of System Engineering Processes • None (0): • No direct reference to the SE processes. • Low (1): • Reference to the SE process is evident in the documentation. • Medium (2): • Reference to the SE process is evident in the documentation and tailored to the specific project. • High (3): • Reference to the SE process is evident in the documentation, tailored to the specific project, and cross referenced with other documents.

12. Presence of the SE Process supports Project Success (Motivators)

13. Absence of the SE Process hinders Project Success (Hygiene Factors)

14. Product Implementation Product Integration Product Verification Technical Risk Management Configuration Management High Technical Risk Yes No High Schedule Risk Technical Requirements Definition Technical Planning Yes No High Budget Risk Stakeholder Expectation Definition Technical Requirements Definition Technical Planning Technical Assessment Yes Support for Future Projects Program/Project Characteristics

15. Common Elements Across Successful Projects Team members assigned 100% on the project Integration responsibility was either with contractor or shared jointly Teams met at least weekly, several daily Agendas and action item lists were used Teams consisted of good skill mix Unified commitment was shared among team members Project celebrated successes

16. Elements that were not Common Across Successful Projects Co-location of team members Common vision and common values not consistent Scope creep or number of changes were not consistent Reward structure not consistent Project size not consistent Leadership style not consistent Working approach not consistent

17. Next Steps Compare and contrast with related DoD studies Socialization of data Online tailoring of system engineering data. But, it takes more than two data points to make a line.