The Triumvirate Approach to Systems Engineering, Technology Management and Engineering Management

Thomas J. Day

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000541144
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Project Management
• Index: Business

This text is meant for introductory and midlevel program and project managers, Systems Engineering (SE), Technology Management (TM) and Engineering Management (EM) professionals. This includes support personnel who underpin and resource programs and projects. Anyone who wishes to understand what SE, TM and EM are, how they work together, what their differences are, when they shouldbe used and what benefits should be expected, will find this text an invaluable resource. It will also help students to understand the career paths in innovation and entrepreneurship to choose from. There is considerable confusion today on when and where to use each discipline, and how they should be applied to individual circumstances. This text provides practitioners with theguidelines necessary to know when to use a specific discipline, how to use them and what results to expect. The text clearly shows how the disciplines retainfocus of goals and targets, using cost, scope, schedule and risk to their advantage, while complying withand informing investors, oversight and those related personnel who eventually govern corporate or government decisions. It is more of an entry and midlevel general overview instructing the reader how to use the disciplines and when to use them. To use them all properly, more in-depth study is always necessary. However, the reader will know when to start, where to go and what disciplines to employ depending on the product, service, market, infrastructure, system or service under consideration. To date, none of this is available in existing literature. All texts on the subject stretch to try and cover all things, which is simply not possible, even with the definitions assigned by the three disciplines.

CHAPTER 1 Programs and Projects are Ubiquitous; Discipline is Essential

The Quandary of Technology Development

There is probably no greater challenge in the world of technology product and information sciences than the creation and management of their programs and projects for Government and Industry. The ability to manage the choice of technology, control the funding stream, managing the unique set of risks and ensuring the schedule to achieve an outcome in the technology-based products and services world is as much art as it is science. What is actually being performed is the management of innovation and the channeling of creativity to bring goods and services in an orderly and structured manner to the marketplace, satisfying customer needs or wants. The teams also have to know what side of the technology acquisition equation they belong in order to be as effective as possible.

Whether the customer is a private entity seeking to increase market share through innovative solution, or a Government or business is trying to better use technology to meet its mission, any technology-based product or service development program or project presents itself a unique and risky undertaking. The risks are unique and substantial because most technology-based product or service programs and projects are usually ill-defined and tend to become mis-matched from problem to solution set. Even an off-the-shelf technology item tends to require some level of customization to meet a particular installation or mission requirement, and can exponentially grow in cost if ill-defined or otherwise misaligned in requirements. Once any stock item that generally meets some set of mission requirements has to be modified, the risk to success in meeting those requirements substantially increases. When a solution has to be generated from the bottom-up, that always presents a very high risk. However, this is the nature of engineering, especially the advancement of technology in the marketplace. Success is achieved with the proper managing of engineering innovation. The concepts presented here directly address how to do it properly, efficiently and succinctly with little reference to academia and direct reference to industry. It also intends to show that technology-based product or service endeavors are unique to all other types of programs and projects as would be addressed in such a set of classes or instructional sessions.

Standards organizations and consultants generate sets of processes and governing principles generally accepted for program and project management. However, these same groups tend to lump all classes and types of programs and projects together to satisfy program and project management practices and principles. The use of any engineering or technology disciplines tends to be tangential or incorporated by reference. It is well known through both experience and documentation that such an approach has been proven to be a flawed philosophy. It is known that information technology (IT) projects fail at the rate of 50%–80% even if using approved PMI or Agile methodologies¹. Sure, there are other processes that claim success if followed. Yet, they also appear to have similar levels of success (or failure-depending on your viewpoint). One of the big reasons cited is that over 51% of IT programs are not properly aligned with company or corporate objectives, and almost 50% fail because of lack of executive ownership². With this in mind, how does one solve the quandary of success in the management of innovation as a way to solve the problems in the choosing, management and operation of innovation?

Consider first that, in all these cases, the technology envisioned is meant to bring additional value somewhere in the way it is applied and utilized. Otherwise, why bother with technology at all? Therefore, all parties need to fully understand that there needs to be some net benefit to the development or acquisition of technology. That net benefit can range anywhere from updating antiquated infrastructure so more market-ready products can be utilized, to advanced and highly specialized devices that can be used in a process to speed production or ascertain data at a higher rate of speed. Whatever the case, there needs to be a net benefit as a result of the investment to be made.

