“It’s not always about the
technical!”
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“Sometimes it IS about the
technical!”
–Kathy Morgan OSR Chief
Engineer
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Systems
Engineering (and program management) is all about risk reduction! Documentation
reduces risk! Requirements
buy down programmatic risk! The risk of delivering the wrong thing. Or the
perceived wrong thing. Requirements are the contractual agreement with the
customer AND with the developer(s). Systems Engineering is the lawyer. Assume
that “gentleman’s agreements” and assumed understandings will fail.
Especially in our industry where we have such high personnel turnover. The
customer we have at the beginning of a project is seldom the one we have at
the end. Unless requirements are unambiguous you will be caught at test and
deployment with “different” interpretations! (pay me now or pay me latter-
and it’s cheaper up front) The development engineers also transition. The
design we think we all understand WILL NOT be the same one a new person to
the project will have. Interfaces
are technical risk. Two or more developer’s efforts meet at an interface. The
interface must be well understood and documented. And early! un-validated and undocumented assumptions
will kill you! Conops
buys down programmatic AND technical risk. Conops IS NOT the operations
manual! (but it will lead to it) Conops is the systems behavior. Conops is a
design document. Its how the system MUST behave, it must be complied with by
the developers. Developers must have a common vision of the behavior
especially where they interact. Conops is also the behavior the customer and
User sees. The Conops is generally the most “approachable” document to the
customer and User. Cutting Corners A
very experienced team may get away with cutting corners that a Jr. team
can’t. It’s also less risky to cut
corners on simpler projects than more complex projects. But you must
consciously KNOW you are cutting corners, know WHY you are cutting corners,
and know the risk. “its not always
about the technical”, but it’s also not always about the $s. System
Engineering and Program Management is not easy! Everything’s a trade. How we
envy those engineering disciplines that can calculate THE right answer.
Everything is gray to us! |