Systems Engineering Commons^™

Warrior Information Network- Tactical Human View Models & Analysis, Holly A. H. Handley, Cansu Kandemir, Elnaz Dario

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The Human View collects and categorizes data to provide information and analyses on the human component of a system. This organization of human system data helps to understand what the impact of the technology on human performance may be. The first phase of this project completed exploratory work on different Human View techniques in the context of the Warrior Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) system. This included creating a high-level diagram to provide a conceptual realization of a General Purpose User (GPU) interacting with the WIN-T system, creating engineering diagrams using the System Modeling Language (SysML) to render the Human …

Analyzing Stakeholders Using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, Patrick T. Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Stakeholder analysis was first explored as a methodology to assist business leaders with their strategic management functions. Stakeholder analysis has since expanded beyond the corporate arena. Stakeholders are a vital element in all complex systems problems; they are the customers, users, clients, suppliers, employees, regulators, and team members of a system. They fund a system, design it, build it, operate it, maintain it, and dispose of it. Each stakeholder contributes their own value-added perspective, as described by the systems principle known as complementarity. While many approaches exist for classifying and determining their attitudes, these approaches stop short of evaluating stakeholders …

Reducing Uncertainty In Technology Selection For Long Life Cycle Engineering Designs, Halil I. Ozdemir, C. Ariel Pinto, Resit Unal, Charles B. Keating, Colin Britcher, Sila Çetinkaya (Ed.), J. K. Ryan (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The best capabilities are usually achieved by having the latest technologies in defense systems. However, including the new, usually immature, technologies in a system design does not always easily result in achieving the capabilities at the right level, at an affordable cost, and in a timely manner. Many programs have suffered from immature technologies as cost overruns, late or no deliveries, and poor performance levels. Another impact of technology selection appears as obsolescence after the deployment of systems, or even before the deployment of the system. As the technologies of a system become obsolete, the cost of maintaining the system …

Challenges For Developing Complex System Governance, Charles B. Keating, Polinpaplinho F. Katina, Joseph M. Bradley, Sila Çetinkaya (Ed.), J. K. Ryan (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper examines the challenges and practice implications for Complex System Governance (CSG). CSG is presented as an emerging field focused on the design, execution, and evolution of the higher order (metasystem) functions necessary to provide control, communication, coordination, and integration of a complex system. This paper is focused on three primary objectives. First, we introduce the complex system problem domain that the CSG field is being designed to address. The pervasiveness of this problem domain is demonstrated by a short examination of the water utilities sector. Second, we expound the nature of CSG and an emerging reference model …

Learning By Doing - Energy Systems Management, Nima Shahriari, Adrian V. Gheorghe

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Climate change concerns have confronted energy policy makers by unprecedented challenges in the 21st century. Revolution of renewable energy technologies, as well as more efficient energy systems, has been promising in the context of global warming. However, these technologies are not maturing and chaning. Consequently planning for development of these resources requires dealing with various multidisciplinary research questions such as financial feasibility of renewable energy projects. Nevertheless, there is considerable lack of education programs offering multidisciplinary approach for addressing the current energy challenges. Based on the 21st evolving energy landscape, an interdisciplinary graduate certificate course work was designed at Old …

How System Errors Affect Aircrew Resource Management (Crm), Justin Y. Adkins, Kevin Macg. Adams, Patrick T. Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

System errors, both mechanical and human in nature, can have a grave effect on aircrew judgement in flight. The effects of these errors can be massively compounded during emergency situations. Crew Resource Management (CRM) is an important process aircrews can utilize to minimize risks and enhance assessments. The employment of this technique can be validated by aviation mishaps over the last three decades and how system errors increased the probability of the incident occurring. Suggestions can be made to further prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future utilizing historical aeronautical records. This paper outlines an approach by which systems …

An Agent Based Approach For Simulating Demo Enterprise Models, Mamadou Seck, Joseph Barjis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

DEMO (design and engineering methodology for organization) is a theoretically grounded methodology for rigorous enterprise modeling. It provides relevant concepts from a construction perspective. As the methodology gains a wider audience, there is a growing interest in simulating DEMO models. Most attempts to develop a simulation approach for enterprise models in general, and the DEMO methodology in particular, are based on process oriented conceptualizations that are typically implementation in a discrete event paradigm. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for the translation of DEMO models into an agent based simulation. We will describe the DEMO methodology in some …

A Framework And System For A Multi-Model Decision Aid For Sustainable Farming Practices, Kasi Bharath Vegesana

