bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
APPLICATION OF SYSTEMS ENGINEERING INTO AN ONGOING OPERATION
Authors: Morais Bernard G. , Grygiel Michael
Published: November 2014

This paper presents an approach to introducing the Systems Engineering Paradigm into a culture that was previously oriented to production. The Westinghouse Hanford Company, the Operations and Management Contractor for the Hanford Site of the Department of Energy (DOE), was directed by the Department to change from a mission of supporting the nuclear weapons production program to one that would eliminate the threats to the environment and hazards to the public that have resulted from this production. Because of the requirement for continuing management of stored wastes, a strong Stakeholder involvement, and the objective to use the cleanup of the Hanford site as a model for the cleanup of other hazardous and toxic waste sites, the DOE strongly emphasized that systems engineering should be used to develop the cleanup program.

This paper will also make recommendations based upon the Hanford experience that may be applied to other instances where changing the organizational culture is necessary to support a change in the mission.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING IN A SOCIAL APPLICATION: DESIGNING AN EVOLVED SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
Authors: Ottenberg Mark A.
Published: November 2014

There are many alternative areas where the benefits of systems engineering can be applied. One of the premier emerging areas of structured design today is in the design or redesign of social systems. The redesign of the education system, as a social system, is a prime candidate for the application of systems engineering. New Generation Education (NGE) is a systems engineering project to simultaneously redesign and evolve education. The unique balances this project requires within the processes and procedures of systems engineering can do much to teach us how to tailor our profession to other emerging applications.
APPLYING OBJECT ORIENTED METHODOLOGY TO COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Authors: Lukaszewski Matthew S.
Published: November 2014

Object oriented methodologies have traditionally been applied to software analysis and design and have been successfully implemented in languages such as C++. This paper addresses the approach, benefits and lessons learned in the application of an object oriented methodology to a highly complex, commercial‐based product development. Utilization of the methodology was effective in providing an environment for capturing all system requirements and performing an orderly analysis. This effort has led to the concept of “Reusable Requirements”.
APPLIED SYSTEMS ENGINEERING: A VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES
Authors: Terry William S.
Published: November 2014

Systems Engineering (SE) continues to evolve as a critical part of major systems development. This evolution takes place on two fronts, the first is in the development of new processes, procedures, and tools in support of systems engineering, the second is the increased application of systems engineering in development projects. This paper will describe the application of systems engineering processes and tools to a major development program for the US Navy (USN). It will illustrate some of the pitfalls which were encountered in actual applications of systems engineering and point out some of the short‐term and long‐term benefits to both the development organization and the customer.
Revitalizing Product Development at the Edelbrock Corp.
Authors: Ring Jack
Published: November 2014

The author evolved a new system that revitalized product development at the Edelbrock Corporation. It integrates activities across a product life cycle, is responsive to external and internal “customers” and involves its participants in continuous improvement.

Relative to the previous norm, the new system produced over three times more new products per year at about 20% less gestation time on each – all at less than 6% of company revenue. Production and warranty costs dropped and customer satisfaction increased.

Whether the new system is concurrent engineering, integrated product development, or systems engineering; it works. Because it embodies and was evolved by systems principles, the experience should be transferable to other enterprises.

This paper describes the system and its evolution, summarizes its performance level after 18 months and reviews the underlying principles. Also, it indicates why a company cannot do concurrent engineering until it starts doing engineering.
Integration Strategies and Technologies for Computer‐Assisted System Engineering Environments
Authors: Epperson Roy E.
Published: November 2014

This paper examines the principles of integration and provides an overview of the state‐of‐the‐practice and state‐of‐the‐art strategies, techniques, and technologies that can be used to integrate system engineering tools to build a computer‐assisted system engineering environments (CASEE).
Applied Systems Engineering Management ‐The JORN Engineering Process Model.
Authors: Rochecouste G. Hervé
Published: November 2014

Use of the JORN Engineering Process Model (JEPM) improves work process effectiveness throughout the JORN (Jindalee Operational Radar Network) Project. A set of integrated courses introduce the JEPM to staff. Subsequent process examination provides more than simplistic (and short‐term) process improvement.

Education in the JEPM is aimed at quickly building an effective, productive engineering culture. The JEPM is utilised to understand processes and interrelationships. Effective processes can then be established, which implement project plans in a synergistic manner. Efficiency in work processes can then be raised, but only with an effective process.

The JEPM is composed of four layers, which hierarchically decompose all project engineering tasks into smaller “process descriptions”. These identify required work, and entry/exit criteria, for each process. The JEPM creates a large integrated workflow diagram which could be used to monitor process effectiveness and generate performance metrics.

