[ASEP-Prep] #3. Technical Management Processes

Technical Management Processes

It is important to understand how systems engineering (SE) contributes to project management. This contribution is provided through a technical management process, which ensures the successful management of SE efforts within the project. According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the technology management process focuses on managing the resources and assets allocated by the organization’s management to fulfill the contracts entered into by the organization. This process involves planning for cost, time, and performance, ensuring that plans and performance standards are met, and selecting and identifying corrective actions to recover on-going shortfalls.

Technology management consists of eight processes: project planning, project evaluation and control, decision management, risk management, configuration management, information management, measurement, and quality assurance. These processes are used consistently throughout the system life cycle to ensure that system-specific technical processes are performed effectively. Additionally, technical management collaborates with the project management process to establish and execute technical plans, manage information among technical teams, evaluate technical progress against plans, control technical tasks and risks through completion, and guide decision-making processes. helps.

SE practitioners constantly interact with project management practitioners. Both professionals bring unique expertise to the project, and although the life cycle is defined differently from the project manager’s and systems engineer’s perspective, they must work together on common areas of work to drive the team’s performance and success.

3-1 Project Planning Process

The purpose of project planning is to create and coordinate an effective and executable plan according to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. The project planning process begins with the identification of a new potential project and continues after the project’s approval and activation until project closure. This process is conducted in the context of the organization and adheres to the Life Cycle Model Management process, which identifies and establishes relevant policies and procedures that apply to all projects.

The project planning process identifies project objectives, technical activities, interdependencies, resource requirements, risks and opportunities, and management approaches for the technical effort. Planning includes estimating required resources and budget, and determining the need for project support elements, including specialized equipment, facilities, and specialists that can help improve project efficiency and effectiveness and reduce cost overruns.

This requires coordination across a set of processes to develop a consistent plan for all activities. For example, different disciplines collaborate during system requirements definition, system architecture definition, and design definition to evaluate parameters such as productivity, testability, operability, maintainability, and sustainability. Project work can occur simultaneously to achieve the best results.

The project plan enables the execution of the project and sets the necessary direction for evaluating and controlling project progress. It identifies appropriate personnel, technology, infrastructure and facilities, including details of the work and schedule for required resources.

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This image show IPO diagram of Project Planning Process that is one of Technical Management Processes

3-2 Project Assessment and Control Process

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the objectives of the project evaluation and control process are to assess whether plans are consistent and feasible, to determine the status, technical and process performance of the project, and to ensure that performance is in accordance with plan and schedule and within budget. , directing execution to ensure technical objectives are met.

This process maintains good communication within the project team and with stakeholders by conducting periodic evaluations at key milestones and decision gates. Make adjustments, especially if things go in a different direction than planned. The project evaluation and control process directs project efforts through these assessments and serves to redirect the project when it does not reflect the expected level of maturity.

The rigor of project evaluation and control processes depends on the inherent characteristics of the project, such as complexity, urgency, and consequences of failure. Project controls include preventive and corrective actions taken to ensure that the project is performed according to plan and schedule and within budget. This process can also trigger activities within the technology management process.

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3-3 Decision Management Process

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the purpose of the decision management process is to provide a structured, analytical framework for objectively identifying, characterizing and evaluating a set of alternatives for a decision at any point in the life cycle and selecting the most beneficial course of action. is to provide.

Decision management is an important part of systems engineering (SE) activities. Number of decisions involved in identifying business/mission needs, establishing technology development strategy, defining stakeholders and system requirements, selecting system architecture, agreeing on detailed design, developing verification and inspection plan, making or purchasing decisions, ramping up production. This includes creating a plan, establishing a maintenance and logistics plan, and choosing a disposal method. Developing a new product involves a variety of interrelated decisions throughout the system life cycle.

The decision management process translates broadly stated decision situations into recommended courses of action and associated action plans. This process requires a decision maker with full responsibility, authority, and accountability for the decision, a decision analyst with a set of decision tools, a subject matter expert with a performance model, and a representative set of end users and other stakeholders. The decision process is carried out within the policies and guidelines established by the system sponsor. A well-structured decision process captures and communicates the impact of different value judgments on the overall decision and facilitates the search for attractive alternatives across different value systems.

Partial list of decision situations (opportunities) throughout the life cycle

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3-4 Risk Management Process

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the purpose of the risk management process is to identify, analyze, address and monitor risks on an ongoing basis. Risk management is a disciplined approach to dealing with uncertainty that exists throughout the life cycle of a system. Opportunity management can be performed in conjunction with or as part of risk management.

The primary purpose of risk management is to identify and manage uncertainties that threaten or reduce the value provided by a business enterprise or organization. On the other hand, the main purpose of opportunity management is to identify and manage uncertainties that promote or increase the value provided by a business enterprise or organization. Since risk can never be reduced to zero, another goal is to achieve an appropriate balance between risk and opportunity.