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Decision support systems (DSS) for farmers address the need for modeling multiple processes and scenarios that affect farmer decision making. Existing DSS have various drawbacks that stop them from being deployed as decision support tools. This research proposes a multi-model simulation framework that can be used to analyze farm management practices at the crop level, individual farm level and at the community level to show the impact and alternatives for smallholder farming practices. A generic crop growth model is proposed, based on existing equations. We run sensitivity analysis on the model to identify important variables. The outputs from the crop …

Safety Culture Monitoring: A Management Approach For Assessing Nuclear Safety Culture Health Performance Utilizing Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis, James Harold Warren Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nuclear power plants are among the most technologically complex of all energy facilities. This complexity reflects the precision needed in design, maintenance and operations to harness the energy of the atom safely, reliably and economically. Nuclear energy thus requires consistent, high levels of organizational performance by the highly skilled professionals who operate and maintain nuclear power plants (Nuclear Energy Institute [NEI], 2014, p. 1).

A key element for achieving consistent, high levels of performance in a nuclear organization is its safety culture. Nuclear safety culture is for an organization what character and personality is for an individual: a feature that …

A Method To Define Requirements For System Of Systems, Randy Gene Walker

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and apply a systems-based method for defining System of Systems (SoS) requirements using an inductive research design. Just as traditional Systems Engineering (TSE) includes a requirements definition phase, so too does System of Systems Engineering (SoSE); only with a wider, more over- arching, systemic perspective. TSE addresses the design and development of a single system with generally a very specific functional purpose enabled by any number of subcomponents. SoSE however, addresses the design and development of a large, complex system to meet a wide range of functional purposes enabled by any number …

A Systems-Based Framework For The Assessment Of Performance Measurement System Implementations In R&D Organizations, Kenneth S. Baggett Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Performance measurement is utilized by organizations in all industries, including research and development (R&D). Measures are developed, data are collected, and the measurement results are used to drive the organization. The implicit hope is, of course, that the measures drive the organization to improve. However, literature identifies high failure rates directly related to performance measurement system (PMS) implementations. Establishing the fundamental operational characteristics associated with successful PMSs would provide a significant contribution towards the establishment of PMS assessment criteria. This research addresses this gap through the use of a grounded theory method employed to identify these operational characteristics, assesses the …

Systems Theory Based Framework For Competency Models, Joseph M. Bradley

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and apply a systems theoretic framework for design, analysis and transformation of competency models using an inductive research design. This research examines the origins and development of competency models from a systems theoretic perspective. Competency models have been largely developed by a comparative method first proposed by McClelland, or the use of Delphi method survey techniques. The assumption that a population containing an exemplar and fully successful members would enable population of a holistic competency model has reported numerous failures. Similarly, reporting on the use of Delphi methods has focused on attempting …

Assessing The Impact Of Electronic Health Record Systems Implementation On Hospital Patient Perceptions Of Care, Katherine Sofia Palacio Salgar

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The delivery of health care services has been impacted by advances in Knowledge Management Information Systems (KMIS) and Information Technology (IT). The literature reveals that Electronic Health Records Systems (EHRs) are a comprehensive KMIS. There is a wide recognition in the body of knowledge that demonstrates the potential of EHRs to transform all aspects of health care services and, in consequence, the performance of Health Care Delivery Organizations (HCDO). Authors of published research also agree that there is a need for more empirical contributions that demonstrate the impact of EHRs upon HCDO. It is argued that in most cases, studies …

The Relationship Among Hfacs Levels And Analysis Of Human Factors In Unmanned And Manned Air Vehicles, Veysel Yesilbas

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the structural relationships among the Human Factors Accident Classification System levels for unmanned air vehicle and manned air vehicle accidents and the common relationships between unmanned air vehicle and manned air vehicle accident causes. The study acquired DOD HFACS accident classification data from 347 United States Air Force Class A accident reports for the years between 2000 and 2013.

The dissertation utilized a set of analysis that is considered to contribute substantially to the respective domain of the study. The correlations found among categorical levels were applied to HFACS taxonomy based on the Reason Model via path …

Data Mining Based Hybridization Of Meta-Raps, Fatemah Al-Duoli, Ghaith Rabadi

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Though metaheuristics have been frequently employed to improve the performance of data mining algorithms, the opposite is not true. This paper discusses the process of employing a data mining algorithm to improve the performance of a metaheuristic algorithm. The targeted algorithms to be hybridized are the Meta-heuristic for Randomized Priority Search (Meta-RaPS) and an algorithm used to create an Inductive Decision Tree. This hybridization focuses on using a decision tree to perform on-line tuning of the parameters in Meta-RaPS. The process makes use of the information collected during the iterative construction and improvement phases Meta-RaPS performs. The data mining algorithm …

Systems Theory As The Foundation For Understanding Systems, Kevin Macg. Adams, Peggy T. Hester, Joseph M. Bradley, Thomas J. Meyers, Charles B. Keating

