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New product development is complex. Companies often underestimate this complexity and do not invest in efforts to fully understand their new product development system and the ramifications of running that system without control. New product development involves dedicated resources, from multiple disciplines, often for long periods of time. These resources are precious and decisions about how they are utilized should be informed. This work pursues a simulation model of a full new product development pipeline, incorporating the common organizational pathology of taking on too many projects, consistent with the literature and the researchers' experience. This project considers the fact that queues may not occur in all areas of new product development and that resources can be allocated at levels greater than 100%. The phenomenon of decreased efficiencies, when capacity of any discipline is exceeded, has been incorporated to show how the pipeline slows down and unplanned costs increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a measurement used to assess the maturity of a technology prior to its inclusion in a system. It is a management tool utilized by program managers, project managers, and others in acquisition management to assess technology maturity. The TRL of a technology is determined by the assessment of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who examine the degree to which a criteria is being fulfilled. One of the current deficiencies in using TRLs is the subjectivity in determining the readiness value. This paper aims to reduce subjectivity in TRL maturity assessments by utilizing the maturity artifacts present in system architecture models. This paper will propose a technique and research methodology that can support TRL in technology maturity assessment in the design and development phase of a technology lifecycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operating environment for test and evaluation (T&E) is changing with advancements in technology affecting users' needs and systems development approaches. These changes demand new strategies for conducting T&E to keep pace with the changing environment. However, collecting and managing appropriate data could pose serious challenges to T&E programs that do not have established processes. To address this issue, the authors conducted a systemic analysis of previous operational T&E programs within a government T&E organization to determine the extent to which integration of project management with technical processes contribute to making T&E execution easier. The research analysis demonstrates that the application of project management practices contributes to achieving success in executing T&E programs within the Federal Aviation Administration. This research contributes to the field by identifying the critical dimensions of project management that contribute to achieving operational T&E program success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge for managing projects, for the development of systems, has not kept pace with the increasing complexity and integration of the projects themselves. This increased complexity has permitted some to reason distinctions between systems projects and propose a form of system called a "system of system" (SoS). Faced with this situation, we argue that a single point solution cannot be the answer to how to manage these systems. We suggest the remedy is a form of project management predicated on four principles that underline SoS thinking: problem demystification, legacy assessment, state-space solutioning, and integration framework. Using these principles as a foundation, we provide a set of characteristics (i.e. autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity, and emergence) that can be applied as fundamental building blocks to actualize the management of an SoS, or any system. More importantly, we present an architecture predicated on the paradoxes that exist in realizing and formalizing these characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's dynamic competitive business environment, project reviews are fundamental for most organizations ability to complete their projects successfully; however, it is important to know how to execute project reviews effectively. One important quality of an effective project review is the independence of its reviewers-the central focus of this article. Through four case studies chosen from different scenarios, we have shown that, despite independence being an important quality of project reviews, most organizations choose reviewers who are within their own social network. This issue can partially be resolved by the use of knowledge network theory and analysis (KNA), which will help us characterize relationships which can significantly influence the effective execution of project reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some costly failures of projects within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NASA has been criticized for their improper use or lack of independent reviews in projects. To begin to understand some prospective success characteristics of project reviews within NASA and potentially across engineering management, a qualitative case study methodology was used with four NASA projects to identify key attributes of independent project reviews. These attributes were identified in relation to categories of reviewer, reviewee, and the review type. Within each of these categories, attributes were identified and characterized as size, competence, independence, authority, culture, and formality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most common myths in the discipline of project management is the assumption that all projects are the same and can be managed with the same set of processes and techniques. In reality, however, projects differ and "one size does not fit all." Based on our previous research, we have learned that adapting the right approach to the right project is critical to project success; yet, very few organizations know how to distinguish among their project efforts. Furthermore, we have also learned that there is no universal framework that works effectively for all organizations. NASA's procedures suggest several distinctions among projects based on product lines and priority levels. These distinctions form a base for different approval processes. The next step will be to help managers actually manage different projects in different ways. The purpose of this research was to study several NASA programs and start identifying a framework that would work for project managers and teams in the NASA environment. We used four current projects as case studies to test the validity of potential frameworks, and have suggested an initial NASA-specific framework that could eventually lead to guidelines for tailoring project and program management to project type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the December 2005 issue of "Engineering Management Journal," including one by Kotnour and Vergopia on understanding and developing best practices for effective learning-based program/project reviews and another by Lechler, Ronen, and Stohr on critical chain approach to project management.