This management tool enhances visibility of existing plans, and establishes context for plans & procedures. From a Systems Engineering viewpoint, this provides more effective direction, understanding of process interaction, and greater control over outcomes.
THE NEXT FRONTIER: A CASE STUDY OF THE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (IMS) OR EXECUTION OF IMS IN THE REAL WORLD
Authors: Lester Capt. Andrew W. , Palmer Thomas M.
Published: November 2014

The concepts of Mil‐Std‐499B and the Integrated Management System (IMS) have evolved over the last four years. IMS, in particular, was developed as a reflection of the U.S. Air Forces efforts in Total Quality Management (TQM) and Initiatives in Trust and Teamwork (ITT). Based on the IMS concept, beginning with the early states, contractors must have a detailed program and a plan which meets US Government requirements. In addition, it assists the Government in choosing contractor that best understands the requirements and risks, applies sound, but innovative management principles, and demonstrates a capability to manage and execute the program, via defined processes, which meet all defined system level requirements. This paper describes the similarities of Mil‐Std‐499B and IMS processes, and then discusses how one contractor implementing IMS for the first time, views this system. We have structured this paper to reflect on both the contractor's and Government's experience in developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) Package and a Proposal which meets the intent of the IMS. In the name of continuous improvement, the paper will also describe some lessons learned from the perspective of first‐time implementors of the IMS process.
APPLICATION OF DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS TO A SYSTEM ENGINEERING TASK A PERFORMANCE TRADEOFF CASE STUDY
Authors: Davis Ronald L. , Fisk David M.
Published: November 2014

There are a variety of methodologies available to the system engineer to assist him in the execution of the processes of the system development cycle. Emerging software tools are making these methodologies increasingly accessible to the system engineer. Design of Experiments (DOE) is a powerful statistical methodology described by (Schmidt 1992) that has recently become more accessible to the statistics layman because of software that handles the complicated statistical computations and allows the user to focus on the planning of the experiment and the interpretation of the experimental results.

DOE has been used extensively in the optimization of manufacturing processes, parts and system components. It also has potential for significantly enhancing the system concept development process in the Concept Exploration phase. We will describe how DOE methodology has been used in the execution of a conceptual design configuration trade study.
EVALUATING PROJECT RISK WITH LINGUISTIC VARIABLES
Authors: Jones James H.
Published: November 2014

A simple, reliable method for assessing the project technical risks, schedule risks, and cost risks, usable by virtually anyone with moderate arithmetic skill, is set forth. It provides an aggregate risk figure of merit range for system risk by the tailoring project work breakdown structure hierarchy and incorporating relative importance weighting in the risk model. It extends the linguistic variable quantification based on one fuzzy logic hedge operator with a utility graph. It takes an individual's or corporate psychological attitude toward risk aspects into account. It can assess uncertainty as well as event likelihood and severity. Uncertainty is retained, to provide a qualitative expression for the overall risk range as well as the expected value.
IMPROVING REQUIREMENTS PROCESSING, A CASE STUDY
Authors: Kefer Marvin
Published: November 2014

This paper is a case study of AIL's effort to improve its Systems Engineering (SE) Requirement Process. Improving the engineering process is a common company goal. Determining which subprocesses to improve first, and getting program and departmental engineering support can make the difference between acceptance and nonacceptance of change. An approach to achieving these goals is described, step by step, in this paper.
THE PLACEMENT OF AN AIR FORCE ENGINEER AT THE CONTRACTOR'S FACILITY
Authors: Vajdos Michael D.
Published: November 2014

This paper presents an example of the concept of placing an Air Force engineer at contractor's facility on a relatively small Air Force program. The reasons to implement the concept are given. The author points out the positive and negative aspects, and makes recommendations for future programs. The practice of placing an Air Force engineer at the contractor's facility was tried on a small program in 1990, when the Air Force signed a contract with CTA INCORPORATED of Englewood, Colorado and mandated that the contractor fast‐track the program. To allay problems that surfaced, to assure close compliance with the contract requirements and receive real time feedback, the Air Force obtained permission from the contractor to have an Air Force software engineer on‐site. This paper addresses the program benefits and negatives of this practice.
Requirements Management Using SLATE
Authors: Nallon John , Goodwin Steven
Published: November 2014

After 10 years of automating the electrical design process at Texas Instruments, we could design and build a printed wiring board in 30 days, a 6x cycle time improvement. However, each design was still being built 5.75 times. Further analysis disclosed that the problem was the lack of requirements analysis and poorly written (or not written) specifications.

