Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Managing The Economic Constraints Of Foundries And Fabless Enterprises, Charles M. Weber, Jiting Yang

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper presents an empirically grounded model, which links organizational learning to pattern-specific fixed costs. The approach described in this paper helps fab managers make fundamental strategic decisions concerning product design and product mix by engaging in scenario planning. Four critical aspects of managing pattern-specific fixed cost are analyzed in detail – sensitivity to time, design cost and production volume; platform designs; process postponement solutions; and design penalties. The model suggests that fabless enterprises and foundries must collaborate extensively on the design and realizations of product platforms for state-of-the-art integrated circuit products to remain economically viable.

Pragmatic Divestment Of Kc-135 Navigators In The Special Operations Air Refueling Mission, Andrew P. Nation

Theses and Dissertations

In the late 1990s, the Air Force eliminated over 200 KC-135 navigators, leaving 50 remaining for the aircraft's most complex Special Operations Air Refueling (SOAR) mission. As the Air Force unveils the KC-46 Pegasus, this mission will continue but without a position for the navigator. Instead, navigators will undergo divestment as the SOAR mission transfers to the KC-46. Current plans indicate navigators will not only remain as the KC-46 arrives, but inbound navigators will continue arriving until 2018. This thesis applies the Delphi method, a process eliciting analysis anonymously from a panel of experts, in order to examine the elements …

Semantic Shift To Pragmatic Meaning In Shared Decision Making: Situation Theory Perspective, M. Canan, A. Sousa-Poza, S. F. Kovacic

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The way humans establish communication depends on the generation and conveyance of meaning. Linguistically, meaning in information is dependent on the meaning that is ascribed to signifiers in the context of the communication. These signifiers can include items such as words, phrases, signs, and symbols. Conveyance of meaning may, however, imprecise and prone to error. The meaning of information in communication may arise from a change in the context in which a signifier is placed (intrinsic), or a change in the paradigm with which the signifier and context are perceived (extrinsic). In simple situations, where paradigms are reconcilable, semantic shift …

Opening The Door To Breakthroughs That Address Strategic Organizational Needs: Applying Technology Roadmapping Tools And Techniques At An Electric Utility, James V. Hillegas-Elting, Terry Oliver, Joshua Binus, Tugrul Unsal Daim, Judith Estep, Jisun Kim

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the course of a decade, the Bonneville Power Administration's Technology Innovation Office has developed a roadmapping approach that captures business challenges and opportunities critical to the agency, links these with barriers to success, and connects these with technical solutions and research questions. Senior leaders from across the agency establish strategic goals and objectives, and international technical subject matter experts are convened to articulate technology-associated paths to achieve these. Each roadmap captures insights from diverse experts in highly collaborative environments and focuses them on critically important topics. These roadmaps are an important element in the Bonneville Power Administration's strategic approach …

A Decision Analysis Framework For Evaluation Of Helmet Mounted Display Alternatives For Fighter Aircraft, Matthew R. Dansereau

Theses and Dissertations

The promise of providing an intuitive and efficient information interface, while allowing the warfighter to perform other critical tasks such as targeting or aircraft control, has led to the growing popularity of Helmet Mounted Displays (HMDs) across the military landscape, especially combat aircraft. Though design and selection of competing systems is critical to optimized performance and safety, structured methods for the evaluation of HMDs are not often used in the acquisition community, leaving selection among alternative designs to the judgment of subject matter experts. However, technical decision-making has been shown to be flawed without the use of a structured decision …

Equipment Maintenance And Replacement Decision Making Processes, Michael W. Gage

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project contains recommendations for the decision making processes for support and production equipment maintenance and replacement for a large defense contractor. Recent literature has been reviewed to provide perspective on current trends in the field. A complete evaluation of their current processes and systems is included with recommendations on areas for improvement. A decision support system is also proposed to supplement their existing decision making.

The Role Of Is Infrastructure And Organizational Context On Implementation Of Electronic Health Records Systems, Pilar Pazos, Anjee Gorkhali, Rolando Delaguila

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This research explores the role that Information System (IS) infrastructure and organizational context play on the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) Systems. A number of indicators can be used as a proxy for IS infrastructure such as: Information System (IS) Department Budget allocation, percentage of full time IS staff and the number of technical trainings provided by the IS department to the clinical staff. Data was obtained from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) database, a non-for profit organization that evaluates the use of information technology in the health care industry. This paper reports on the development …

Effects Of Signal Ambiguity And Signal Location On Target Detection Under Varying Degrees Of Time Constraint, Kimberly E. Culley

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of decision-making strategies and tendencies, time constraint, and signal characteristics on decision-making performance utilizing the fuzzy signal detection theory framework. Participants were tasked with deciding whether x-ray images of passenger luggage contained hazardous objects.

