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Articles 3631 - 3660 of 13783

Full-Text Articles in Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Energy Consumption And Tardiness Improvement For A Flexible Job Shop And A Warehouse, Ahmad Ebrahimi Mar 2021

Energy Consumption And Tardiness Improvement For A Flexible Job Shop And A Warehouse, Ahmad Ebrahimi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, energy consumption (EC) is studied to see its effects on monetary and non-monetary costs in manufacturing and warehousing. EC in manufacturing and warehousing, however, needs to be studied with conventional performance measures such as production/operation tardiness since there is a trade-off between EC and tardiness costs. Therefore, this research is conducted with four objectives to study EC and tardiness for a flexible job shop and a warehouse as follows. The first objective of this research is to integrate job scheduling and layout, which are interrelated in improving EC and tardiness for a flexible job shop. Thus, we …

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Predicting F-16 Cause Code H Micap Hours Using Jmp Regression Analysis, Scott E. Carr Mar 2021

Predicting F-16 Cause Code H Micap Hours Using Jmp Regression Analysis, Scott E. Carr

Theses and Dissertations

Emergency demands for aircraft parts, MICAPs (Mission Impaired Capability Awaiting Parts) are one of the leading issues affecting mission capability supply rates for fighter aircraft. Cause code H MICAPS, those with a known demand level, but no supply available, are particularly troublesome and difficult to resolve. These MICAPS are due to failures by the supply chain to replenish stock levels within acceptable time limits. Numerous studies have identified a clear need for proactive measures to reduce MICAP hours. This would significantly improve aircraft availability. This study uses regression analysis implemented in JMP software to build models with a goal of …

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Air Combat Maneuvering Via Operations Research And Artificial Intelligence Methods, James B. Crumpacker Mar 2021

Air Combat Maneuvering Via Operations Research And Artificial Intelligence Methods, James B. Crumpacker

Theses and Dissertations

Within visual range air combat requires rapid, sequential decision-making to survive and defeat the adversary. Fighter pilots spend years perfecting maneuvers for these types of engagements, yet the emergence of unmanned, autonomous vehicle technologies elicits a natural question - can an autonomous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (AUCAV) be imbued with the necessary artificial intelligence to perform air combat maneuvering tasks independently? We formulate and solve the air combat maneuvering problem to examine this question, developing a Markov decision process model to control an AUCAV seeking to destroy a maneuvering adversarial vehicle. An approximate dynamic programming (ADP) approach implementing neural network …

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Exploring The Limits Of Strategic Thought: Evaluating How Different Communication Modalities Affect The Nature Of Strategic Decision-Making Using Cognitive Hierarchy, Stephen D. Donnel Mar 2021

Exploring The Limits Of Strategic Thought: Evaluating How Different Communication Modalities Affect The Nature Of Strategic Decision-Making Using Cognitive Hierarchy, Stephen D. Donnel

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines and quantifies the degree to which both information communication modality and the situational complexity affect individuals' ability to process the provided information and determine an effective strategy. Human subject testing herein consists of benign benevolent intervention involving the presentation of a series of strategic situations. For each situation, a participant attempts to identify their best response for a two-player, normal-form game with complete information. In each such game, players seek to maximize their own utility while considering their own actions, their opponent's actions, and each player's respective preferences over outcomes resulting from the possible combinations of actions. …

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Allocation Of Scarce Healthcare Resources In A Military Treatment Facility During A Pandemic: A Comparison Of Goal Programming And Portfolio Decision Analysis Methods, Donald B. Hale Mar 2021

Allocation Of Scarce Healthcare Resources In A Military Treatment Facility During A Pandemic: A Comparison Of Goal Programming And Portfolio Decision Analysis Methods, Donald B. Hale

Theses and Dissertations

In a pandemic, healthcare decisionmakers face the challenge of allocating critical, but scarce healthcare resources in a dynamic, uncertain environment. Their decisions will not only affect the patients coming to the hospital for treatment, but also the Military Treatment Facility's personnel responsible. The decisionmaker must decide how to allocate these resources to achieve multiple, conflicting objectives under multiple constraints. In response, we propose a methodology for the implementation of both Portfolio Decision Analysis and Goal Programming. The steps of this methodology provide a framework with which the decisionmaker can develop optimal allocation of resources. This framework was then applied to …

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A Fuzzy Framework For The Air Force Mission Dependency Index, Devin M. Depalmer Mar 2021