Recent systems engineering surveys found that the management and documentation of requirements comprises over 75% of the tasks performed by systems engineering. These findings led to the development of a System Level Automation Tool for Engineers (SLATE) to improve the productivity of systems engineers. SLATE is a multi‐user, multi‐dimensional, concurrent engineering design tool for managing system design from product definition through design, development, manufacturing, deployment, maintenance, and the disposal of a product. This paper focuses on the approach taken to implement Requirements Management in SLATE.
SysEn: An Integrated Approach to Specification, Modeling, Rapid Prototyping, Simulation and Documentation
Authors: Adhikari Sam B.
Published: November 2014

SysEn provides an integrated approach to specification, modeling, multimedia based presentation, rapid prototyping, simulation and documentation. It provides complete traceability across the entire development lifecycle. Specification, code, object code, test documentation and user documentation are tightly linked through fine grained object oriented repositories. It provides systems engineers a rapid method of building and testing specifications through actual system development and/or simulation. SysEn accepts descriptive requirements as input and helps users to develop task oriented detailed specification which is transformed to code, executables as well as documentation to support the use of executables. A reusable component library feeds detailed specification and source code generation process. System changes and modifications are done by changing requirements and regenerating code, executables and user documentation. Requirements document and user guide are generated in compliance with various ISO, IEC, IEEE, JIS and DoD standards.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING APPROACH TO INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (ISD), MANPOWER, AND PERSONNEL DECISION MAKING
Authors: Flowers Shirlee J. , Gaffney John E. , Kaufman Petrus J.
Published: November 2014

The purpose of this paper is to describe a methodology which uses common elements of DoD systems engineering and ISD in a manner that supports low‐risk, concurrent engineering of training systems.

Standard systems engineering techniques can be adapted for early identification of “people” requirements. Near‐concurrent development of the primary system and its training system is possible if traditional concept phase analyses are broadened and reprioritized. Systems engineering analyses can provide “people” data at the system concept level, while ISD is dependent on detailed data that usually is not available in the early phases of system development. Therefore, when ISD alone is applied during acquisition programs, it lags behind design with the result that training systems are late.

This paper addresses the role of systems engineering in defining requirements in terms of missions, jobs, and duties in concert with the system concept. Early front‐end analysis provides for the optimization of hardware, software and human interfaces. Requirements allocations can be performed early to define training system trade studies and life cycle cost issues.

The key to concurrent engineering of training systems and other support systems is introduction of manpower, personnel and training considerations into the concept development process at the right stage and in the right depth.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING LOOKS AT AB939, THE CALIFORNIA INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1989
Authors: Kayhanian Masoud , Martin Frederick
Published: November 2014

In 1988, Californians produced and disposed of 38 million tons of municipal solid waste(MSW). This equates to 2500 pounds per year per person, more than any other state in the union and more than twice that of most other industrial countries. Because ninety percent of this waste was landfilled and with most landfills closing in the mid 1990s, as well as threatening ground water with contamination, the State Legislature enacted AB939. The goal of this legislation is to “reduce, recycle and reuse to the maximum extent feasible” the municipal waste generated in the State; it requires that 50% of MSW be recycled by the year 2000 rather than to “transform” the waste to energy. We estimate that at least 50% of MSW consists of mixed organic material that is only usable as fuel for energy, consequently local governments may not be able to meet the mandate of AB939. In addition, AB939 improves the regulation of landfills and assigns local governments responsibility for integrated waste management. In a previous paper, one of the authors explored the concept of adopting MIL‐STD‐499B to resource and environmental management; AB939 fits very well into that concept. However, AB939 has serious limitations in defining an engineering process for implementing its functional requirements.

In this paper we examine the mission‐goals and top‐level requirements imposed upon local governments (LG) by AB939. Moreover, to minimize the amount of MSW for disposal, increase the longevity of landfills, and maximize the return to the nation's economy, SE analysis may show these functional requirements to have priorities different from those set forth in AB939. We shall outline the Systems Engineering (SE) methodology that LG might follow in developing a solid waste management system for implementing the goals of AB939. We shall illustrate the SE process by examining how anaerobic digestion of solid waste would integrate into a program for managing it and address the overall goals set forth in AB939.
AN ENABLING TOOL FOR THE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING RAPID ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Authors: Tubbs Allan D.
Published: November 2014

The Systems Engineering Rapid Assessment Process is defined here as a quick assessment effort involving only one or two systems engineers. It was analyzed in the AT&T Advanced Technical Systems (ATS) division for improvement opportunities. The methodology used for this study was that set forth in the Process Quality Management and Improvement (PQMI) guidelines. The process was determined to have four readily defined phases. It begins with the Formulation Phase, in which the systems engineer characterizes the problem. Next, an action plan is laid out in the Planning Phase. Then comes the Assessment Phase, in which the work mapped out in the action plan is actually performed. Finally, the last phase is the close‐out phase, which is essentially a documentation effort.