The first objective of the study was to develop a methodology for quantifying optimizing versus satisficing tendencies in decision making through direct measurement and observation.

The second objective of the study was to examine how time constraint and specific signal characteristics contribute to decision making. Interestingly, despite having more time available to conduct a comprehensive …

Supply Chain Network Design: Risk-Averse Vs. Risk-Neutral Decision Making, Alireza Madadi

All Dissertations

Recent events, such as the Heparin tragedy, highlight the necessity for designers and planners of supply chain networks to consider the risk of disruptions in spite of their low probability of occurrence. One effective way to hedge against supply chain network disruptions is to have a robustly designed supply chain network. This involves strategic decisions, such as choosing which markets to serve, which suppliers to source from, the location of plants, the types of facilities to use, and tactical decisions, such as production and capacity allocation. In this dissertation, we focus on models for designing supply chain networks that are …

The Impact Of Online Collaboration Spaces On Virtual Team Outcomes, Anil Ustun, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

With the emergence of information technology, organizational teams often work virtually, relying on different technologies to successfully complete tasks. This paper investigates the influence of online collaboration spaces on team performance and team affective outcomes such as satisfaction with the process. An experiment will be conducted in which teams of 3 participants will work together on a survival decision-making activity (Lost at Sea). Teams will be collaborating in a web-conferencing (Adobe Connecta™) space and a 3D (three-dimensional) virtual space (Second Life). Based on Social Presence Theory, we expect that the avatar-based 3D environment will provide a richer environment for social …

Project-Risk Management And Decision Analysis In Maritime Maintenance And Repair, Michael C. Plumb, C. Ariel Pinto, Rafael Landaeta, Resit Unal, Thomas Murphy

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights regarding the implementation of using Project Risk Management (PRM) and Decision Analysis (DA) in managing projects for complex systems such as maritime vessels. 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. Ship Maintenance and Repair project decision-making requires that risk management and risk analysis techniques be applied in order to guide management in making better decisions to meet ship service life perspective. …

Epistemic Uncertainty Analysis: An Approach Using Expert Judgment And Evidential Credibility, Patrick Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

When dealing with complex systems, all decision making occurs under some level of uncertainty. This is due to the physical attributes of the system being analyzed, the environment in which the system operates, and the individuals which operate the system. Techniques for decision making that rely on traditional probability theory have been extensively pursued to incorporate these inherent aleatory uncertainties. However, complex problems also typically include epistemic uncertainties that result from lack of knowledge. These problems are fundamentally different and cannot be addressed in the same fashion. In these instances, decision makers typically use subject matter expert judgment to assist …

The Effects Of Weather Recognition Training On General Aviation Pilot Situation Assessment And Tactical Decision Making When Confronted With Adverse Weather Conditions, Chansik Kim

All Dissertations

Previous general aviation (GA) accident studies showed that decision errors were more associated with fatal GA accidents than other kinds of human errors, and weather related accidents, especially continued visual flight rules (VFR) flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), remained the major cause of fatal GA accidents. Thus, finding the underlying causes of GA pilots' decision errors and continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions are needed to reduce weather related GA accidents as well as fatal GA accidents.
Causal factors and hypotheses of weather related GA accidents show that knowledge, experience, motivation, and weather information frequently have been referred …

Extending The Strategy Based Risk Model Using The Delphi Method: An Application To The Validation Process For Research And Developmental (R&D) Satellites, Amanda J. Langenbrunner, Mary R. Trautwein

Theses and Dissertations

The validation between a research and developmental satellite and its ground system is critical to ensuring the success on-orbit. However, the exact process for completing validation is not documented, frequently underfunded, and accomplished ad hoc. This leads to debate regarding maintenance of budget and schedule, while ensuring on-orbit success. This thesis examines readiness and on-orbit activities within the U.S. Air Force Space Development and Test Wing's Research Development Test and Evaluation Support Complex. Combining historical data with the consultation of subject matter experts, a validation process was defined. Risks associated with this process were then analyzed using the Strategy Based …

Synthesis, Interdiction, And Protection Of Layered Networks, Kevin T. Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed the foundation, theory, and framework for a set of analysis techniques to assist decision makers in analyzing questions regarding the synthesis, interdiction, and protection of infrastructure networks. This includes extension of traditional network interdiction to directly model nodal interdiction; new techniques to identify potential targets in social networks based on extensions of shortest path network interdiction; extension of traditional network interdiction to include layered network formulations; and develops models/techniques to design robust layered networks while considering trade-offs with cost. These approaches identify the maximum protection/disruption possible across layered networks with limited resources, find the most robust layered …

Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Score: Evaluation Applied To Joint Force Protection Future State Design, Larry D. Cotton, Gary A. Haase

Theses and Dissertations

This research presents a methodology to evaluate the quality of a system's architecture using principles drawn from Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) and resulting in a Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Score (VDEA-Score). This is an overall numerical architecture quality score useful to a system's management team to identify the advantages and disadvantages of a system design and associated architecture documentation or to track its quality across discrete evaluation epochs. This effort determined which aspects of the architecture are most valuable to the stakeholder in the areas of (1) the system effectiveness values (quality of the instantiated system being represented and its ability to …

The Impact Of Communication Medium On Team Performance Patterns, Pilar Pazos, Mario G. Beruvides

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The increased impact of globalization and rapidly changing technologies are some of the biggest challenges facing 21st century organizations. Remote teams supported through computer-based systems have been identified as a key lever to help organizations adapt to this turbulent environment. This study sheds some light on how teams perform and adapt by evaluating performance and synergy over time for teams in two different settings: computer supported and face-to-face. Participants in the study were randomly assigned either to a computer-supported or a face-to face group. Each group met over three sessions to perform a series of tasks that were evaluated using …

Modeling Systems For Optimal Resource Allocation, Scheduling, And Decision Making, Esengul Tayfur

All Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the resource requirements and scheduling problem for logistic systems. We investigate solutions to this problem in two different logistic systems: logistic system of the health care facilities during emergency evacuations and delivery and distribution system of production industries. All hospitals must have an evacuation plan to ensure the safety of patients and prevent the loss of life. However, hospital operators have not been able to quantify how resource availability, the cost of acquiring those resources, and evacuation completion time are related. This research addresses this problem and contributes two methodologies to solve this problem. In the …

Developing A Decision Model For Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (Jieddo) Proposal Selection, Lyle M. Dawley, Lenore A. Marentee, Alice Marie Long

Theses and Dissertations

This research uses decision analysis to develop a structured, repeatable and most importantly defensible decision model for the evaluation of proposed IED defeat solutions submitted to the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). Additive value models using Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) are examined as possible methodologies. VFT is determined to be the "best fit" for JIEDDO's decision situation in which proposals are submitted continuously and must be scored independently of previous proposals. VFT is first used to determine desirable qualities in IED defeat options, and then to generate a hierarchal value model to evaluate these qualities …

A Decision Tool To Evaluate Budgeting Methodologies For Estimating Facility Recapitalization Requirements, Krista M. Hickman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a decision tool to assist in the evaluation of facility recapitalization budget estimation models to determine which model was best suited for a particular organization. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer an overarching research question addressing the importance of recapitalization and the best method to estimate the facility recapitalization budget using the Department of Defense (DoD) as the subject of the research. A comprehensive literature review revealed ten existing recapitalization model alternatives to consider for implementation. The methodology used to develop a decision tool was based on the Value Focused Thinking (VFT) …

Robust Sensitivity Analysis Of Courses Of Action Using An Additive Value Model, Hunter A. Marks

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) requires the ability to quantifiably measure progress in arenas that are complex and difficult to measure, such as the stability of a region. Therefore, the DoD works diligently to predict the effect of operations and sponsors research to improve prediction and analysis. They desire a repeatable, systematic methodology to aid in the selection of courses of action (COA) that efficiently meet stated objectives and quantitatively measure the degree of accomplishment of these objectives. The author proposes a value-focused thinking (VFT) decision analysis (DA) approach to this problem. This methodology not only aids in selection of …

Radical Impact Of Change In Actions And Confidence Index On Reverse Decision Making An Application Based Study, Swatee Trimbak Paithankar

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

While making decisions under uncertainty, people are often unaware of the logical approach to form the decision process. It is assumed that collecting details, analyzing and evaluating data is enough to make 'proper' decisions. However, past research in the decision making arena has significantly validated that there exists a class of decision problems which is complex, ill-structured and not defined to the level where decision makers can draw logical conclusions based on existing traditional decision approaches. RDM (reverse decision making), one of the novel approaches of decision making under conditions of uncertainty, has shown potential towards addressing some of these …

