Systems Engineering: The Affordability Secret Weapon.

摘要

While Dr. Carter's affordability initiatives highlight the role of program managers in creating program affordability, a closer review shows that a majority of program efficiencies can result from implementing program rigor through effective systems engineering, or if you prefer, systems thinking. How so. It's the system engineering process that does the following: Breaks down the requirements into understandable/actionable units for analysis, establishing system, subsystem, and component qualities and capabilities; Provides the analysis leading to design solutions via detailed designs and/or processes and procedures; Provides the analysis to make supportability decisions years before the end item is even tested; Identifies the technical roles and the potential solutions which become the basis for the Acquisition Strategy; Ensures alignment of requirements, specifications, and statement of work; Generates the decision-quality information to drive the effort to completion; and Ensures an integrated and interoperable system from beginning to end. The real challenge is not in simply identifying how a disciplined systems engineering approach ought to work, but in delivering affordable performance through consistent, persistent intellectual focus and action. Common to many of the 23 affordability initiatives is the implied use of disciplined processes to enable disciplined decision making at all levels, using appropriate data. To aid this leadership/management function, there are eight systems engineering technical management processes to help provide intellectual focus and tracking of actions: Decision analysis, Technical planning, Technical assessment, Requirements management, Risk management, Configuration management, Data management, and Interface management. Four foundational documents provide the articulation of how you will exercise the eight technical management processes to invoke consistent, persistent intellectual focus and action.