Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85). / The aerospace market is as demanding as many industries in terms of the challenges on firms to deliver world class performance and quality at reduced cost and lead-times. These challenges extend to the military side of the aerospace market which is faced with the challenge of developing, delivering and supporting systems with ever increasing complexity in an environment of significantly reduced defense budgets. These challenges suggest that application of innovative improvement strategies will be required for market success. Additionally, the ability of the armed forces to maintain superiority in this environment is highly dependent on the aerospace firms' achievement of significant reductions in the cost of ownership of these systems. Since the major portion of the cost of ownership of aerospace systems is determined by the decisions made during the product development process, focus of improvement efforts on this portion of the product life cycle is key to achieving success. Recent research by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones suggests that application of five lean principles to the processes across the entire enterprise will lead to achieving a "lean" stale. This lean state results from the elimination of waste from operations such that products can be developed with a minimum of overall expense in terms of human effort, material and time. Nevertheless, the bulk of the discussion and application examples in this and other recent research have largely been focused on the manufacturing portion of the value stream. There are many examples in industry of where these principles have successfully transformed manufacturing organizations. But product development organizations have been struggling with how these principles apply to product development and what "lean" really means in the product development context. This difficulty in translating lean principles to product development is partially due to the differences between the processes used in the manufacturing setting and the product development setting, and the differences in the 'product' which these processes produce. The problem to be studied in this thesis is whether value stream mapping and lean principles, which have been successful in facilitating the lean transition in manufacturing, are effective tools in identifying waste and identifying an improved product development process future state. This thesis will study the application of value stream mapping to a military aerospace product development program at Pratt & Whitney. Although it is recognized that in order to achieve the goals of lean thinking one has to apply the principles enterprise wide, this work will be limited to looking at application in a specific portion of the product development process. In so doing, sufficient process breath will be covered for demonstration purposes, while the scope of work will be limited consistent with the intent of this thesis. Prior to the case study, each of the lean principles is investigated from a product development perspective hey researching the underlying concepts and comparing them to recent business process work of others. The primary focus will be on the definition of Value in product development and the Value Stream mapping process. Additionally, a survey of product development engineers is conducted which supports the existence of similar types of waste in product development as is seen in manufacturing. / by Robert A. Slack. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-119). / The fundamental issues in any discussion of a proposed system architecture must involve the relative quality of the architecture when compared to other proposals and the architecture's ability to satisfy the needs and abilities of the customer, the system environment and the system developer. While the latter issue can often be easily addressed through standard system architecture methods, the former comparative issue can often be quite difficult due to some of the uncertainty and ambiguity in the· relative merit of system architecture factors. In large government-funded space system architectures, which often span years of development/production and cost tens of billions of dollars, this difficulty is especially apparent and highlights the need for an effective method for comparative evaluation. This thesis research has developed a unique tool by which comparisons of system architectures ca.n be made. This technique, which is a. fuzzy set extension of the Axiomatic Design method, has the ability to incorporate and capture both technical and non-technical parameters that are vital to the comparison process. This tool is effectively applied to architectural proposals for the human exploration of Mars. As supporting objectives, the research examines the structure of advanced technology developments, explores the affects of the government budgetary process and comments on the government/contractor managerial relationship as they pertain to space system architectures. / by Robert Hanson Smith. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-72). / The United States National Airspace System (NAS) is undergoing evolutionary changes in response to growing air traffic demands and aging equipment. In 1981 the Federal Aviation Administration initiated a modernization program to modernize, automate, and consolidate the existing ATC system by the year 2000. This effort is ongoing and will continue well into the 21st century. Improving capacity is one goal of the modernization program. Closely spaced parallel approaches are used at many of the busiest airports to increase capacity. During visual flight conditions parallel runways operate independently at maximum capacity. During non-visual meteorological conditions operating procedures are modified to assure safe operations. Capacity reductions of 50% may occur depending on the runway spacing. New communication, navigation, and surveillance technologies are being developed that offer the potential of improved capacity by enabling closely spaced parallel approaches during non-visual conditions. An analysis was conducted starting with the financial cost of delays resulting from operational procedures required during closely spaced parallel approaches in instrument meteorological conditions. Existing systems were analyzed focussing on capability and the architectural changes enabled by new technologies. System requirements for a new airborne system for lateral spacing were developed with a focus on human factors and automation. Risk analysis indicates that the probability of collision given pilot non­conformance to alerts in airborne systems is 6 times greater than the probability of collision when pilot's conform to system alerts. The per-approach collision rate requirement can be met using a climb-turn escape maneuver given 90% pilot conformance and pilot response times less than 5 seconds. / by Bruce A. Solomon. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86). / The choice of project architecture - the structure of and interrelationships between product, processes, and organization - alters the project's risk profile. While most analyses take project scope as an input, I propose the examination of multiple project decompositions take place as part of project planning and project monitoring. The sub­projects created by each decomposition will have unique risk profiles, suggesting different process and organizational adaptations that lower overall project risk. By selecting project decompositions that partition risk and then adapting the structure of each sub-project to mitigate its particular risks, the probability of risk occurrence is reduced and the severity of consequences may be reduced. Case studies of four IBM mainframe system software projects illustrate lessons regarding project architecture, some general and some project- or process-specific. These projects employ both waterfall and iterative process models, managed using varying degrees of functional, lightweight, and heavyweight organizations. / by John E. Arwe. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-102). / The meaning and relevance of elegance in system architecture and design is considered. After establishing its desirability, elegance is defined by two criteria common to complex, elegant systems: 1. the system must function according to its stated purpose; and 2. the design pressures constraining the system design must be simultaneously relieved. These criteria were developed after discussion with experts in a wide variety of disciplines and after research of seven examples given by the experts in their respective fields. Aside from the criteria above, characteristics common to many elegant solutions are identified and discussed. The relativity of elegance is discussed with respect to variations in objectives, language, timing, and culture; and means to improve one's sense of elegance are suggested. Finally, methods to create elegant solutions are considered with special attention paid to those methods recognized in the elegant solutions considered within this text. / by Steven A. Billow. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-80). / The helicopter industry has changed since the cold war era. Companies within this industry art! under increasing pressure to maximize the fit of their products with customer requirements while reducing time to market and life cycle costs. This thesis provides an overview of the present helicopter industry and the challenges it faces in the product development process. The thesis presents a generic product development model found within literature and specifically focuses on the first two phases of the process, conceptual and preliminary design. A case study is presented for a current product development, the Sikorsky S-92, and captures some of the challenges a helicopter company faces in the current market environment. The case study examines the requirement generation process and identifies several findings. This research seeks to identify best practices relating to establishing requirements and its impact on the design and development process. / by Jacqueline Marisa DiNuccio. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-123). / Quality software engineering is crucial for the Department of Defense. The ability to engineer software that meets cost, schedule, and technical goals is a continuous challenge for both the commercial and government sector. This thesis presents an engineering model based on lean principles. The lean principles provide a foundation for a system that is based on value, communication, teamwork, efficient use of resources, elimination of waste and continuous process improvement. This system is flexible and can be tailored to meet the needs of projects of varying size and complexity. The model is intended to serve as a template for organizations to evolve their software engineering system to meet the needs of their customers. / by Troy Hamilton. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-68). / Companies are facing an increased challenge to meet the needs of individual customers in a cost effective manner. The days of mass producing standardized products for homogeneous markets for long periods of time are quickly fading from memory. Instead, a large variety of products must be produced at the same efficiencies formerly associated with mass production. In an effort to meet this challenge, some companies are implementing a business strategy of mass customization. One form of this business strategy stresses a modular product architecture. Economies of scale are achieved through standardization of components. Economies of scope are achieved by using similar manufacturing processes for each product line. Still, producing a large variety of products demands flexibility in manufacturing. Therefore, a tremendous burden is placed on manufacturing system designers. They must develop a manufacturing system that can react to frequent product changes yet be highly efficient in this low-volume, high-mix environment. In effect, manufacturing system designers are faced with the same problems imposed on product designers in a business striving to deliver mass customized products. They must meet the individual needs of a variety of manufacturing processes and customers. Because these processes are often specialized, the volumes associated with any one particular process are relatively low. The similarities to the product world are striking. In fact, it can be argued that many of the techniques now used to deliver mass customized products might well be used to deliver mass customized manufacturing systems. Moreover, this concept applies even when the products themselves are mass produced. This thesis investigates the principles and benefits of a mass customization approach to product development and extends those principles to the process domain. The focus will be on the benefits of modularity in manufacturing equipment design. It will be shown that a modular approach to manufacturing equipment design increases the flexibility of the manufacturing system, shortens the time to market, and better meets the needs of manufacturing customers without great sacrifices in cost and efficiency. Throughout this thesis, however, the reader will be reminded that modularity is just one component of the mass customization business strategy and that all components must be aligned to achieve success. / by John Edward Ludwicki. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-59). / One in three IT projects are canceled before they are completed. Of the projects that are completed, over 75% are late, over budget or are released with reduced functionality. Average cost overruns are 189%; average schedule overruns are 222% (The Standish Group). The software development process and the project management techniques are critical components in completing a development project on time and on budget. Critical Chain Project Management techniques and a Staged Development process were designed to address issues that contribute to the large number of schedule and cost overruns. Critical Chain is based on Theory of Constraint principles developed by Eliyahu Go ldratt. Critical Chain offers practical methods for planning, scheduling, tracking and mitigating schedule risk in a development program. Staged Development, a form of an incremental product development lifecycle, is considered to be a software development best practice. Staged Development promises faster development schedules, increase progress visibility and higher quality. In this study the author researches, applies and analyzes the Critical Chain and Staged Development methodologies. The combination of the two methodologies created a process that served to increase likelihood of project success. / by Ronald Pepin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999. / "February 1999." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-118). / Competitive market pressures and new dynamics in manufacturer-supplier relationships have led to the development of collaborative initiatives between manufacturers and suppliers that result in improved inventory management and material ordering practices. While these types of initiatives are known by different names in different industries, "vendor managed inventory'' (VMI) and "supplier managed inventory" (SMI) are designations typically used in traditional industrial settings. Similar programs have been successful in retail and grocery environments. This research seeks to determine the appropriateness of supplier managed inventory programs for use in industrial settings and the conditions under which their use offers significant benefits. A review of current literature regarding collaborative manufacturer-supplier initiatives is conducted as well as interviews with fifteen industrial companies regarding their experience with supplier managed inventory programs. Just-in-time (JIT) production and change management emerge as key supporting elements of an SMI initiative and are also discussed. The results from this research show that supplier managed inventory programs are being utilized in many different industrial settings with positive results. These results include improved inventory turns, higher service levels, reduced operating costs and mutually beneficial manufacturer-supplier partnerships. Benefits may vary between manufacturer and supplier companies. This research documents significant benefits associated with the implementation of SMI programs. A framework for implementing an SMI program is also provided. / by Michael H. Bravo. / S.M.