A Fuzzy Framework For The Air Force Mission Dependency Index, Devin M. Depalmer

Theses and Dissertations

AFIMSC completed an MDI modernization to support better risk-based decision-making by utilizing tactical mission-owner knowledge to quantify the relationship between facilities and the missions they enable. The resulting facility-mission risk scores leave room for improvement for better use of their intended purposes due to (1) the vulnerability of cognitive biases affecting survey responses due to the use of a traditional risk matrix (2) the lack of resolution between scores from risk ties and (3) the failure to include information from the operational and strategic organizational hierarchy level. This research addresses these concerns through the novel implementation of a fuzzy logic …

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Guidance For Building Motivation In Space Operator Training, Foster E. Davis Mar 2021

Guidance For Building Motivation In Space Operator Training, Foster E. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Services provided by spacecraft, including communications and global positioning, are integral to small businesses, multinational corporations, and the United States Department of Defense. United States rivals recognize the need to undermine the military advantage provided by the space domain and are exploring ways to degrade these services in their warfare doctrine. In response, the United States will need space systems suited to counter these threats and personnel who are trained to respond to the new reality of a contested space environment. This paper also reviews the academic literature and written guidelines for developing motivation in an interactive environment for improving …

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A Method For Visualizing The Structural Complexity Of Organizational Architectures, Jacob Michael B. King Mar 2021

A Method For Visualizing The Structural Complexity Of Organizational Architectures, Jacob Michael B. King

Master's Theses

To achieve a high level of performance and efficiency, contemporary aerospace systems must become increasingly complex. While complexity management traditionally focuses on a product’s components and their interconnectedness, organizational representation in complexity analysis is just as essential. This thesis addresses this organizational aspect of complexity through an Organizational Complexity Metric (OCM) to aid complexity management. The OCM augments Sinha’s structural complexity metric for product architectures into a metric that can be applied to organizations. Utilizing nested numerical design structure matrices (DSMs), a compact visual representation of organizational complexity was developed. Within the nested numerical DSM are existing organizational datasets used …

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A Decision-Support System For The Deployment Tasking Process Of U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Officers, Kenneth A. Neal Mar 2021

A Decision-Support System For The Deployment Tasking Process Of U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Officers, Kenneth A. Neal

Theses and Dissertations

The Armed Forces frequently deploy their personnel to expeditionary locations around the world. For example, the Air Force tasks its personnel to deploy based on a six-month rotational cycle. In the current tasking process, the deployment makes its way down from combatant commanders to squadron commanders through the chain of command. The commander then has a few days to select an individual from their unit to fill the tasking. The commander may consider an individuals’ dwell time, home-station position, and upcoming significant life events; however, because commanders have little time and information, minimum requirements selection criteria often become the driving …

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Reducing Military Personnel Flight Wait Times Using A Simulation, Matthew D. Cornman Mar 2021

Reducing Military Personnel Flight Wait Times Using A Simulation, Matthew D. Cornman

Theses and Dissertations

A shortage of resources and system failures have put a strain on Military Personnel Flights (MPFs) being able to service their customers in a timely manner. Prolonged customer wait times are becoming a common problem in most MPFs creating problems between the relationship of the customers and leadership. This research uses historical data of an MPF to develop a simulation model of daily operations in an MPF. Subject matter expertise of current MPF operations and resource levels were used to provide a baseline model of the MPF queuing system. The analysis examines the effects of number of Defense Enrollment Eligibility …

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Ccsfs/Ksc Total Lightning Warning Radii Optimization For Merlin Using Preexisting Lightning Areas, Kimberly G. Holland Mar 2021

Ccsfs/Ksc Total Lightning Warning Radii Optimization For Merlin Using Preexisting Lightning Areas, Kimberly G. Holland

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to optimize lightning warning radii specifications for the 45th Space Wing (45 SW), thus reducing the number of unnecessary warnings that delay ground processing needed for space launch execution at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This thesis sought to answer two key research questions addressing: 1) What radius reduction effectively balances both safety and operations and do reduction recommendations from previous research align with results from the new detection system? 2) What insights can be gained from comparing measurement results for seasonal lightning events as well as lightning types? This …

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Improving Air Battle Management Target Assignment Processes Via Approximate Dynamic Programming, Joseph M. Liles Iv Mar 2021

Improving Air Battle Management Target Assignment Processes Via Approximate Dynamic Programming, Joseph M. Liles Iv

Theses and Dissertations

Military air battle managers face many challenges when directing operations in quickly evolving combat scenarios. These scenarios require rapid decisions to engage moving and unpredictable targets. In defensive operations, the success of a sequence of air battle management decisions is reflected by the friendly force's ability to maintain air superiority by defending friendly assets. We develop a Markov decision process (MDP) model of the air battle management (ABM)problem, wherein a set of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) is tasked to defend a central asset from cruise missiles that arrive stochastically over time.