Selecting Electricity Generation Sources In Remote Locations, Kelly E. Kwan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of using a decision analysis technique for the selection of an electrical generation system for remote locations. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer five research questions addressing the types of energy sources used in remote locations, the decision-making processes used to identify these sources, the types of constraints incorporated in such a process, other valued factors, and their level of importance in relation to each other. The research questions were answered through a comprehensive literature review and the 10-Step Value-Focused Thinking Process on a specific case study in the National …

Towards A Diagnostic Framework For Understanding Complex Situations, José J. Padilla, Andres Sousa-Poza, Arturo Tejada, Samuel Kovacic

VMASC Publications

This paper presents a theoretical framework for the concept of understanding and how it can be used for assessing complex situations. Understanding is presented as a cognitive process on how an individual perceives and represents a complex domain based on his/her own predispositions, and how he/she selects knowledge or what may not be knowledge based on the same predispositions towards finding a set of solutions for the situation. Predispositions, in this case, are based on his/her epistemological, ontological and teleological biases while the domain is represented by irreducible and transient conditions. The final outcome is the match or mismatch of …

Reverse Decision Making And Goal Attainment A Proof Of Concept As A New Approach To The Decision Making Process Under Uncertainty, Shitalkumar S. Sabne

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Decision making occurs when one must choose among alternatives. However, in uncertain environments where problems are complex and decision makers lack complete knowledge of the situation as well as decision alternatives, it's not possible for them to select an optimal decision outcome by 'Traditional Decision Approaches'. At present Reverse Decision Making is the central, although new and unproved, approach of Old Dominion University's Engineering Management and Systems Engineering research on decision making process for uncertain and complex situations. Even though research in decision making spans over one hundred years, there are still important problems which remain to be addressed.

There …

Order And Disorder, Entropy In Math, Science, Nature And The Arts, Sol Neeman Ph.D., Arie Maharshak

Engineering Studies Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Often, science and engineering students have difficult time in viewing certain concepts in their holistic form. An example for such a concept is the concept of Entropy. Although it originated from the field of thermodynamics, the relation between order and disorder is a profound one and manifests itself in various fields, sometimes unrelated, such as math and science, nature and the arts. In the discipline of physics, the amount of disorder in a system has been quantified by the concept of Entropy. In the area of information theory it provides a quantitative measure of the amount of compression that may …

The Analytic Hierarchy & The Analytic Network Processes In Multicriteria Decision Making: A Comparative Study, Ali K. Taslicali

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this investigation is to identify the critical benefits and factors of decision making models in a changing technological environment. Decision making models are helping tools for the managers or decision makers to make future plans by using qualitative or quantitative data. In this research, a general idea about decision making models and, comparison between the two important models, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Analytical Network Process (ANP), are introduced. The research was done by using the information in the literature and expert judgment. This paper can be used by academics as a foundation for further …

Strategic Airlift En Route Analysis To Support The Global War On Terrorism Using A Value Focused Thinking Approach, Marykathryn W. Tharaldson

Theses and Dissertations

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has yielded new challenges to the United States' strategic airlift infrastructure. The network of en-route airfields that serve as refueling and maintenance stops were designed primarily to service relatively static Cold War requirements. However, the GWOT has resulted in the need for an infrastructure that is responsive to a highly dynamic environment. This research uses a "value focused" methodology to identify en-route airfield locations that simultaneously maximize cargo throughput capability while possessing a high degree of adaptability to volatile cargo delivery requirements.

Partial Adjustable Autonomy In Multi-Agent Environment And Its Application To Military Logistics, Hoong Chuin Lau, Lucas Agussurja, Ramesh Thangarajoo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In a rapidly changing environment, the behavior and decision-making power of agents may have to be adaptive with respect to a fluctuating autonomy. In this paper, a centralized fuzzy approach is proposed to sense changes in environmental conditions and translate them to changes in agent autonomy. A distributed coalition formation scheme is then applied to allow agents in the new autonomy to renegotiate to establish schedule consistency. The proposed framework is applied to a real-time logistics control of a military hazardous material storage facility under peace-to-war transition.

Assessing The Usefulness Of The Decision Framework For Identifying And Selecting Knowledge Management Projects, Kevin G. Budai

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge management (KM) is becoming recognized as a valuable tool for the Department of Defense (DoD) in its effort to maintain a competitive, strategic advantage against its enemies in a new threat environment. Decision superiority is the ultimate end result and is only possible through the effective and efficient use of its chief key resource--knowledge. As the Air Force seeks to transform the way it does business the concept of knowledge management has made its way to the forefront of both the Air Force's Information Strategy and Information Resource Flight Plan. This research assesses the usefulness of a knowledge management …