It was determined that the best apparent improvement opportunity for this process was to create a set of guidelines, formatted in the form of a single‐page checklist. The checklist was reviewed and tested for effectiveness. As expected, it was found to be an aid to the engineer in both increasing the quality of assessment output and in decreasing the time required for this output. It is also not burdensome to use, as it requires very little up‐front investment of time.
Emerging Applications Technical Committee
Authors: Mintz Richard B.
Published: November 2014

An introduction to the charter, history, and activities of the Emerging Applications Technical Committee (EATC) is given along with a status report on the EATC membership. Near terms activities including meetings during the 1994 Symposium in San Jose are discussed along with long range ideas for the EATC. A sample of a technical product from the EATC's Resources and Environmental Management Working Group is provided.
In Search of a Capability Assessment Model for Systems Engineering: A Reflection on the Past Year's Activities and a Look to the Future
Authors: Widmann E. R. , Andrews B. A. , Pyster A.
Published: November 2014

The Capability Assessment Working Group (CAWG) is one of four working groups that comprise the Measurement Technical Committee of the Technical Board of the National Council On Systems Engineering (NCOSE). This paper presents the efforts of the CAWG over the past year to: (1) define requirements for a model that measures systems engineering capability, (2) search for such a model(s), and (3) develop an Interim Model capable for assessing systems engineering capability with respect to a subset of the defined requirements. The paper presents the charter of the CAWG, a brief review of its activities over the past year, and future planned activities. Key issues decided by the CAWG, and some awaiting resolution, are addressed.
REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP – A FORWARD LOOK
Authors: Harwell R.M. , Kepchar Ken , Martin James N.
Published: November 2014

The Requirements Management Working Group has established a Mission Statement to enhance understanding of its Charter and its objectives for NCOSE. From this, we have identified needed position papers and established an organizational structure which supports this development effort.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TERMINOLOGY ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN THE NCOSE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROCESS AND SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE WORKING GROUPS
Authors: Olson Robert
Published: November 2014

Fundamental to the efficient and effective communication of complex ideas is a set of terms, the definitions for which are sufficiently detailed to provide the precision required by the ideas to be communicated. In order to efficiently and effectively accomplish the objectives of the NCOSE Systems Engineering Process and Systems Architecture Working Groups, a terminology subgroup has been established to provide definitions that meet the needs of both working groups. This paper provides some background on how we arrived at where we are today, and describes the current process for establishing required definitions within these two NCOSE working groups.
A Process Description for a New Paradigm in Systems Engineering
Authors: Wray Richard B.
Published: November 2014

System Engineering usually has a key technical responsibility on systems acquisition projects. The activities normally viewed as systems engineering include Mission Requirements Analysis, Functional Analysis, Requirements Allocation, Synthesis, Optimization and Specification. This is insufficient in practice. There is a lot of confusion over the relationship of systems engineering functions to the life cycle of system development effort. The National Council on Systems Engineering's (NCOSE) national Systems Engineering Process Description Working Group (SEPWG) has been chartered to prepare a description of systems engineering to clarify its roles. The SEPWG has determined that a new way of thinking about systems engineering is needed. This new paradigm includes understanding of two levels to systems engineering; considering all systems engineering customers; and learning and applying systems engineering to projects. This SEPWG Chair Report identifies some of the problems facing systems engineering, addresses the other development participants with whom Systems Engineers must work, and identifies the overall activities and processes in each aspect of systems engineering as used throughout the system life cycle. This report establishes a “sense of the SEPWG” baseline for efforts still underway for the NCOSE interest group members supporting the SEPWG.
WRITING GOOD REQUIREMENTS
Authors: Hooks Ivy
Published: November 2014

The primary reason that people write poor requirements is that they have had no training or experience in writing good requirements. This paper will address what makes a good requirement. It will cover some of the most common problems that are encountered in writing requirements and then describe how to avoid them. It also includes examples of problem requirements and how to correct them.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING FOR THE DOE SNF PROGRAM
Authors: Beebe Corey L.
Published: November 2014

Systems engineering has been formally implemented as a management strategy in the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program. DOE Headquarters, DOE Operations Offices, contractors at each site that have spent nuclear fuel, and other stakeholders are working together in applying systems engineering to develop Program functions, requirements, schedules, priorities, and solutions for managing spent nuclear fuel. The systems engineering process has successfully unified and integrated high level activities at each of the major sites. Examples of implementing the systems engineering process and the resulting paths forward are presented.
INTEGRATION OF THE IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES USING SYSTEM ENGINEERING
Authors: Murphy James A.
Published: November 2014

