Engineering Commons^™

Rapid Development: A Content Analysis Comparison Of Literature And Purposive Sampling Of Afrl Rapid Reaction Projects, Andrew R. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In the current environment of military operations requesting faster delivery schedules to counter insurgent tactics, the engineering team often searches for how to quickly deliver the 80% solution, typically in 6-12 months. These are labeled rapid development projects. A content analysis of best practices in commercial product development literature, where time to market is often a driving factor, was accomplished showing varying emphasis of systems engineering technical and technical management processes. Technical Planning, Stakeholders Requirements Development, and Architecture Design were identified as important processes. This analysis confirms preconceived notions of plan upfront and early by emphasizing the SE processes of …

A Method For Measuring Programmatic Dependency And Interdependency Between Dod Acquisition Programs, Matthew B. Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

There is currently no accepted method for quantitative measurement of acquisition program interdependency. While some methods exist for measuring dependency or interdependency at the component or system level, these methods do not translate well to program interdependency measurement. The objective of this thesis is to provide a model for measuring acquisition program interdependency accurately and quantitatively. The model presented in this thesis uses four Interdependency Factors to identify dependency relationships between programs. Specific Interdependency Levels are then used to measure the strengths of those dependencies. The model also accounts for measurement of dependencies upon programs that are not directly connected, …

Design Of A University Research Network: Analysis, Selection, And Implementation Planning, Anna P. Hopper

Master's Theses

This report focuses on the design of a university knowledge management system (KMS), and how such a system can provide the framework for students and faculty to partake in, share, and collaborate on research activities. The collaborative environment of a university KMS, or research network, must be established in order for a university to maintain its reputation as a competitive research institution and to develop its faculty and students outside the classroom. A research network may contain a variety of features, some of which include faculty profiles, forums, communication portals, publication links, biographies, faculty keywords, interest areas and contact information. …

The Impact Of Change On System Of Systems Performance With An Application To Small And Medium Multihospital Systems, Karima Tayeb

Doctoral Dissertations

An entity that functions as a system of systems (SoS) is composed of multiple systems that individually provide various functions which collectively provide a holistic functional capability. It is complex in design and function and tends to become even more complex over time as it evolves and responds to both internal and external changes. These changes might be in the composition or in the interoperability among its system members. Since interoperability affects how well the members work as one system, managing it is critical to the performance of the SoS over its lifespan.

In support of this goal, this dissertation, …

Cyber Physical Complex Networks, Modeling, Analysis, And Control, Neveen Shlayan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research scrutinize various attributes of complex networks; mainly, modeling, sensing, estimation, safety analysis, and control. In this study, formal languages and finite automata are used for modeling incident management processes. Safety properties are checked in order to verify the system. This method introduces a systematic approach to incident management protocols that are governed by mostly unsystematic algorithms. A portion of the used data in this study is collected by means of radar and loop detectors. A weighted t-statistics methodology is developed in order to validate these detectors. The detector data is then used to extract travel time information where …

A Systemic Approach To Next Generation Infrastructure Data Elicitation And Planning Using Serious Gaming Methods, Ersin Ancel

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Infrastructure systems are vital to the functioning of our society and economy. However, these systems are increasingly complex and are more interdependent than ever, making them difficult to manage. In order to respond to increasing demand, environmental concerns, and natural and man-made threats, infrastructure systems have to adapt and transform. Traditional engineering design approaches and planning tools have proven to be inadequate when planning and managing these complex socio-technical system transitions. The design and implementation of next generation infrastructure systems require holistic methodologies, encompassing organizational and societal aspects in addition to technical factors. In order to do so, a serious …