Consider next there are risk factors to constantly monitor and mitigate in any technology application. These risk factors can have unpleasant effects on any net benefit, tangible or intangible, cost or profit desired. If a communications company who provides data communications equipment continues to invest in a 2G network when the world is moving to 5G, there is significant risk that the company will no longer be able to operate in a 5G world. How much is too much in investment to remain or move out of the 2G field? That situation poses a risk, and one which continually presents itself in the field of technology growth. Technology is always moving forward, but many times its ultimate direction is not necessarily known to anyone, especially the project teams. Chasing technology between enhancements and obsolescence has been referred to as the ‘Enhanced Rat Race’³ and can be costly to participate, with little return to show for resources expended.

Consider further that, many times, project teams are split between desiring to develop their own technology or utilize market resources. If a company is a product or service provider, they will produce their own and look little to the marketplace for those products and services to offset their own manufacturing or development. If a company is looking to enhance their own production lines, technical specialists within the company tend to be biased that their operations are so unique that no product exists for their specific use. Therefore, their only conclusion and recommendation is that any solution has to be developed in house – whether it does or does not. This tunnel-vision approach excludes any possible alternatives or solutions that may already be available where risk can be reduced, and efficiencies gained.

A constraint that is often ignored in many circles when technology projects are discussed is the requirement set and reporting conditions imposed by corporations and funding groups to ensure that their investments are properly made and managed. These policies and procedures vary from company to corporation, from funding source to financial institution. The technology marketplace has ventured far beyond garage tinkerers with good ideas being able to bring products and services to market. A whole host of laws, legislation, reporting requirements and record-keeping awaits the technologist with the best of ideas and the grandest of implementations. These barriers are seldom discussed, or even noted, in the most common program and project literature. Yet, they can be the costliest to implement and not necessarily germane or profitable to the outcome desired. They are, in fact, necessary evils and requirements for the production and distribution of any good or service in this technology-driven society.

There has to be a better way, and there is. It is the concept of define, develop and deploy within a disciplined approach.

Framed within these covers is one of possibly many approaches to address these considerations that are ubiquitous as they are variable in scope in modern technology development. The approach uses accepted disciplined principles and practices to support and foster innovation and entrepreneurship, while offering a structure for reporting and tracking for management, investors and oversight for technology product and service development and use.

These disciplines are all well known to industry, and a huge reference of both academic and technical texts exist for all of them. The limitation to most of the current texts available is they only describe their own specific methods, for their specific process, and not how to apply them in relationship with a particular situation and in concert with the other known and applicable disciplines. The mission for this text is to provide an understanding and methodology to apply the modern disciplines to the correct areas of concentration and the proper time.

In order to accomplish this mission, a series of definitions and terms will be presented as a way of establishing a baseline understanding of the material to be presented. This action will offer a uniform platform for growing and expanding the concepts in a methodical way. The intention is that the platform will be broad enough for complete understanding, while narrow enough for the practitioner to channel their effort into and obtain the results desired.

The Realism of Oversight with Investors and Resource Providers

It will be argued that the best and most advanced technology was invented outside any structure or framework. Many people will articulate that when personnel are free to experiment and explore for new technology and solutions from those technological discoveries, more is obtained and more can be brought to the market. This fallacy will be discussed at length throughout the text, although it is acknowledged that some discoveries were made outside of any framework. There are realities to consider in the modern age of technology, and why a structured approach is required in today’s environments.

The reality is that over 60% of all research and development funding for science and technology comes from private industry, with 20% from universities and 10% from governments worldwide⁴, with the balance coming from a variety of other sources. Private industries have requirements for delivering developmental resources for research and development, and it is imperative that those requirements be met to obtain and continue those funding actions. Although there are many sources to support this OECD report, it should be clear that the ability for a researcher, innovation team, or related group to receive an amount of money to do what it wishes has dissipated long ago. It is imperative that the teams be able to clearly articulate, track and report on resources provided for specific goals and purposes. It is already shown that traditional methods can be relatively ineffective and not provide those artifacts required to satisfy such oversight.

An approach is presented utilizing several newly-utilized disciplines to meet this objective. The approach considers the entire value chain in the marketplace, offers continual focus to the objective and provides those tracking and reporting artifacts oversight that personnel would require. These disciplines are grouped together in a manner to be seamless from beginning to end, and consider all steps necessary along the way. There are three major and several supporting tools woven into an integrated solution to provide the innovator or researcher with the processes and procedures to meet the investment and reporting challenges, without losing innovative and entrepreneurial capabilities and inspiration. This triumvirate approach will be shown to offer a holistic discipline capable of meeting the challenges of maintaining the flow of modern innovation while satisfying the needs of oversight to continue those flow of resources necessary to produce them.