Integrating the Environmental Management activities across the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) has involved a number of technical experts evaluating the existing system and plans with the facilitation, methodology, and tools of the INEL Systems Engineering organization. The use of the systems engineering methodology in the design and facilitatation the INEL EM integration activities is discussed. Additionally, the lessons learned in applying systems engineering to well‐entrenched organizations with many years of operations is relayed as was found in the INEL experience. The INEL EM Engineered Baseline definition and the process that will be used to mature the baseline at the INEL is discussed.
INTRODUCTION OF SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND APPROPRIATE TOOLS TO A MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY PROJECT
Authors: Allan Jeff , Burdett Stuart , Neal Philip , Williams John
Published: November 2014

This paper describes the introduction of formal systems engineering including the introduction of a requirements management and modelling tool to a particular mass transit railway renewal project. The paper begins by explaining the nature of railway projects and the need, yet current scarcity, of application of formal systems engineering. It describes the specific project and the events leading up to the introduction of a systems engineering team into a project which would otherwise have not adopted formal systems engineering techniques. These are specifically the development of a code of practice and an initial feasibility study. It also describes the issues that have had to be resolved in this emerging application which include selection of a systems engineering tool, training, architecture and processes.
DESIGN ANALYSIS CYCLE APPLICATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DESIGN
Authors: Brown Gary L.
Published: November 2014

The International Space Station (ISS) has much in common with past major programs. However, it does exhibit one fundamental difference, the ultimate configuration is assembled on‐orbit in a series of stages. Each stage must be a viable spacecraft, capable of meeting stage mission requirements and capable of survival until the next assembly stage. The Design Analysis Cycle (DAC) is a process to integrate the ongoing program design/analyses tasks to ensure through analysis, that each stage of the current design of the ISS vehicle can perform the intended mission objectives. The intent of the DACs, is to integrate stage oriented, “horizontal” assessments in support of each program Incremental Design Review (IDR).
PRIVATIZING GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS A SYSTEMS APPROACH
Authors: Duffy Michael A. , Sailor William C. , Schmieman Eric A. , Baker Loyd
Published: November 2014

The Hanford Area is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in Southeastern Washington, where the primary mission for nearly fifty years was production of nuclear weapons materials. It is now the nation's largest superfund site and its sole mission is environmental remediation of the mixed wastes generated during plutonium production. A large fraction of these wastes are stored in 177 underground tanks and are the subject of the DOE's Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Program. Since its inception the TWRS Program has been managed by a Maintenance and Operations (M&O) contractor.

The DOE is now considering the privatization of a portion of this program and has recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking new, qualified, private vendors. Successful bidders will be expected to build waste processing facilities with their own financial resources and to recover their costs by charging fixed prices for the various products delivered to the DOE. Because the TWRS Program is such a large, complex, and expensive undertaking, the privatization initiative will be conducted in two phases: a small proof‐of‐concept phase, followed by full‐scale production. A primary objective of the proof‐of‐concept phase is to test this new contracting approach by determining the interest of private companies and demonstrating their technical capabilities.

The key to a successful demonstration is establishing the right set of requirements to be satisfied by the private vendors. These requirements must be consistent with the existing requirements set developed over the past three years by the M&O contractor. This paper presents the results of a systems engineering effort that was conducted in support of the RFP preparation and had to be coordinated with an ongoing program. Much of the effort was focused on the specification of new proof‐of‐concept requirements that are directly traceable to corresponding requirements in the M&O's RDD‐100® database. A new functions and requirements database was created for this first privatization phase using CORE®, a systems engineering support tool, produced by Vitech Corporation.
IMACCS: A DEMONSTRATION IN REENGINEERING GROUND DATA SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Bracken M.R. , Hoge S.L. , Pendley R.D. , Rashkin R. , Sary C. , Werking R.D.
Published: November 2014

This paper describes a successfully functioning, commercial, off‐the‐shelf (COTS)‐based ground support system called the Integrated Monitoring, Analysis, and Control COTS System (IMACCS). IMACCS was implemented as a prototype by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate (MO&DSD) to operate NASA's Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX). IMACCS was conceived specifically to build on previous experience in testbed evaluation of COTS products. The purpose of the IMACCS project was to integrate a typical set of such tools, connect them to live tracking and telemetry data from a real, on‐orbit satellite, and perform shadow mission operations. The objective of the IMACCS project was to assess the completeness, robustness, and performance of a COTS‐based ground system. As a constraint, IMACCS was to be implemented within 90 days of project approval. This paper discusses the challenges that led to the IMACCS project; the processes used for implementing IMACCS; how these processes fit within MO&DSD's reengineered ground systems development processes; and the results obtained by comparing IMACCS' requirements, operations, costs, and implementation process against the currently operating ground system.
SYSTEM ENGINEERING APPLICATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS PART 1: IDENTIFYING THE MISSION
Authors: Nagle Thomas J.
Published: November 2014

