Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-115). / Project based organizational structures are utilized in many industries. The firms engaged in these significant endeavors, project sponsor and contractor alike, risk both capital and reputation in the market-place with each new project. Delivering projects effectively provides all the firms involved with desirable financial outcomes and market advantage. This thesis sets out to identify and understand the mechanisms established by the contracting structure that in part determine the outcome of the project. It is suggested that the nature of the relationship between project sponsor and contractor shapes the outcome of the project to a significant extent. Complex and challenging projects are made more so by the adversarial relationships that frequently exist between the sponsor and contractor(s). This thesis unpacks the underlying mechanisms that determine that relationship and begins to establish a theory of the project organization that could lead to improved project execution performance. / by Nicholas A. McKenna. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 111). / by Leon M. Silva. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 56). / Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a helicopter manufacturing company, is in the process of implementing a new enterprise product data management (PDM) system. This PDM system is a commercial product that will affect Sikorsky in both the system design and management behaviors of the company's current business processes. As PDM systems do not simply unwrap themselves within a company, potential implementation issues will be examined and evaluated. Principles, processes, and tools for system design and management of large, complex systems learned in the SDM program will be used to assist in this effort. This thesis will examine the system architecture and engineering of key interfaces between the PDM system and other mission critical systems and processes at Sikorsky. / by Jeffrey P. Ezzo. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / "February 2000." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-91). / by Samir Patil. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2007. / "January 2007." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-103). / Economic and market forces as well as technological progress emerging throughout the last decade signifies the Geographically Distributed Development (GDD) or Global Software Development (GSD) as a software industry norm or necessity that is receiving considerable interest from companies all over the world. This thesis clarifies the terms used in distributed development practice, studies the status, key business drivers and major challenges of GDD or GSD, and then proposes a revised six-force framework to leverage the capabilities of geographically distributed development model. The proposed framework covers both the strategic and tactic aspects of investing and managing a global project team, including Strategic Vision and Management Skills, Organizational Structure and Team Building, Collaborative Technologies, Development Methodology and Software Life-Cycle Management in planning and managing distributed project and leveraging global teams. This thesis uses a case study to validate the challenges and concerns identified and to conclude that many problems in geographically distributed development can be overcome to enable companies to systematically harness the potential of this development model. / by Yuhong Yin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-212). / Military systems continue to become more complex and nearly all are now part of one or more system of systems (SoS). Military satellite communications programs have expanded over the last decade from three distinct satellite constellations with dedicated ground, ship, and airborne terminals to several existing and planned satellite constellations and dozens of multi-purpose terminal variants. Each of the new systems must operate with both legacy and new systems. This has given rise to many new external system interfaces that span the boundaries of large SoSs. Unsynchronized interface design and development has caused large amounts of scrap and rework in the design and development of the new military systems leading to adverse impacts including large cost growth and schedule delays. The Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing (MCSW) in Los Angeles, CA has begun to put a framework in place to manage SoS interfaces, but there are still big challenges ahead and room for improvement. This research collects data to quantify the performance of the present MCSW change management process. A value stream mapping and analysis effort along with a discrete even simulation model is conducted to identify areas for improvement in the as-is change management process and suggest an improved future-state change management process. The future-state change management process draws on best practices from the lean and SoS engineering literature to improve interface synchronization and significantly reduce process cycle time. This leaner and more effective future-state change management process could be applicable to many government acquisition program offices to save cost and schedule on programs by reducing the amount of rework due to engineering changes. / by Mark J. Davis. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis identifies the specific characteristics of information aggregators, and proposes nine business models appropriate for information aggregators. These nine models are: advertising, brokerage, subscription, licensing, infomediary (information intermediaries), referral/click-through, customized/personalized service, professional service/consulting, and application service provider. The thesis then looks into various companies who base their businesses on information aggregation and analyzes the development of their business models in the context of competition. The financial and social performances of these companies are studied and reasons are explored. In the end, the thesis summarizes findings from case studies, lists the widely used business models and the rarely used ones, and explores reasons for this phenomenon. The conclusion of this research is that information aggregation is a start point for a company to develop differentiated product or services. Companies can develop into an independent information aggregators; they can use information aggregation as a platform; they can partner with aggregatees or customers to provide customized information. Eventually, many will be integrated into end-to-end solutions, or penetrate into traditional businesses by leveraging information aggregation. The research can be used by companies who develop information aggregation products or services. It can also be used to evaluate the viability of information aggregation initiatives. / by Jiangxia Hu. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-94). / by Joseph Distefano. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-82). / Simulators are a staple of any engineering project and manned space flight in particular. From pilot and crew training to maintenance and emergency repairs, very little is done without it first being thoroughly practiced and refined during advance simulation. Whether the simulation uses a computerized flight simulator that recreates the physics and experience of flight, or a simple mock-up with paper cutouts and hand tools, the end result is the same: people learn to make. better and safer decisions through advanced simulation and practice. However, there are no simulation tools in use to help NASA managers to understand the dynamics of systemic risk, or how to evaluate the inherent risk within an organization. This thesis describes the development of a risk management simulator that will enable NASA managers to explore the dynamics of risk using an advanced system dynamics simulation of the NASA safety culture prior to the Columbia Shuttle accident. This simulation model was developed by MIT Professor Nancy Leveson and her students as part of a NASA USRA research grant and has over 700 variables and several sub models. / (cont.) While the model is eminently useful to those familiar with system dynamics, the Vensim software application and the specific model structure, it is not very useful as a learning tool for those who are not. The simulator tool developed for this thesis simplifies and consolidates the overall model behavior into 8 decision variables and 35 display variables. Moreover, 18 of those display variables are grouped into one of 5 categories of "leading indicators" of risk. This simulator enables any user to quickly begin to explore the system model and to discover the consequences of different decisions on system risk, without any need for the user to know system dynamics theory or any details of the model design. In a video game the user doesn't know how it is programmed, but is still able to learn the rules of the game, how it behaves and-most importantly-how to win. Similarly, the goal of the risk management flight simulator is to help NASA managers to learn the rules of system risk, how system risk behaves in response to management decisions, and, most importantly, how to make the best informed risk decisions. / y Stephen R. Friedenthal. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-124). / by Lisa M. Cratty & Matthew J. Sahutske. / S.M.