Enterprise Requirements And Acquisition Model, David A. Leach, Chad T. Searle

Theses and Dissertations

In support of senior leadership emphasis on improving early systems engineering and analysis, the Enterprise Requirements and Acquisition Model (ERAM) is a quantitative discrete-event process simulation model that accounts for activities from the identification of a desired space capability early in the JCIDS process through Milestone C of the acquisition system resulting in a probabilistic schedule distribution for a given concept. This model of the DoD's space capability development process will provide valuable decision making information for Concept Characterization and Technical Descriptions referenced during Analysis of Alternatives. The research focused on identifying activities, assigning historical triangular distributions and probabilities at …

Analyzing Supercomputer Utilization Under Queuing With A Priority Formula And A Strict Backfill Policy, Michael David Vanderlan

Masters Theses

Supercomputers have become increasingly important in recent years due to the growing amount of data available and the increasing demand for quicker results in the scientific community. Since supercomputers carry a high cost to build and maintain, efficiency becomes more important to the owners, administrators, and users of these supercomputers. One important factor in determining the efficiency of a supercomputer is the scheduling of jobs that are submitted by users of the system. Previous work has dealt with optimizing the schedule on the system’s end while the users are blinded from the process. The work presented in this thesis investigates …

Nurturing Systems Thinking: Developing A Framework Based On The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System (Hfacs) To Improve Systems Development Processes, Arjun Vijayanarayanan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Large systems engineering projects have an astonishingly high failure rate. The reasons hypothesized for such a high failure rate include the neglect of nonsalient system elements such as social and human or organizational aspects of systems. Social and human factors have long been known to be critical elements of systems that are frequently ignored (e.g., Goguen, 1994). Systems engineering processes can benefit and be improved by effective utilization of a framework that helps developers expand their attention and efforts beyond the salient aspects of the system and the development process. In the aviation field, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification …

A Structured Project-Risk Management And Life Cycle Framework For Complex Systems: Ship Repair And Maintenance (Sr&M) Projects, Michael Craig Plumb

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to insights regarding the implications of using Project Risk Management (PRM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in managing projects for a complex system. The PRM approach apprehends many forms of risk both internal and external within a given project and assists the manager in determining the level of importance of each individual project phase and component to optimize project success. The life cycle approach to project management is used with short-term limitations with respect to a product's life cycle over several years. The literature discusses many tools and techniques that assist project managers in implementing optimal solutions, …

A Hybrid Lehmer Code Genetic Algorithm And Its Application On Traveling Salesman Problems, Jun Zhang

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Traveling Salesman Problems (TSP) is a widely studied combinatorial optimization problem. The goal of the TSP is to find a tour which begins in a specific city, visits each of the remaining cities once and returns to the initial cities such that the objective functions are optimized, typically involving minimizing functions like total distance traveled, total time used or total cost.

Genetic algorithms were first proposed by John Holland (1975). It uses an iterative procedure to find the optimal solutions to optimization problems.

This research proposed a hybrid Lehmer code Genetic Algorithm. To compensate for the weaknesses of traditional genetic …

A Method To Improve The Sustainment Of Systems Based On Probability And Consequences, Michael Ashton Gaintner

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The FROST Method is presented which improves the efficiency of long-term sustainment of hardware systems. The FROST Method makes sustainment and scheduling decisions based on the minimization of the expected value of current and future costs. This differs from current methods which tend to base decisions not on the expected value of costs, but on the expected inventory demand found through projections using data which is often inaccurate.

Distributions are used to account for randomness and inaccuracy in inputs such as failure rates and vendor-claimed dates for end of production. A Monte Carlo technique is then used to convert these …

Towards An Organizational Strategic Vitality Theory: A Study Of A Public Sector Board Of Directors, Keith L. Woodman

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Boards of directors govern practically all organizations of significant size in the public and private sector. Improving the understanding of how boards function is critical because when boards fail, the results can be devastating. Little is understood about the functioning of boards of directors in the public sector, which accounts for a significant amount of the gross national product of the world's economy. The author observed a public sector board of directors for one year. Using the grounded theory research method to analyze the observations, he generated a theory of organizational strategic vitality that describes how a board of directors …