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 16085, the risk management process is an ongoing process that systematically addresses risks throughout the life cycle of a system, product, or service. This may apply to risks associated with the acquisition, development, maintenance or operation of the system. When using this process for opportunity management, the above statement applies equally well with the term “opportunity” instead of “risk.”

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3-5 Configuration Management Process

As specified in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the purpose of the Configuration Management (CM) process is to manage the configuration of systems and system elements throughout their life cycle. CM establishes and maintains consistency, integrity, traceability, and control of product configuration. This provides continuous truth, trust and traceability throughout the entire life cycle of the product. Across the enterprise and supply chain, the right CM delivers efficient, effective, frugal, resilient, and financially responsible maturity, need realization, and maintenance through quantifiable knowledge and insight. Inadequate CM increases risks to the product.

Configuration management is a technical management process that applies appropriate processes, resources, and controls to establish and maintain product configuration information and consistency between products. Changes in system requirements, technology, and operating environments are a reality that must be addressed throughout the life cycle of a system development effort and throughout the availability and support phases. Additionally, CM extended to the corporate level supports internal goals to achieve an efficient, effective, frugal and resilient enterprise.

Configuration management helps ensure:

  1. The functional, performance and physical characteristics of the product are appropriately identified, documented, controlled, verified and verified to establish the integrity of the product.
  2. Changes to these product characteristics are appropriately identified, reviewed, approved, documented, and implemented.
  3. Products produced for a given data set are known, verified, and confirmed.
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3-6 Information Management Process

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the purpose of an information management process is to create, acquire, verify, transform, store, retrieve, disseminate and dispose of information to stakeholders. The information provided in this process must be clear, complete, verifiable, consistent, traceable and presentable. This information is derived from a variety of data artifacts, including technologies, projects, and organizations.

Information management provides relevant, timely, complete, valid and protected information to relevant parties throughout the life cycle of a product or system and, where necessary, beyond. It manages all information, including technology, projects, and organizations, and ensures that it is properly defined, stored, structured, maintained, secured, and accessible to maintain the integrity of the data.

Information exists in many forms and each has different value. Information assets include intangible information and its forms of expression, such as drawings, models, specifications, memos, and emails. Information security maintains the protection and integrity of information assets. Information security management is achieved through appropriate policies, practices, and procedures. The information security management system follows a life cycle approach for securing an organization’s information assets.

Information management is closely aligned with configuration management to ensure information and data integrity, early release, and change management. Throughout the system life cycle, information management provides the basis for managing and accessing information, including organizational, project, and technical information. We also work with configuration management to maintain historical knowledge during decisions, risk management, and more.

Information management and knowledge management are closely linked. Information sharing within an organization is a key element of knowledge management, ensuring the efficient flow and use of information. Information management systems contribute to the achievement of strategic goals by providing appropriate information, and effective sharing of information and knowledge encourages an organization’s learning culture and innovation.

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3-7 Measurement Process

According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and 15939, the purpose of the measurement process is to collect, analyze and report objective data and information to address the information needs for products, services and processes and to support effective management. This process defines the type of information needed to support project and technical management decisions and execute performance management and improvement actions.

Key systems engineering (SE) measurement objectives are to evaluate SE processes and work products for project and organizational needs, including timeliness, meeting performance requirements and quality characteristics, compliance with product standards, effective use of resources, cost and Includes continuous process improvement through cycle time reduction. Effective measurements convey meaningful information to decision makers, and the presentation of that information must be relevant and clear to ensure the user’s intended interpretation.

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3-8 Quality Assurance Process

As specified in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the purpose of the quality assurance (QA) process is to help ensure that an organization’s quality management (QM) processes are applied effectively to projects. Quality assurance is a set of activities that take place throughout the entire life cycle of a project, necessary to ensure that a product or service meets stakeholder requirements or that a process complies with an established methodology.

Systems engineering (SE) practitioners adopt and use QA processes as a key factor contributing to project and system development success. QA is an important aspect of QM, from the project level to individual processes, and involves resource utilization and performance improvement of quality-embedded processes, which are designed to ensure that defects do not occur in the products and services provided.

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[ASEP-Prep] #1. What is System LIFE CYCLE?

[ASEP-Prep] #2. Agreement and Enabling Processes

[ASEP-Prep] #4. Technical Processes – Concept and System Definition\

[ASEP-Prep] #5. Technical Processes – System Realization, Deploy and Use

[ASEP-Prep] #6. Quality Characteristics

[ASEP-Prep] #7. SYSTEMS ENGINEERING ANALYSYS AND METHODS

[ASEP-Prep] #8. SE METHODOLOGY CONSIDERATIONS

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