Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-69). / An overview of the operation of a modem, high bypass ratio, dual spool turbofan engine is presented to identify the multitude of system level interactions that must be considered when developing such an engine. The Design Structure Matrix (DSM) is used to demonstrate how it maps these relationships and, if utilized in the right manner, can reduce the occurrence of escapes (i.e., a deliverable that does not meet customers' expectations). The context of this thesis is the complex system design, and development process, of a commercial aircraft gas turbine engine (specifically the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine family). Unlike previous gas turbine engine DSM work, the matrix created in this thesis is generated from the point of view of the Systems Engineering organizations at Pratt & Whitney. The sequenced matrix captures the non-local knowledge that is currently absent from Pratt & Whitney's existing knowledge management documentation. Testing the DSM against past instances of rework and unexpected design issues substantiates its validity as the basis for performing this function. Finally, examples are presented to demonstrate how the DSM can be used to prevent future escapes. / by Glenn D. Bartkowski. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-83). / Telecommunication technology has had a profound impact on our daily lives. It has enabled organizations to be more competitive by reducing the need for physical proximity and fostering collaboration. In recent years especially, data networks have been especially prominent, with the obvious example being the Internet. Work that was once conducted by phone and fax is now increasingly being done by VolP, e-mail and IM. For years telecommunication companies had focused in making available communication between person-to-person as well as multi-person and mobile communication, but none had focused on the content of the voice communication. This thesis presents a functioning product to address the needs of such users by applying a systems thinking approach to visualize and manage complexity through the whole process from the product idea generation to the business model. A detailed assessment of the users' needs and description of the product's user-centric design is provided. User experience design principles and legal constraints were considered throughout the development process. We propose to add value and differentiate the product by providing users with options to manage the content of their calls. At the most basic level, we give free audio-to-text transcripts with built-in features that could users save time and be more productive. nexiwave was built using principles promulgated in the System Design and Management Program classes. / by Cynthia Munoz Jugo [and] Benjamin Jiang. / S.M.in Engineering and Management

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-130). / In order to cope with the continuous increase of magnetically stored data and of mission critical dependence on this data, storage systems must similarly increase in their functionality offerings, and with that, their complexity. The efficient management of the heterogeneous and complex aggregation of these systems is becoming one of the major challenges to IT customers. At the same time, hardware is becoming commoditized, and the industry is looking towards software for additional revenue generation. This document examines proprietary as well as open-standards attempts at solving the interoperability problem. The first attempt was made by EMC when it developed WideSky, a middleware software layer that would be able to manage third party hardware. It is shown that the aim was to eventually transform this middleware into a de facto standard and with that establish platform leadership in the industry. The WideSky effort failed, and the analysis of this failure attributes it to a lack of industry support and inability at establishing a sustainable value chain. Meanwhile, the industry players rallied around the SNIA body and adopted the SMI specification (SMI-S) as a standard. SMI-S adoption is on the rise, but although it has the formal backing of most of the storage industry firms, it has not yet fulfilled its promise of enabling centralized management of heterogeneous systems. This is partially because of the fact that the functionality that it provides is still lagging behind the functionality that native APIs provide. Moreover, client adoption and the availability of client products that can be directly used by IT customers are still very limited. / (cont.) However, an examination of the dynamics surrounding this standard show how SMI-S will benefit greatly from learning effects and network externalities as it continues to grow, and although lagging in traditional functionality, it offers an ancillary functionality of interoperability that is missing from current non- standardized software interfaces. The adoption tipping point is highly dependant on whether or not the value chain can be established before vendors start dropping support for the specification. It is proposed that a positive tipping of the market will make SMI-S a disruptive technology that has the potential of becoming the dominant design for storage management interfaces. / by Jean-Claude Jacques Saghbini. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-131). / Managing the integration of technology is a complex task in any industry, but especially so in the highly competitive automotive industry. Automakers seek to develop plans to integrate technology into their products such that they deliver significant value to the customer. These plans and their implementation are critical to achieving success in the marketplace. This thesis proposes a framework for developing and implementing technology integration plans using the systematic application of specific "building blocks". The "building blocks" are developed through specific technology integration case studies at an automotive manufacturer, and further validated by studying other auto manufacturers. While the current technology integration process at the main automotive manufacturer studied is somewhat structured, the process seems inadequate, as significant issues with the strategy and implementation diminish its effectiveness. There are many building blocks that can help define and implement a strategy for technology integration, but which ones to focus on and how to apply them is not well defined. The proposed solution for developing a comprehensive technology integration process and applying it systematically, focuses on five key building blocks. Each of the building blocks is applied through a holistic lens, and is designed to enhance the technology integration process. The proposed methodology can be a complement to an existing process, or can be used to create a new technology integration process. The methodology combines known system engineering and change management frameworks and principles. Analyzing the current technology integration processes at a few automotive manufacturers and contrasting them with the proposed technology integration / (cont.) approach leads to several conclusions. The technology integration framework provides a valuable and comprehensive method to evaluate the current technology integration process. Each step in the technology integration framework serves to strengthen the technology integration process and is aimed at making it more consistent and successful. Furthermore, the framework as a whole, contributes to alignment within the organization, helping to ensure objectives at the staff level are matched to the corporate strategy. / by Eduardo F. Barretto. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 212). / The United States Air Force is having a difficult time retaining their technical officers, who are critical to the success of their research, development, and acquisitions of major military and defense systems. A statistical analysis is conducted on survey data collected, and the analysis seeks to explain the reasons why officers, mostly junior in rank, leave the Air Force after only a short time on active duty. This retention problem leads to fewer higher-ranking officers, since the military only hires from the bottom up. Results of the research show that about 47% of junior officers have intent to leave the Air Force after their initial commitment, which is 4 to 5 years. With nearly half of the Air Force's incoming officer leaving after their initial commitment, the problem is very serious. Job satisfaction and the closely related Air Force assignment system are shown to be the primary problems for junior officer retention. The thesis concludes with recommendations to Air Force leadership on where to focus their retention efforts. Special emphasis is given on how the Air Force may address tangible components of job satisfaction. Policy change recommendations that affect satisfaction levels with the assignment system are also given. / by Derek William Beck. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-112) and index. / In the nuclear, aerospace and chemical industries, the need for risk management is straightforward. When a system failure mode may cause a very high cost in lives or economic value, risk management becomes a necessity. In its short history, Information Technology (IT) came to be a crucial part and sometimes the platform of business activities for many large companies such as telecommunication or financial services organizations. However, due to scale and complexity, risk management methods used by other industries are not widely applied in IT.In this thesis, we investigate how probabilistic risk assessments methods used in other industries can be applied to IT network environments. A comparison is done using a number of possible approaches, improvements to these approaches are suggested, and different tradeoffs are discussed. The thesis examines ways to apply probabilistic risk assessment to a Service Oriented Architecture environment (where each service is an application or a business process that depends on other services, local and networked resources) to estimate the service reliability, availability, expected costs over time and the importance measures of elements and configurations. Finally, a method of performing cost benefit analysis is presented to estimate the implication of changing the services-supporting infrastructure, while taking into consideration the varying impact of different services to the business.A case study is used to demonstrate the methods suggested in the thesis. The case study compares four different configurations, showing how equipment failure and human error can be placed into a single framework and addressed as a single system. The implications and application of the results are discussed and recommendations for further research are provided. / by Gadi Oren. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-106). / The high-tech industry is showing increased interest in developing an enterprise wide approach to risk management. There are three reasons for this increased interest; first as the industry has matured, as evidenced by slower growth, increasing consolidation and global competition, managing "costs" has moved to center stage; second, technology product life cycles have progressively shrunk leading to increased technology strategy risk; and third larger events such as 9/11 and corporate scandals have created an awareness of new risks to be managed. In these changed circumstances, the old days of rapid growth and localized & reactive risk management techniques need to be replaced with a capacity to understand risks and manage them effectively across the entire enterprise. Although, risk management has been practiced in the high-tech industry for some time the approaches are based on silo techniques such as insurance, finance, strategy or operations. The challenge is that these varied approaches fall short of holistic risk management and further maintain risk silos that generate additional risks to the organization. To address these silos and develop an enterprise risk management approach we have devised a "generic" and "scalable" risk management framework that could be used by a firm irrespective of its current risk management maturity to achieve a higher level of risk management sophistication. Our approach is based on a three step process; identifying the risks in each of the organizational silos, analyzing their gaps and thereafter developing common risk language and measurement capability across the whole enterprise to close these gaps. To accomplish these three steps a firm can use a 3-T knowledge management assessment framework / (cont.) and a 4-R risk management process methodology. We have also devised a risk management maturity model that helps a firm assess its current risk management sophistication, determine the level of maturity the firm would like to target and so clarify the next steps to get there. We combine these frameworks and methodologies together to create what we call Integrative Corporate Risk Management (ICRM) architecture to help high-tech firms develop a state of the art enterprise risk management capability. / by Atul Sharma. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-68). / Since the invention of IBM 360, the first computing system about five decades ago, the processing and software capabilities have grown by leaps and have become major components of businesses. The software applications and capabilities for major business have become necessity rather than a "differentiating" factor to conduct their businesses. This thesis aims to analyze the product strategies in the enterprise software, specifically from the competitive point of view and their position in the market, new technology architectures and core competencies of an organization. / by Krishna S. Boppana. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-59). / The pharmaceutical industry needs new modes of innovation. The industry's innovation system - based on massive investments in R&D protected by intellectual property rights - has worked well for many years, providing incentives for pharmaceutical firms to invest in developing drugs across a wide variety of major medical needs. However, this traditional drug development process is subject to decreasing productivity and increasing costs. In addition, it encourages pharmaceutical firms to focus on "blockbuster" drugs, and to neglect meeting needs in small potential markets such as "orphan" diseases and diseases primarily found in third world countries. This thesis focuses on new modes of innovation, specifically the sharing of safety information prior to clinical trials. To inform this analysis, I first discuss the data that informs why the industry is in need of new modes of innovation. I then proceed to outline the potential promise of some new modes of pharmaceutical development that are emerging. I then explore a specific novel innovation mode in more detail: the sharing of non-competitive safety information prior to clinical trials, leading to significant reductions in both costs and chances of failure in drug discovery and development. I propose that this new innovation mode offers the potential of significant benefit to both drug developers and medical patients. / by Ragu Bharadwaj. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 88). / by Mark E. Cummins. / S.M.