Application And Validation Of Concept Maturity Assessment Framework, Mathews C. Scharch, Jeremy J. Homan

Theses and Dissertations

Far too often decision makers select concepts based on insufficient data, resulting in projects that are over-budget, over-schedule, and not what the customer wants. Research efforts have proposed a stage-gated concept maturity framework as a tool to assess and increase the maturity of concepts. This research uses multiple validation techniques to demonstrate the value this framework can provide. Interviews with acquisition professionals capture qualitative and quantitative data on the utility of the elements of the framework and the acquisition process. This research also applies the framework to a current acquisition program to determine if it can be broadly applied for …

A Primary Care Workload Production Model For Estimating Relative Value Unit Output, Rachel G. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

Health care costs have grown to unsustainable levels nationally and within the Department of Defense. Military health care costs have historically been difficult to isolate, causing budget cuts to be the vehicle for cost control. Maximum efficiency, therefore, is the goal in order to show improvement. With the Air Force’s new preventive health plan, they aim to drive a long-term posture for cost reduction through prevention. This research effort aimed to develop a tool to assist in future efforts to understand and improve efficiency in workload output, and whether a relationship exists between patient workload demand and the per-encounter variables …

Design Of Online Student Fee Committee Proposal Information System, Kenneth Cairns, Gregory (Greg) Jacobson

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to overhaul the IME department’s Student Fee Committee (SFC) proposal system. A web enabled database was designed in order to improve this system. A significant amount of time was spent researching different programming languages, paradigms, and frameworks in order to determine the most logical approach to the system redesign. After a few false leads, it was determined that the most appropriate solution to the problem was to design a C# based web form application using asp.NET technology, developed in Microsoft Visual Studio. A mockup was created in Access in an attempt to determine if …

Standardization For Retail Facility Layout For Patagonia, Inc., Derek King

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to create a standard layout for Patagonia retail stores. Currently, Patagonia has no standard layouts to follow when they update or open a new store; this has resulted in improper layouts and not fulfilling customers’ needs. This project will develop a way for Patagonia to solve both of these problems based on statistical engineering. The outcome of this project will result in a standard way for determining the optimal layout for new or updated Patagonia retail stores while meeting the business needs of the location.

Developing A Time And Motion Study For A Lean Healthcare Environment, Michael Winston Patton Jr.

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This thesis outlines the development of a standard methodology for performing a time and motion study in a lean healthcare environment. Time and motion studies have been used in healthcare environments in the past, however they have nearly all been exclusive to a particular healthcare enterprise. To develop the time and motion study methodology, a study was designed to examine how resident doctors spend their time. This study was performed in response to coming changes in the work hours for all residents. Once the methodology was developed, trial observations were conducted. The data from these observations was analyzed to determine …

Achieving Ultrafine Grains In Mg Az31b-O Alloy By Cryogenic Friction Stir Processing And Machining, Anwaruddin Mohammed

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

This thesis presents results from the application of cryogenic cooling on multiple-pass friction stir processing and the subsequent orthogonal machining on friction stir processed and as-received Mg AZ31B-O disks, and shows their combined effects on microstructure and microhardness values. A simple friction stir tool, a specially designed fixture and liquid nitrogen are used to perform multiple-pass friction stir processing experiments on Mg AZ31B-O alloy. The friction stir processed and as-received sheets are then made into disks for the orthogonal machining experiments. This study analyzes the microhardness, microstructure changes by cryogenic friction stir processing and the effect of machining conditions such …

Architecture Value Mapping: Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps As A Reasoning Mechanism For Multi-Criteria Conceptual Design Evaluation, Atmika Singh

Doctoral Dissertations

"The conceptual design phase is the most critical phase in the systems engineering life cycle. The design concept chosen during this phase determines the structure and behavior of the system, and consequently, its ability to fulfill its intended function. A good conceptual design is the first step in the development of a successful artifact. However, decision-making during conceptual design is inherently challenging and often unreliable. The conceptual design phase is marked by an ambiguous and imprecise set of requirements, and ill-defined system boundaries. A lack of usable data for design evaluation makes the problem worse. In order to assess a …