This is the first in a series of papers documenting the author's vision for implementation of system engineering principles in the conduct of a municipal government. The author has worked in a strict system engineering environment for over 15 years. This experience has been on a variety of government programs in the aerospace field ranging from missile systems to ground based weapons and communications systems to spacecraft. He has worked with many tools and in support of many different agencies. He has been involved in the application of these principles to commercial ventures. In late 1994, he became city councilmember for a small municipality in Southern California and set out to identify what the mission is for the city government and how system engineering principles could ultimately be utilized to achieve this mission. This is a look at early observation, actions and results.
Leveraging Limited Research and Development (R&D) Resources in the Public Sector
Authors: Senglaub Michael
Published: November 2014

Mission‐directed public‐sector research facilities are experiencing increasingly severe budget environments while seeing expanding missions and responsibilities. In an effort to identify research leveraging methodologies an information search was conducted in conjunction with some efforts to find the proper links to systems engineering fundamentals. The result is an initial model for use in a pre‐concept/phase‐1 engineering design organization, with a goal of improving the organizations performance.
Specification for “Century Compliance”
Authors: Louton Robert
Published: November 2014

Analysis of the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem is a systems‐engineering job. This analysis considers the business and technical elements of the problem and produces a specification of acceptance criteria which software must meet to be deemed century‐compliant. This paper identifies and discusses four criteria that form the basis of any specification for century compliance. A specification for century compliance may be used both as a standard in Year 2000 program efforts and where applicable in a company's day‐to‐day business.
THE APPLICATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT TO THE NEO THREAT
Authors: Friedman George
Published: November 2014

In the spring of 1995, the author, as Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of Southern California, developed a new graduate level course in risk management applied to problems in systems engineering and program management. The class project for this course was the near‐earth‐object (NEO) threat. Risk management has been one of the most recent arrivals to be recognized within systems engineering, but it is usually ad hoc and qualitative. The core of this new course established risk management on the foundation of probabilistic decision theory. For the class project, the students were asked to develop decision networks, probability assessments, and alternative criteria relating to the conduct of a planetary defense program. A good consensus was obtained: all investments for acceleration of NEO detection and characterization as well as preliminary design of mitigation systems were shown to be very cost effective, key risk reduction tests on mitigation technologies were recommended within limits, and the full deployment of actual mitigation systems should be paced by the results of the NEO detection program.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING ON THE INTERNET HIGHWAY – ROADKILL OR ROAD RUNNER?
Authors: Lee Llewellyn A. , Parker Barnes R.
Published: November 2014

This paper examines the Internet for its worth from the viewpoint of a practicing systems engineer. Are there resources strewn across the Internet for systems engineers to discover? Have the paths to systems engineering gems on the Internet been explored? If systems engineers are not using the Internet, what are they missing? Because the very nature of the Internet makes it an “unsecure” medium of communications, does that mean that information received over the Internet is possibly not authentic?

The systems engineer has special needs (not unique needs) and expectations of the Internet. This paper presents a list of the systems engineer's requirements for Internet usage and examines how the Internet satisfies most of the requirements.

The examples and Internet sites presented in this paper are not inclusive. The reader is encouraged to explore the Internet, develop strategies to find information and share the findings.
A SYSTEM CONCEPT FOR AN ADVANCED VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM
Authors: Mackey David E. , Mackey William F. , Mackey William F.
Published: November 2014

This paper explores a system concept for an Advanced Vehicle Control System (AVCS). The progression of highway design and construction has resulted from an evolution of technologies, inventions, organizational creations, and legislative acts supporting the development of a national interstate transportation system (Mackey, 1994). Until now, highway design and construction has been the domain of civil engineers concerned with highway structures, materials loading, traffic patterns, and supporting facilities. However, the growing need for intelligent vehicle‐highway systems (IVHS) requires that traditional civil engineering disciplines be integrated with computers, communications, and eventually fully automated vehicles. This paper's thesis suggests that the complex highway transportation of the late 20th century and the 21st century can benefit from the collaboration of systems engineers and civil engineers. This paper identifies and prototypes an AVCS concept with roadside computers controlling the lateral and longitudinal movements of a vehicle.
REENGINEERING PROCESS OF A CORPORATE FINANCIAL SYSTEM: A SYSTEMS ENGINEERING SOLUTION
Authors: Ghahramani Bahador
Published: November 2014

This paper analyzes, evaluates, and recommends Reengineering of a Corporate Financial System (CFS) that is currently in operation in a leading global communication company. The analysis highlights the problem areas in the CFS regulatory financial statements of the Fortune 500 Company. As a result of this Reengineering process, a new state‐of‐the‐art system will be proposed that will eliminate the existing bottlenecks.