The Triumvirate Approach to Technology Development

The term of triumvirate comes from the Roman Empire. The Latin word ‘triumvirs’ means specifically ‘a group or association of three’. In Roman times, three men holding equal power were considered the Office of Triumvir, or the Triumvirate. For anything of significance to be accomplished in the Roman Empire, the three men had to agree to it. In this case, it is offered that for any technology-based product or service to be effectively developed and utilized in the modern, international corporate world, three disciplines are required across the life cycle landscape of the product or service to be developed and utilized. The Triumvirate approach of Systems Engineering, Technology Management and Engineering Management represents the best possible solution for creating, developing, fielding, utilizing and replacing technology in a technology-driven world. All three disciplines have to agree to the full life cycle. It will be demonstrated that each of the disciplines have evolved to meet specific technology developmental and use challenges. The key is using them in their proper order, with the tools provided and in the timing sequence recommended.

All too often, highly knowledgeable and technically-competent teams will resort to one or two of the methods, and eventually underperform but will not clearly know why. Also, far too many development teams will try and use the tool kits within program and project management as developmental tools rather than the tracking tools for which they are specifically targeted. As such, the mis-match causes considerable confusion and frustration in technology development, especially with heavy competition for resources and support from management.

The intent is to offer a triumvirate approach to technical program and project management using evolving disciplines and tracking tools to stimulate and foster innovation, structure and focus development through entrepreneurship and beneficial use through best practices.

Defining Technology Based Programs and Projects

In order to provide a fresh process in the management and administration of technology-based Programs and Projects, they will first need to be described and classified. Description and classification is critical to start this discussion so that one finds a good starting point and consistent meanings to all major terms and topics to be introduced. Once there is a good baseline to the terms and topics, the discussion can move on to methods and practices used in Programs and Projects (PP).

Technology-based projects and programs have only been the subject of mainstream discussion since the invention of the modern electronic computer in 1943⁵. Although there are examples of these requirements prior, and great achievements from these efforts, they were not of widespread use or consideration until the proliferation of computers within industry. That was not until the end of World War II. Military Engineering was always considered a technology activity, and specific advances in this area over the years are well documented⁶. From this time, and up to the time of the invention of the modern computer, standard program and project management was quite appropriate for developing the tools and systems required by the military services. One of the biggest contributions to this effort was the invention and proliferation of the Gantt Chart in 1910⁷. It was extensively utilized during World War I to track projects needed for the war effort. Even then, there was little distinction made between the requirements for technology as we understand it today, and the construction of barracks or storage areas. It was probably acceptable in those days, as everything was tangible and could be measured, inspected and tested including being verified at time of assembly or manufacture. So, what makes these times so different?

First, a brief definition and discussion of Information Technology (IT)⁸ is offered. For purposes of this discussion, IT is the specification, development, delivery and use of software, firmware or software product to achieve a desired goal or to satisfy a mission requirement. Software as being defined in the PP sense, is the intangible deliverable of encoded instructions to ingest, process and output data. Software, being an intangible, has no weight or other measurable characteristics other than the arrangement of bits within a compiler to operate within specific computer environments. It is this characteristic that separates IT from any other type of PP activity. The intangible and unmeasurable characteristics make it unique, requiring special handling and management in its inception, specification, development, testing, execution, and eventual delivery and release. Consider ordering a pipe made of 304 or 316 grade stainless steel. No matter where in the world one orders pipe of this grade, there is a body of standards that can ensure these grades of metal are in the pipe ordered. It can be measured and verified, tested for quality and certified. Not so with software. Measurements, verification and testing of software is tricky business. Also, there is probably no one who would ever certify a module of software code as free of errors, inconsistencies and of malfunctions. With this in mind, it is now evident that software is unique in its characteristics. Software and its support services are considered ‘services’ and are referred to in this text as the ‘services’ portion of the reference of ‘products and services’. Therefore, the terms of ‘services’ or ‘IT’ will be utilized where appropriate to convey the concepts as the intent is to define an intangible having great value to some overall offering.

Then, there is the platform of ‘products’ where most software services reside to drive or otherwise process data or control. For purposes of this discussion, a technology product is the cutting-edge technological solutions hardware platform developed to improve life, reduce costs and increase productivity. It will be referred to as the ‘product’ of the term ‘product and services’. Technology-based products usually need some form of software to operate them, but not in every circumstance or requirement. Technology-based products are a broad-based term where precedent seldom exists, product evolution is continuous and rapid, and change is commonplace in the base product offerings. In all cases, some product solution is required to operate a developed or purchased (software) services offering. Technology-based products themselves becomes an indefinite definition, as it ...