Assessing System Architectures: The Canonical Decomposition Fuzzy Comparative Methodology, Jason Paul Dauby

Doctoral Dissertations

"The impacts of decisions made during the selection of the system architecture propagate throughout the entire system lifecycle. The challenge for system architects is to perform a realistic assessment of an inherently ambiguous system concept. Subject matter expert interpretations, intuition, and heuristics are performed quickly and guide system development in the right overall direction, but these methods are subjective and unrepeatable. Traditional analytical assessments dismiss complexity in a system by assuming severability between system components and are intolerant of ambiguity. To be defensible, a suitable methodology must be repeatable, analytically rigorous, and yet tolerant of ambiguity. The hypothesis for this …

Quantifying The Carbon Footprint Of Lean Waste, Kristen Donovan Balinski

Masters Theses

"The objective of this paper is to provide a method of quantifying lean wastes in terms of carbon dioxide emissions by using value stream mapping. Lean manufacturing, a process based on waste identification and reduction, is a growing trend in industry and a proven method of lowering costs. The environmental impact of these wastes can be quantified by identifying the metrics associated with them, and using existing reports to convert those metrics into measurements of carbon dioxide. Growing environmental concerns are prompting federal government regulation of greenhouse gas or carbon dioxide emissions, as seen in the American Clean Energy and …

Development Of Risk Uncertainty Factors From Historical Nasa Projects, Tahani R. Amer

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Projects for D. Eng. Degree

NASA is a good investment of federal funds and strives to provide the best value to the nation. NASA has consistently budgeted to unrealistic cost estimates, which are evident in the cost growth in many of its programs. In this investigation, NASA has been using available uncertainty factors from the Aerospace Corporation, Air Force, and Booz Allen Hamilton to develop projects' risk posture. NASA has no insight into the developmental of these factors and, as demonstrated here, this can lead to unrealistic risks in many NASA Programs and projects (P/p). The primary contribution of this project is the development of …

The Effects Of Anti-Price Gouging Legislation On Supply Chain Dynamics, Jason Edward Maynard

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to model the effects of anti-price gouging (APG) legislation on the costs to businesses during the recovery period of a disaster. A system dynamics model of a business’s replenishment procedures is used to simulate the effects of APG legislation on business performance. Economists have published expansive research on the effects of price ceilings on supply and demand, but there is little research evidence on the operational consequences of price ceiling legislation on business costs. APG legislation increases consumer’s forward buying and shortage gaming after a disaster by removing price incentives to be frugal. Forward …

Integration Of Model-Based Systems Engineering And Virtual Engineering Tools For Detailed Design, Akshay Kande

Masters Theses

"Design and development of a system can be viewed as a process of transferring and transforming data using a set of tools that form the system's development environment. Conversion of the systems engineering data into useful information is one of the prime objectives of the tools used in the process. With complex systems, the objective is further augmented with a need to represent the information in an accessible and comprehensible manner. The importance of representation is easily understood in light of the fact that the stakeholder's ability to make prompt and appropriate decisions is directly related to his understanding of …

Design And Analysis Of A Speed-Aware Routing Protocol For Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Kirthana Akunuri

Masters Theses

"The flexibility of movement for the wireless ad hoc devices, referred to as node mobility, introduces challenges such as dynamic topological changes, increased frequency of route disconnections and high packet loss rate in Mobile Ad hoc Wireless Network (MANET) routing. This research proposes a novel on-demand routing protocol, Speed-Aware Routing Protocol (SARP) to mitigate the effects of high node mobility by reducing the frequency of route disconnections in a MANET. SARP identifies a highly mobile node which forms an unstable link by predicting the link expiration time (LET) for a transmitter and receiver pair. When the nodes have high relative …