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Technology Assessment vs. System Assessment Over the years, when things have dropped through the crack, processes have been invented to correct the problem - hence we have developed processes to identify:
Technology Maturity Manufacturing Maturity Capability Maturity System Maturity Etc.
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Technology Assessment vs. System Assessment All of these processes are in reality part of the systems engineering process, but because of what they deal with e.g. technology, manufacturing, etc., the processes are owned by organizations other than systems engineering. The result is a fragmented assessment process which in the end fails to achieve the desired goal of ensuring successful programs and projects.
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Technology Assessment vs. System Assessment Everything that I am going to talk to you tonight falls under the purview of systems engineering! My focus will be on incorporating technology assessment into the system assessment process and then discussing other systems assessment process. Although I do not specifically address it, the same is true for Manufacturing Readiness Assessments.
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Measuring the readiness of a system for production is essentially performing an assessment of the overall system with respect to identifying the risks remaining in the process of bringing it into operation.
The assessment should be performed not only with respect to the system itself, but also with respect to the interaction of the system with other systems within the overall System of Systems in which it is to operate!
A system assessment must have technology assessment as a component if it is to be successful in identifying the risks associated with bringing the system to fruition.
* Or DOD or NASA
In general, technology development lies within the context of part a of the definition.
However, the engineering community often makes use of the term technology within the context of part b. In this context, technology may be old (passe), off-the-shelf (commercially available), or new. It is further complicated when old technology, i.e. heritage elements are used in completely new ways a situation that encompasses both parts a & b.
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Using heritage or legacy systems, sub-systems or components (whether hardware or software) merits a more detailed discussion. When heritage or legacy elements are used, it is often thought that because they are mature i.e. they have been in operation then we can just plug them in. As a result, the systems engineering associated with that element is short circuited and the result is frequently disastrous.
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The reason that use of heritage or legacy system is so often fraught with danger is that it is being asked to operate in an architecture or an environment that in all probability is different from that for which it was designed.
And because we have not done the upfront analysis, we dont know we are in trouble until we are already there! This has prompted a different definition of technology based on the experience of the developers.
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Comparing the engineering development process to the technology development process one can see that it is extremely important to know in what type of development one is engaged.
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Technology development is distinguished from engineering development in that it requires venturing into the realm of unknowns - beyond the ability of individuals to make informed judgments based on their experience.
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Within the context of the expanded definition of technology we see that when using heritage or legacy systems we can easily find ourselves in a technology development effort whether we want to be or not!
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Stakeholder Expectation: Requirements Definition: Design Solution: Risk Management: Technical Assessment: Trade Studies: Verification/Validation: Lessons Learned:
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Consequently, for our first System Assessment, lets perform a technology assessment but from a total system perspective that includes its interaction with other systems in the system of systems in which it is to operate.
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A Technology Readiness Level (TRL), describes the maturity of a given technology relative to its development cycle. At its most basic, it is defined at a given point in time by what has been done and under what conditions.
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But while a system/technology assessment may determine the current maturity of a system it does nothing to inform the program of what is required to successfully complete the development process.
Questions in nine ilities areas Design Maturity and Stability Scalability & Complexity Integrability Testability Software Reliability Maintainability Human factors People, organization, & skills
Questions based on commonly occurring problems are contained in a guidebook and an Excel tool - a web based tool is under development.
Risk Management
Consequence
Tool
Integrability Testability Reliability Maintainability Human Factors Scalability & Complexity People, Organization, Skills Design Maturity & Stability
Tool
PoPS*
Least Pressing
Most Pressing
System Assessment
N.B. Integration Readiness Levels (IRLs) & Design Readiness Levels (DRLs) were initially used but later rejected.
An SRL assessment therefore produces a signature rather than an absolute single point SRL figure.
The signature records the variation of maturity that has been achieved across the systems disciplines, acknowledging that not all projects mature against the systems disciplines at a consistent rate.
The color of the boxes in the Systems Maturity Matrix is determined by analysis of the SRL signature obtained against the expectations for SRL maturity at the time of review
There are 18 System Engineering Checklists covering all program phases intended to supplement the Services individual processes/methodologies.
e.g. The TRA checklist for consists of 69 questions in 8 areas: Timing/Entry Level, Planning, Program Schedule, Program Risk Assessment, Critical Technologies Identification, TRA Panel, TRA Preparation and Event and Completion/Exit Criteria. Each question is to be assessed with respect to risk categories of Red, Yellow, Green, Unassigned or Not Applicable.
Additional Areas that have been addressed with varying degrees of success
Design Readiness Level (DRL) Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) Integration Readiness Level (IRL) Software Readiness Level (SRL) Operational Readiness Level (ORL) Human Readiness Levels (HRL) Capability Readiness Level (CRL) Organizational Readiness Level(ORL) Programmatic Readiness Level(PRL
Summary
Technology Assessment is a vital part of any overall system maturity assessment. There are many approaches to overall system assessment. Any successful approach for system maturity assessment must balance the need for data against the resources required to obtain that data.
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Bibliography
Sadin, Stanley T.; Povinelli, Frederick P.; Rosen, Robert, NASA technology push towards future space mission systems, Space and Humanity Conference Bangalore, India, Selected Proceedings of the 39th International Astronautical Federation Congress, Acta Astronautica, pp 73-77, V 20, 1989 Mankins, John C. Technology Readiness Levels a White Paper, April 6, 1995. Nolte, William, Technology Readiness Level Calculator, Technology Readiness and Development Seminar, Space System Engineering and Acquisition Excellence Forum, The Aerospace Corporation, April 28, 2005. Mankins, John C. , Research & Development Degree of Difficulty (RD3) A White Paper, March 10, 1998.
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Bibliography
Ramirez-Marquez, J.E. Sauser, B.J. System Development Planning via System Maturity Optimization, Accepted for future publication in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, IEEExplore. Bilbro, James W. Systematic Assessment of the Program/Project Impacts of Technological Advancement and Insertion Revision A, http://www.jbconsultinginternational.com
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Bibliography
TOOLS
RI3 Tool and Guidebook are available at: http://www.afit.edu/cse/page.cfm?page=164&sub=95 AD2 Tool along with integrated TRL tool available at: http://www.jbconsultinginternational.com TRL Calculator is available at Website at: https://acc.dau.mil/communitybrowser.aspx?id=25811 UK MOD Tool is available at: http://www.aof.mod.uk/aofcontent/tactical/techman/index.htm Stevens SRL Tool is under development at: http://www.systemreadinesslevel.com/ Manufacturing Readiness Level Tool is available at: https://acc.dau.mil/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=18231 DOD Engineering Checklists are available at: https://acc.dau.mil/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=144143 &lang=en-US
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