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

As currently used, systems theory is lacking a universally agreed upon definition. The purpose of this paper is to offer a resolution by articulating a formal definition of systems theory. This definition is presented as a unified group of specific propositions which are brought together by way of an axiom set to form a system construct: systems theory. This construct affords systems practitioners and theoreticians with a prescriptive set of axioms by which a system must operate; conversely, any set of entities identified as a system may be characterized by this set of axioms. Given its multidisciplinary theoretical foundation and …

A Heuristic For The Analysis Of Truncated Standard Normal Distribution Assemblies, John Walter Ralls, Cesar Ariel Pinto, Shannon R. Bowling, Resit Unal, Charles B. Daniels, S. Long (Ed.), E.H. Ng (Ed.), C. Downing (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The analysis of data sets and process conditions commonly assume the use of standard normal distributions and truncated standard normal distributions (TSND). The use of these distributions has application to various engineering disciplines along with numerous other industries (e.g., financial industries, medical fields, management, etc.). For engineering managers, the use of truncated standard normal distributions has particular relevance when evaluating process conditions commonly associated with assembly tolerances, manufacturing, and associated measures of quality. This article summarizes a heuristic approach for the analysis of assembly-level truncated standard normal distributions and associated research from a recent dissertation (Ralls, 2014). This article provides …

Human System Engineering Applications From Distracted Driving Simulations, Holly A.H. Handley, Cansu Kandemir, S. Long (Ed.), E.-H. Ng (Ed.), C. Downing (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Most of the studies to explore the impact of distracted driving have been descriptive in nature; i.e. the research is conducted in naturalistic settings to evaluate the performance of the driver with and without distracters. However simulation models can also be used that predict the workload for driving tasks. Using concepts from process modeling, baseline models of driving tasks can be created for different driving sequences that include the associated fine motor, visual and cognitive human resources. These models can then be used to evaluate incidents of workload overload caused by different distracters, from both the internal and external vehicle …

Where Are The People? The Human Viewpoint Approach For Architecting And Acquisition, Holly A. H. Handley, Beverly G. Knapp, Defense Acquisition Univ Ft Belvoir Va

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The U.S. Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) provides a standard framework for transforming systems concepts into a consistent set of products containing the elements and relationships required to represent a complex operational system. However, without a human perspective, the current DoDAF does not account for the human performance aspects needed to calculate the human contribution to system effectiveness and cost. The Human Viewpoint gives systems engineers additional tools to integrate human considerations into systems development by facilitating identification and collection of human-focused data. It provides a way to include Human Systems Integration (HSI) constructs into mainstream acquisition and systems …

Naval Aviation Squadron Risk Analysis Predictive Bayesian Network Modeling Using Maintenance Climate Assessment Survey Results, Harry Michael Robinson

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Associated risks in flying have resulted in injury or death to aircrew and passengers, and damage or destruction of the aircraft and its surroundings. Although the Naval Aviation's flight mishap rate declined over the past 60 years, the proportion of human error causal factors has stayed relatively constant at about 80%. Efforts to reduce human errors have focused attention on understanding the aircrew and maintenance actions occurring in complex systems.

One such tool has been the Naval Aviation squadrons' regular participation in survey questionnaires deigned to measure respondent ratings related to personal judgments or perceptions of organizational climate for meeting …

An Instrument To Assess Individual Capacity For System Thinking, Ra'ed M. Jaradat

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop and deploy a new systems thinking instrument to assess individual capacity for systems thinking using an inductive research design. While technology has been increasing exponentially, the corresponding methods to harness those technological advances, and the problems they have spawned, is lagging. While there is a broad collection of systems based methods, techniques, technologies, and tools that can be used in dealing with complex problems, these are predicated on an individual's capacity for engaging a level of systems thinking commensurate with their effective, deployment. Research based methods to determine individual capacity for systems …

A Sociotechnical Systems-Based Process To Facilitate The Development Of A Change Intervention Deployment Plan, Jorge Luis Nadal

EMSE Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this project was to formulate a process to facilitate the development of an effective change intervention deployment plan. The premise is that without a proper deployment plan, the successful implementation of a change intervention in an organization will be slow and require multiple revisions. This research utilized a Sociotechnical Systems (STS) approach to analyze the implementation of a major change intervention.