The initial purpose of the CFS was to serve the regulatory requirements inherent in the communication services line of the business. Over time, however, the system has evolved to support multiple business units. Today, the CFS General Ledger process serves the financial community of the corporate Communications, Communications Products, Information Management Services and Corporate Headquarters business units and divisions. The purpose of the CFS General Ledger System is to receive, on‐line, detailed financial data from various feeder systems, perform validations and balancing, allocations, update the General Ledger data base, and provide financial data for downstream systems in order to satisfy legal, regulatory, accounting and management decision making requirements. These functions are supported by numerous systems referred to as the “CFS Family of Systems”. They include the Corporate Financial Input System (CFIS), CFS Daily, Individual Allocation Systems, Corporate Financial Inquiry and Reporting System (CFIRS), and the Financial Reporting System. The on‐line interaction among these systems is analyzed in this paper.
USE OF INTERNET RETRIEVAL AND ACCESS TOOLS IN SUPPORT OF THE GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
Authors: Nguyen Diem V. , Mackey William
Published: November 2014

Often in the past, standards and new technology information have been available only in hardcopy form, with reproduction and mailing costs proving rather significant. In light of current budget constraints and in the interest of efficient communications, the Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate (MO&DSD) New Technology and Data Standards Office recognizes the need for an online information server (OLIS). This server would allow

Dissemination of standards and new technology information throughout MO&DSD more quickly and economically

Online browsing and retrieval of documents that have been published for and by MO&DSD

Access to the Electronic Publishing System (EPS) of the International SpaceOps Symposium Organization (All NASA papers presented during the SpaceOps 96 Symposium will be retrievable through this EPS following the symposium.)

Setting up a semi‐permanent Internet Protocol (IP) multicast testbed to carry audio and video between two or more sites

This paper explores a variety of available information servers and searching tools, their current capabilities and limitations, and the application of these tools to MO&DSD. Most importantly, the discussion focuses on the way this concept is being applied toward improving dissemination of documentation and improving documentation review processes.
PROVIDING AND SUPPORTING SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TOOLS FOR A LARGE ORGANIZATION
Authors: Jones David A. , Zeek David
Published: November 2014

The Texas Instruments Systems Group has developed a comprehensive infrastructure containing some unique features for providing and supporting systems engineering (SE) tools. This group has about 700 systems engineers in four cities connected by data networks.

An SE design automation group acquires and provides standard software tools under a single budget.

Software is provided on PC's from servers and on UNIX workstations. An arrangement allowing access to either PC or UNIX programs from a single desktop machine is under way. Current standard tools are CAE Soft radar programs, Designer, Foresight, Framemaker, Maple V, Mathcad Plus, MATLAB, LabVIEW, PV‐WAVE, QFD Designer, SLATE, and SPW.

Software manuals are loaned through libraries or directly. About 600 volumes are in four libraries. Some unique problems arose and were overcome.

On‐site SE‐specific support is provided, and over a half dozen methods are used to communicate with SE's.

Current issues include interoperability and interfaces and standard tool methods.
A SYSTEM SYNTHESIS ENVIRONMENT FOR ENGINEERING OF COMPLEX NAVAL SYSTEMS
Authors: Salinas José , Harrison Steve
Published: November 2014

This paper presents research currently being conducted at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) on a system synthesis tool for the design and Engineering of Complex Naval Systems. The main purpose of this tool is to unify under a single information base all the domain specific engineering requirements necessary for the correct implementation of large engineering systems. In addition, the tool will provide the capacity for interfacing system design with current analysis and design programs. A hierarchical design implementation is adopted for the structure of the design based on either the physical or functional specification of the different architecture components. A demonstration of the tool which implements performance, RMA, and PM/FL information is discussed.
EXPLOITING THE TURNPIKE EFFECT IN ENGINEERING PROCESS SUPPORT
Authors: Jennings Larry E. , Tauber Stephen J.
Published: November 2014

The unavailability of a suitable commercial requirements management package led Sanders to develop such a tool in house. Use of the prototype Requirements Information Manager (RIM) on four active company projects identified desirable design modifications and additional capabilities which were required. These have been incorporated, making RIM a powerful, versatile tool. RIM is steadily being adopted within the Company's engineering community. Some culture shock occurs, but in general engineers are receptive to use of RIM. The ever increasing usage of RIM by engineers with urgent requirements‐related information needs has led to the pragmatic introduction of new features just in time for immediate use. Overall RIM's evolution (which still continues) demonstrates a beneficial application of the normally counterproductive turnpike effect. Availability of the tool has facilitated adherence to good engineering practice.
THE RASSP INTEGRATED SYSTEMS TOOL SET PROVIDES BETTER SYSTEM TRADE‐OFF STUDIES
Authors: Fry Charles
Published: November 2014

