Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-123). / In the past ten years, automobile manufacturers have spent a growing amount of money on recall campaigns and late fixes brought about by emission decal problems, due in part because engineers and management do not fully appreciate the dynamic complexity of the emission decal design and release process. In particular, because the decals are technically simple, people incorrectly assume that the informational and process complexity is also simple. As a result, practices and policies for managing the entire decal design, release, and installation processes inevitably lead to difficulties. Poor systems understanding has ultimately resulted in increased recall campaign costs. Using many of the key tools taught as part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's System Design and Management (SDM) curriculum, I will endeavour to briefly describe the relevant details of the complicated emission certification and emission decal design processes and their inherent difficulties. An overview of the process is required to better see where the system often breaks down, and to better use the tools taught in the SDM curriculum to suggest where changes might be appropriate to reduce difficulties and warranty costs. Using these tools, I will build a case to support my hypothesis that the misunderstood complexity of the emission decal design and release process drives errors, and suggest remedies to help alleviate the problems. Much of this thesis focuses on the certification and emission decal design and release efforts of Ford Motor Company (Ford) and General Motors (GM). Many of the leading edge emission efforts are focused in the United States, so although efforts for overseas markets are briefly described, the primary focus is of this paper is on the system used by Ford and GM to meet requirements in the North American market. / by John M. Pommer. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-90). / Since the mid-90s, the computer industry has been very modular with respect to both product architecture and industry structure. The growing market size of mobile computers means that the challenges facing this segment are starting to affect the direction of the industry. It is argued in this paper that power management in mobile computers is forcing the industry in the direction of more integral product solutions and, hence, a more integral industry structure. That is to say, the industry is assuming a structure similar to the early days of mainframe computers when one firm delivered the entire proprietary integral system. Furthermore, this trend towards more integrality in mobile computer systems is due to fundamental physical attributes of the system; specifically, that information transfer systems lend themselves more readily to modular architectures than systems that transfer significant power. Thus, as processors and mobile computers become more powerful, they start to behave more like power transfer systems and side effects of this power, such as heat, require a more integral approach to managing it. A "free body" diagram framework is presented which provides a way of thinking about how integrality forces are acting on an industry's trajectory. Evidence is presented showing how the dominant player in the computer supply chain, Intel, is exhibiting this vertical/integral behavior in a number of ways. / by Samuel K. Weinstein. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-137). / by Michael P. Pepin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 149). / A system architecture was developed and analyzed for a basic elevator system using a limited number of system level components. A Design Structure Matrix was created which represented the complex interactions of the system components. These components were derived from a decomposition of system requirements, code and safety requirements, and evaluation of scenario operational requirements. Clustering routines using cost assignment of interactions aided in optimizing the cluster assignment of components. These cost assignments reflect cost and time associated with managing interactions inside and outside of subsystems. Management and optimization of the interfaces between the clustered components leads to an architecture that minimizes complexity and will hopefully lead to quicker and less costly product development cycles. Using this approach, near-optimal architectures can be analyzed and alternatives can be evaluated for system level impact. As was observed with this test case, highly complex or integrative systems are difficult to analyze, even with the tools utilized. These tools provided a structured approach that utilizes an objective process. This approach provides documentation and analysis of the architecture that is normally managed on the fly as product development progresses. The results of the analysis can provide a framework for an organizational structure of the product development process, provide an avenue for dialogue between design teams responsible for different subsystems, provide a process for evaluation of architecture alternatives, and identify the interactions between subsystems that must be managed carefully. / by Ronnie E. Thebeau. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-103). / by Canice P. Boran. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45). / by Jean Marie Ellefson. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2005. / Page 81 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-75). / Introduction: The focus of this work is on improving the effectiveness of distributed project teams - adopting a widely accepted definition of team as described in "Virtual Teams" as: "A team is a collection of individuals who are interdependent in their tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, who see themselves and who are seen by others as an intact social entity embedded in one or more larger social systems, and who manage their relationship across organizational boundaries.' (Cohen & Bailey, 1997, p. 241). This definition is general enough to capture traditional as well as virtual teams while precisely identifying the defining features of a team: its unity of purpose, its identity as a social structure, and its members' shared responsibility for outcomes." (Powell et al., 2004). / by Gregg Cherbonneau. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-73). / by Kurt L. Ewing [and] Erika K. Low. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2000. / "January 2000." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-77). / Conventional technology forecasting and selection practices, in the Western World, suffer from several shortcomings including: weak criteria for developing and evaluating forecasts, limited tool sets for developing possible future states of implementation, anchoring in current functional capability and strong dependence on functional experts. Techniques enabled by the existence of the World Wide Web bring additional knowledge assets to assist in developing suitable forecasts and related technology selection. Additionally, techniques developed by Altshuller provide a powerful set of visioning tools, titled the Laws and Lines of (Technical System) Evolution, to enable improved identification of future product and technology constructs. The Laws allow for thinking about system evolution while the Lines provide insight into implementation. These techniques are integrated to form the majority of a proposed technology identification and selection process because they provide a criteria for developing and establishing technical forecasts that is rooted in extensive study of prior inventive results. / by Michael W. Frauens. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-71). / Distinctive technology and customer / supplier relationships are currently the primary sources of competitive advantage in the Aerospace industry. Modular Open System Architecture (MOSA) requirements represent a significant disruption to this mode of competition. The United States Department of Defense intends to accelerate the rate of aerospace innovation and inject additional competitiveness into the procurement process through the modularization of its products and effective intellectual property management. This combination of architectural disruption and new customer capabilities has the potential to reduce the industry's opportunity to capture value from innovative technologies or a position as first supplier. Historical examples such as Polaroid and IBM demonstrate the organizational paralysis that often results from disruptions in product architecture. The competitive formula becomes ingrained in the processes, resources, and culture of mature companies and is no longer explicit knowledge, which limits the company's ability to develop the capabilities required to compete in its new environment. Competing in a MOSA environment will require the development of new organizational capabilities such as rapid experimentation, fighting standards wars, and protecting system-level knowledge. Defining the disruptive threat and the foundations of current core competencies will enable firms to develop the organizational capabilities essential for this shift in competitive context. / (cont.) The author will present several historical examples of architectural disruption, a framework for evaluating the disruptive change, and an identification of organizational anchors that may hinder a particular competitor's ability to respond to MOSA. The goal of the thesis is to start a dialogue within an identified incumbent with in hopes of beginning the organizational transformation required to effectively compete in this new era. / by Geoffrey Ashworth. / S.M.