This research was in part prompted by a request by management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the researcher to examine why it has taken so long to successfully implement this large-scale change …

Micro To Macro Dynamics Of Shared Awareness Emergence In Situations Theory: Towards A General Theory Of Shared Awareness, Samuel F. Kavacic

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Engineering Management is an interdisciplinary field of study. As such, Engineering Management must rely on the energies of its participants to integrate toward the problem being solved. Many techniques exist to aid the researcher towards a common goal; however, it can only be surmised on how effective the techniques have been. Not until the activity is over and the participants reflect back on their results can they know whether they shared a common understanding of the problem. This study explores the emergence of shared awareness based the interactions of disparate perspectives at a particulate level. The study builds from observations …

The Rq-Tech Methodology: A New Paradigm For Conceptualizing Strategic Enterprise Architectures, Christine Ann Hoyland

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop and apply a system-theoretic based methodology and corresponding model for Enterprise Architecture development. Enterprise Architectures can assist managers by illustrating the systemic relationships within an organization and the impact changes to the organization could make. Unfortunately, today's modeling practices are proprietary, time-consuming, and generally ineffective as tools for understanding the consequences of strategic-level planning decisions across all levels of the enterprise. This research supports the conclusion that system-specific solutions produce islands of technology and can be prevented by employing better enterprise change planning.

This research combined the practice of Enterprise Architectures with …

An Epistemological Inquiry Into The Incorporation Of Emergency Management Concept In The Homeland Security With A Post-Disaster Security Centric Focus, Mehmet Secilmis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The historical roots of the Emergency Management concept in the U.S. date back to 19th century. As disasters occurred, policies relating to disaster response have been developed, and many statuary provisions, including several Federal Disaster Relief Acts, conceptually established the framework of Emergency Management. In 1979, with the foundation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), disaster relief efforts were finally institutionalized, and the federal government acknowledged that Emergency Management included mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities as abbreviated 'MPRR.'

However, after 2000, the U.S. experienced two milestone events - the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina …

An Expert Based Multi Attribute Group Decision Making (Magdm) Model For Portfolio Evaluation: Application On Ground Force Units, Metin Gultekin

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This main objective of this dissertation is to propose an expert based multi attribute group decision making model (MAGDM) for portfolio evaluation and demonstrate it by applying it to evaluate brigade types under different military missions. Specifically, currently used Heavy, Mechanized Infantry, Airborne Infantry, and Stryker brigades are evaluated under a set of possible future military missions. The purpose of the study is to provide a model for decision makers, engaged in a force development process.

This study combined MAGDM and simulation by using expert judgments to create distributions rather than aggregating them into point values. Excel and Monte Carlo …

Using Architecture Models To Design Adaptive Socio-Technical Systems, Holly A. H. Handley

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

An architecture framework is used to capture the overall design and structure of a complex system. The Human Viewpoint was developed to augment existing architectural frameworks with additional information relevant to the human component in the system. The Human View models collect and organize social parameters in order to understand the way that humans interact with other elements of the system; the Human View models define the socio-technological boundaries of the system. Analyses performed with the architectural data provide information regarding the congruence, or fit of the human and the system. For example, different key thread analyses identify problematic paths …

Accounting For Errors When Using Systems Approaches, Kevin Macg. Adams, Peggy Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Complex systems problems require the use of a formal philosophical construct and dictate the use of a rigorous systems approach. A systems approach may utilize one of a variety of proven methods, but in each case it involves the imposition of order that ranges from the philosophical to the procedural. Independent of the construct or rigor used to address the complex systems problem is the opportunity to commit a number of errors as part of a systems approach. This paper will discuss six classifications for problem solving errors that may be experienced during the application of a systems approach as …

Orchestrating Systems Engineering Processes And System Architectures Within Dod: A Discussion Of The Potentials Of Dodaf, Taylor Hughes, Andreas Tolk

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

!e Department of Defense (DoD) is responsible for the development, procurement, introduction, integration, maintenance, upgrading, and retirement of all defense and related support systems. To facilitate this task, enterprise-level system architectures are used to describe capability, operational capability requirements and lower level system architectures are used to describe the functionality of system solutions which are necessary to satisfy those operational capability requirements. To ensure the attainment of the required capability solution on time and under budget, systemengineering processes are mandated to ensure consistency and rigor across all participating organizations. However, even though architecting is necessary to insure that all understand …

Simulation Modeling And Analysis Of Complex Port Operations With Multimodal Transportation, Mariam Kotachi, Ghaith Rabadi, Mohammad F. Obeid

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

World trade has been increasing dramatically in the past two decades, and as a result containers exchange has grown significantly. Accordingly, container terminals are expanding to meet this increase and new container ports have opened. Ports with one or more container terminals are considered complex systems in which many resources, entities and transporters interact to achieve the objective of safely moving containers delivered by ships inland as well as loading containers delivered by trucks and rail onto ships. Ports with multimodal transportation systems are in particular complex as they typically operate with ships arriving to one or more terminals, multiple …