Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-110). / In the course of the last decade there has been a growing movement away from traditional product development and manufacturing associated with mass production to entirely new processes required to support Mass Customization. Mass customization is both a product development and manufacturing process that is being mandated by increasingly heterogeneous customer needs. It requires very flexible designs, and manufacturing and delivery processes that reduce the economic order quantities to a single customer order. It also requires a means to identify the elements of the product that should be customization capable. This thesis seeks to define Mass Customization, its relationship to the automotive industry, and its increasing importance in turbulent markets. It also considers two key enablers required to effectively implement Mass Customization: product modularity and customer preference measurement through the use of innovative Internet applications and tools. A significant focus of this thesis is to investigate the use of Mass Customization methodologies and of Internet based preference measurement methods for product design (e.g. conjoint analysis) to facilitate the timely incorporation of customer preference information further upstream in the PD process. An Internet based Conjoint Study, Kano Models and Trade-off Analysis was designed to determine customer preference for customizing certain attributes and their willingness to trade-off customization against delivery speed. Data illustrating the possible customer responses shows how the conjoint analysis results can be analyzed to aid product development teams in making the necessary design tradeoffs by understanding the customer preferences and associated homo/heterogeneity of the population. In addition a framework for understanding manufacturing complexity was developed. It proposes a way to understand the providing the attribute. A Value/Cost map was created to assist teams in making necessary tradeoffs regarding where to customize and where to standardize from a development and operational perspective. Also, an original approach for identifying the complexity related to product and process design was developed and proposed. Through this framework, development teams can more readily assess the true effect of product options on product combinations and discrete decisions related to complexity. Finally, a Customer vs. Product map was developed to help teams understand and implement the various methods of Mass Customization proposed by both Pine and Andersen. This thesis focuses how to implement Mass Customization by simultaneously incorporating engineering, marketing and management views. Designing for customization using modular product design and managing product development with complete customer preference data, points the way to successful Mass Customization, satisfied customers and profitable operations. / by Michael W. Paskus. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-49). / Thesis statement: The purpose of this thesis is threefold: * Define the role and need of systems engineers/integrators within a large organization. * Analyze the system engineering procedures and availability of systems engineers/integrators to fill the need within multiple business units of a large multinational corporation and recommend best practices for development of system engineers/integrators. This thesis will investigate a product oriented company which operates in various market segments. This company, a manufacturer with a history of producing reliable and scalable products, places heavy emphasis on systems engineering. This, in turn, creates the need for highly experienced and efficient system engineers/integrators. / Thesis statement: The purpose of this thesis is threefold: * Define the role and need of systems engineers/integrators within a large organization. * Analyze the system engineering procedures and availability of systems engineers/integrators to fill the need within multiple business units of a large multinational corporation and recommend best practices for development of system engineers/integrators. This thesis will investigate a product oriented company which operates in various market segments. This company, a manufacturer with a history of producing reliable and scalable products, places heavy emphasis on systems engineering. This, in turn, creates the need for highly experienced and efficient system engineers/integrators. / by Rajeev Dubey. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-144). / The RFID industry is going through a sea of change and at different levels within the industry. Forecasts have been done on different facets of the RFID/EPC industry like the market size or the possible financial returns. However, the forecasts to date are not based on a collective view on the evolving, dynamic and inter-relating nature of such technology covering Retailers, Suppliers and Industry experts on the same landscape. The EPC Peloton Forecasting and Strategic Planning Tool was developed out of a need to collaborate and form consensus around the events and milestones that are critical for the widespread adoption of EPC for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods ("FMCG") industry. Though developed around its need in the RFID space, this tool can be used for decision making around any emerging technology. We are at a critical juncture in the history of RFID where there is excitement among stakeholders and the technology's promise needs to be harnessed by providing the stakeholders with a clear idea of (a) where the technology's future lies and (b) how consensus on how to achieve such a future can be facilitated. / (cont.) The Peloton Approach deals with how to identify or develop a technology forecasting methodology that could capture inputs from all dimensions of the industry and lay down a range of possible future paths. To address the latter issue of collaboration, the Peloton aids in identifying the various stakeholders and their stages of adoption and provide a platform for people at a similar level of adoption to collaborate or enable those seeking information to be able to get into the bandwagon and adopt relevant strategies. / by Vineet Thuvara. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-105). / by Sean M. Newell. / S.M.

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.