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Contract Information Extraction Using Machine Learning, Zachary E. Butcher Mar 2021

Contract Information Extraction Using Machine Learning, Zachary E. Butcher

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Sustainment Center assisted by the Data Analytics Resource Team and the Defense Logistics Agency collected four million contracts onto one of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s high power computers. This thesis focuses on the effort to determine if parts are available through those contracts. Some information is extracted using machine learning in combination with natural language processing. Where machine learning methods are unsuccessful or inappropriate, text mining techniques, such as pattern recognition and rules, are used. Upon completion, the information is combined into a Gantt chart for quick evaluation. Only 21% of the contracts have their information …

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A State-Based Model For Validating Autonomous Munition Behaviors, Dalton J. Miller Mar 2021

A State-Based Model For Validating Autonomous Munition Behaviors, Dalton J. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous munitions provide an opportunity for the Department of Defense (DoD) to extend the capabilities of operators in combat situations. However, there is also a need for a high level of trust in the effectiveness and accuracy of these systems. With the advent of model-based standards in autonomy and munitions, there is a need to implement these techniques toward an effective modeling and simulation (MS) capability. By leveraging modern MS tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler and the DoD's Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM), this thesis proposes a framework for simulating complex autonomy architectures within high fidelity …

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The Impact Of Threat Levels At The Casualty Collection Point On Military Medical Evacuation System Performance, Nathaniel C. Dennie Mar 2021

The Impact Of Threat Levels At The Casualty Collection Point On Military Medical Evacuation System Performance, Nathaniel C. Dennie

Theses and Dissertations

One of the primary duties of the Military Health System is to provide effective and efficient medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) to injured battlefield personnel. To accomplish this, military medical planners seek to develop high-quality dispatching policies that dictate how deployed MEDEVAC assets are utilized throughout combat operations. This thesis seeks to determine dispatching policies that improve the performance of the MEDEVAC system. A discounted, infinite-horizon continuous-time Markov decision process (MDP) model is developed to examine the MEDEVAC dispatching problem. The model incorporates problem features that are not considered under the current dispatching policy (e.g., myopic policy), which tasks the closest-available MEDEVAC …

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Evaluating The Impact Of Culture On Customer Satisfaction For Fms Projects, Yaquari A. Adams Ii Mar 2021

Evaluating The Impact Of Culture On Customer Satisfaction For Fms Projects, Yaquari A. Adams Ii

Theses and Dissertations

The cost, time, and quality pillars of the iron triangle in project management are often considered the most important factors for managers to consider when striving to achieve project success. However, recent literature suggests customer satisfaction and end-user benefit are the most important elements to prioritize during project development. This research analyzes the Air Force Security Assistance Center Construction Division and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) joint construction operations in relation to two Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) knowledge areas, project stakeholder management and project risk management. Project stakeholder management is addressed by identifying the relationship between cultural competency and …

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Examining The Impact Of Logistics On Military Strength Among East Asian Nations Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Meaghan E. Crandell Mar 2021

Examining The Impact Of Logistics On Military Strength Among East Asian Nations Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Meaghan E. Crandell

Theses and Dissertations

The current narrative in logistics revolves around modernization and the rapid development and deployment of capabilities, which is a sentiment echoed across the Air Force and the DoD alike. However, the combination of intangible and tangible aspects of logistics can make it challenging to find a foundational place to start the process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate logistical factors to include land area, infrastructure, labor force, and GDP and their relationship to military power. This foundation will provide a baseline of areas for improvement and replication. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and linear regression were leveraged to analyze …

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Utilizing Model Based Systems Engineering To Identify Safety Critical Functions In Airworthiness Certification, Jeffrey C. King Mar 2021

Utilizing Model Based Systems Engineering To Identify Safety Critical Functions In Airworthiness Certification, Jeffrey C. King

Theses and Dissertations

Modern aircraft are complex systems with numerous interacting hardware and software components. To minimize any safety mishaps during operations, new aircraft designs and modifications must go through an airworthiness certification. The current United States Air Force (USAF) airworthiness certification process, captured in MIL-HDBK-516C, is time-consuming and manpower intensive due to extensive documentation. To minimize inefficiencies of this document-based approach, this thesis examined model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to support Safety Critical Function (SCF) thread analysis against criteria found in Section 15 of MIL-HDBK-516C. Within this scope, the research identified an SCF domain-specific profile and style guide using the Systems Modeling Language …

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Defensive Counterair For Air Base Air Defense Using Directed Energy And Kinetic Energy Weapons, Andrew S. Wilson Mar 2021