The goal of the ARPA/Tri‐Service‐sponsored Rapid Prototyping of Application Specific Signal Processors (RASSP) program is to reduce development and manufacturing time and cost of signal processors by a factor of four. Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) RASSP team has developed an integrated systems engineering tool set. This tool set integrates Ascent Logic's RDD‐100, PRICE Systems parametric cost estimation models, and Management Sciences RAM‐ILS tools. This tool set provides systems engineers with cost and reliability estimation data within a systems engineering tool. This tool set is described and an example of the tool usage provided. The example demonstrates the value of the tool integration. This tool set enables systems engineers to estimate the life‐cycle costs and reliability early in the design process.
INTEGRATED OFFICE SUITE SOFTWARE, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AD HOC TOOLS
Authors: Jernigan Stephen S.
Published: November 2014

ad hoc: formed or used for specific or immediate problems or needs; fashioned from whatever is immediately available. Quite often we are faced with the need for an ad hoc computer‐based tool to eliminate the drudgery of boring, tedious, repetitious tasks. It could be something as simple as writing a macro in your current software application, or as difficult as the need to merge several different software applications. Other reasons for such tools could be: limited budgets, impending deadlines, resistance to change, unique processes/procedures, or a constant and rapidly evolving environment.

Although there are advantages to procuring COTS software (eliminates development time, reduces internal maintenance, and assures technical support is readily available), there are times when it is necessary to develop an ad hoc tool. This paper describes an example of such a tool, developed from a very well integrated office suite software package.
TOP LEVEL REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ADVANCED SYSTEMS ENGINEERING INFORMATION REPOSITORY
Authors: Karangelen Nicholas E. , Hoang NgocDung T. , Howell Steven
Published: November 2014

The collection and management of data associated with the design and development of large complex systems is a critical activity supporting the systems engineering process. This paper describes the top level requirements for an advanced data repository supporting systems engineering activities in the development of large, complex, computer‐based systems. The repository requirements are addressed in three categories: repository functional requirements, non‐functional requirements (e.g., performance, dependability, scalability), and implementation standards.
ASSESSING INTEROPERABILITY USING A TOOL'S ARCHITECTURE
Authors: McCay Brian M.
Published: November 2014

This paper investigates the usefulness of examining the architecture of a tool to understand its ability to support interoperability. The purpose is to see if such assessments are useful and to suggest next steps. An information system architecture is defined, along with architecture technical performance criteria to help assess interoperability. The architectures of three well‐known commercial systems engineering tools (DOORS, RDD‐100, and SLATE) are then described. Each architecture is then subjectively scored against the interoperability performance criteria. The paper concludes that this approach is worth further investigation, and offers suggestions regarding refinements for such assessments.
ANALYZING PROCESSES WITH HANQ
Authors: Neimeier Hank , McGowan Clem
Published: November 2014

We view a process as a network of activity nodes that each take time and consume resources. Products and information flow between the nodes. Hands‐on Analytic Network Queuing (HANQ) is an approach and a computational tool to analyze the performance of such processes. Currently HANQ is a set of computational blocks implemented as a library for the Extend™ simulation language product. HANQ is based on a new computational paradigm (analytic risk evaluation and analytic queuing) that overcomes several of the limitations of discrete event simulation. Using HANQ one can compute the risk of an overall process's time, resource utilization, and costs (expressed as probability distributions) given the risks of the individual activities. Deterministic solutions simplify sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. HANQ supports activity based costing (ABC) and can handle time varying workloads and service rates. HANQ integrates performance, cost, and risk in a single model.
THE INTEGRATION OF COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF (COTS) MODELING AND SIMULATION TOOLS TO DESIGN AND OPTIMIZE WIDE AREA NETWORKS (WANs)
Authors: Plichta Eugene J.
Published: November 2014

Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) modeling and simulation tools are now available that are capable of automating many of the time‐consuming systems engineering processes employed to design and optimize Wide Area Networks (WANs). Because WANs continue to evolve and increase in complexity, automated modeling and simulation tools are now required to effectively perform design and optimization analyses. Through the use of modeling and simulation tools, systems engineers can generate WAN designs with lower costs, greater accuracy, and in a shorter amount of time than was previously possible. Ideally, one engineering tool would be utilized to solve all network design problems for all types of communications networks. Unfortunately, such a tool does not currently exist. Thus, the most pragmatic approach is for systems engineering organizations to select and integrate a multitude of COTS WAN modeling and simulation products that can interface and work harmoniously together.