Defensive Counterair For Air Base Air Defense Using Directed Energy And Kinetic Energy Weapons, Andrew S. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Air bases in key locations provide a strategic advantage to the countries that access them, and are at constant threat from adversaries. This research seeks to determine the optimal maneuvering of a fixed number of fighter aircraft in a combat air patrol for defensive counterair to maximally and effectively attrit the inbound cruise missile threat to a stationary high value asset such as an air base. The problem formulation identifies multiple objectives for the model: minimize the distance traveled for the fighters, minimize the time utilized to engage the incoming cruise missiles, and maximize the number of cruise missiles destroyed. …

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Stochastic Programming Design For West Africa Logistics Networks, Julius C. Walker Mar 2021

Stochastic Programming Design For West Africa Logistics Networks, Julius C. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

The USAFRICOM is studying methods to increase the resiliency of its West African Logistic Network, a hub-and-spoke network design responsible for sustaining long term humanitarian and security missions in the West Africa region. This paper employs a two-stage stochastic programming network design modeled on the WALN that builds a flexible supply chain capable of responding to periodic disruptions while maintaining peak resiliency. Elements such as cost, probability, and event-based disruption are integrated into the model to mirror challenges the WALN faces. We demonstrate that incorporating resilient based response mechanism provide a 90% reduction in cost compared to meeting the logistical …

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An Analysis Of Application Type, Super Domain, And Productivity In Software Intensive Defense Acquisition, Evan P. Amato Mar 2021

An Analysis Of Application Type, Super Domain, And Productivity In Software Intensive Defense Acquisition, Evan P. Amato

Theses and Dissertations

The productivity of software developers has been an area of interest in the private industry in an endeavor to more appropriately interpret pertinent software development cost drivers. In an effort to better predict the cost of developing software, many have focused on Application Type as an important factor. The Department of Defense (DoD) has recently adopted a similar focus. Studies on categorization schemes of Application Types have shown increasingly relevant cost and productivity driving characteristics recently in the DoD. Identification of factors associated with distinct productivity effects is important for the defense acquisition and software cost estimation domains. Distinct factors …

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Model Based Systems Engineering Demonstrator For Air Worthiness With Performance Data Of Department Of Defense Rotorcraft, Bretton M. Bethel Mar 2021

Model Based Systems Engineering Demonstrator For Air Worthiness With Performance Data Of Department Of Defense Rotorcraft, Bretton M. Bethel

Theses and Dissertations

Airworthiness is a process of certifying that an aircraft can be safety operated within specified bounds. This process is essential to ensuring the safety of the aircraft, its personnel, and the surrounding assets. A Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach can be utilized as a method to improve the airworthiness process. MBSE is the methodology of creating and utilizing domain models as a means of exchanging and presenting information for a wide variety of disciplines to understand and replacing previous document-based exchange. The objective of this research is to develop a reference architecture with a MBSE approach to perform the airworthiness …

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Data- Driven Asset Degradation Modeling: An Enterprise-Wide Roof System Case Study, Kurt R. Lamm Mar 2021

Data- Driven Asset Degradation Modeling: An Enterprise-Wide Roof System Case Study, Kurt R. Lamm

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations with large facility and infrastructure portfolios have used asset management databases for over ten years to collect and standardize asset condition data. Decision makers use this data to predict asset degradation and expected service life, enabling prioritized maintenance, repair, and renovation actions that reduce asset life-cycle costs and achieve organizational objectives. However, these asset condition forecasts are calculated using standardized, self-correcting distribution models that rely on continuous functions. This research presents four step wise asset condition forecast models that utilize historical asset inspection data to improve prediction accuracy: (1) Slope, (2) Weighted Slope, (3) Condition-intelligent Weighted Slope, and (4) …

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An Analysis Of Error Structure And Theoretical First Unit Cost In Learning Curve Theory Models, Alexander D. Pollack Mar 2021

An Analysis Of Error Structure And Theoretical First Unit Cost In Learning Curve Theory Models, Alexander D. Pollack

Theses and Dissertations

The dilemma with learning curves and actual costs is "fitting square pegs into round holes." Alternative regression techniques or further modifications to Y=aXb may address discrepancies in modeling observed data with learning curves. Adequate data permits further analysis of the constants, variables, and factors that make up a learning curve model. The analysis involves trying a nonlinear solver on the traditional learning curve models (i.e., Wright's cumulative average theory and Crawford's unit learning curve theory) and changing the theoretical first unit cost (T1) to the actual first unit cost (A1). Mergers and acquisitions in the aircraft industry may have …

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Training Subject Matter Experts To Make Better Estimates, Cameron R. Scott Mar 2021

Training Subject Matter Experts To Make Better Estimates, Cameron R. Scott

Theses and Dissertations

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Elicitation is commonly used as a cost-estimation method when no historical data exists. The elicitation process assumes Subject Matter Experts are the resident experts in their individual fields of study. In addition, the process assumes SMEs provide reasonably trustworthy cost estimates that follow the tenets of probability theory. This last assumption is the subject of this study. A Navy sponsored e-learning course was created to help train SMEs in understanding probability distributions (O'Hagan, 2019). We conducted a study hypothesizing that taking the e-learning course would improve study participant accuracy in estimating confidence intervals for probability distributions.

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Application Of Game Theory Based Design To U.S. Space Systems, Benjamin C. Donohoo Mar 2021

Application Of Game Theory Based Design To U.S. Space Systems, Benjamin C. Donohoo

Theses and Dissertations

Modern defense systems are designed to static sets of requirements and specifications. This process has worked well in the past but fails to account for the strategic interdependence of design choices made prior to operating systems. However, as the world becomes increasingly competitive, and as the space domain becomes increasingly congested and contested, such interdependence of design can be described using Game Theory. Game Theory is the mathematical study of strategy, actions and payoffs between rational, self-interested actors. Limited extant research has applied Game Theory to system design but focused on a single system being designed cooperatively within a single …

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A Survey Of The Strategic Alternate Sourcing Program Offices Management Of United States Air Force Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Material Shortages Subject Matter Experts, David E. Portée Mar 2021

A Survey Of The Strategic Alternate Sourcing Program Offices Management Of United States Air Force Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Material Shortages Subject Matter Experts, David E. Portée

Theses and Dissertations

The office designated by the Air Force to be DMSMS subject expert program office is known as the Strategic Alternate Sourcing Program Office (SASPO). Aided by the USAF Program Offices and DMSMS Subject Matter Experts, the SASPO is responsible for sourcing DMSMS resolutions as well as the organizing, training, and equipping of the Program Offices DMSMS Programs. Using quantitative research, this study conducts a survey, with the USAF Program Offices as the unit of analysis, to gain insight as to where the SASPO is doing well and where gaps exist in their program management. The analysis and conclusion identify where …

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Investigating Manufacturer Selection Decisions For Built Infrastructure Assets Using A Technical Performance Metric, Sarah L. Brown Mar 2021

Investigating Manufacturer Selection Decisions For Built Infrastructure Assets Using A Technical Performance Metric, Sarah L. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Facility and built infrastructure asset management are necessary functions of any organization that utilizes buildings to operate their businesses. However, most organizations require facility managers to ensure the successful operation of their assets without providing sufficient resources to accomplish this task. Therefore, in resource-scarce environments, facility managers require data-driven solutions to manage their assets and make the best decisions. Facility managers need novel solutions to help make asset life-cycle decisions. This research provides such a solution. Capitalizing on available data, a technical performance metric is created, allowing facility managers to calculate their assets' operational performance. This performance metric provides a …

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The Utility Of Modeling An Enterprise Architecture For Air Force Digital Transformation, Mark W. Kassan Mar 2021

The Utility Of Modeling An Enterprise Architecture For Air Force Digital Transformation, Mark W. Kassan

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Materiel Command is undergoing a digital transformation to increase the speed of delivering new warfighter capabilities. This Digital Campaign consists of six Lines of Effort (LOEs) formed with diverse goals to transform the enterprise. This research investigated using the Zachman Framework and Systems Modeling Language to analyze this transformation. Extensive modeling captured the as-is Preliminary Design Review (PDR) process, and mapped LOE goals as primary impacts to Zachman cells. This led to an identification of a to-be digital PDR process. Secondary affected cells were then traced following a relationship analysis. Four discoveries were made. (1) Enterprise modeling …

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An Analysis Of Stability In Software Resources Data Report (Srdr) Computer Software Configuration (Csci), Trevor J. Violette Mar 2021

An Analysis Of Stability In Software Resources Data Report (Srdr) Computer Software Configuration (Csci), Trevor J. Violette

Theses and Dissertations

This research studies cost and schedule stability in programs that utilize Software Resource Data Report (SRDR) reporting standards. We find software programs at the Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI) level show much lower levels of stability than previously published DoD stability research that focused on aircraft. A comparison of software development methods found little to no difference between Agile and Plan Driven methodologies. Critical Success Factors (CSF) were identified from prior literature and used to examine CSCIs from the SRDR dataset. Focusing on schedule or cost resulted in different variables showing significance. A CSCI is more likely to remain on …

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