Show simple item record

dc.contributor.advisorSteven D. Eppinger.en_US
dc.contributor.authorOlechowski, Alison L. (Alison Louise)en_US
dc.contributor.otherMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-18T15:11:01Z
dc.date.available2017-10-18T15:11:01Z
dc.date.copyright2017en_US
dc.date.issued2017en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111942
dc.descriptionThesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2017.en_US
dc.descriptionCataloged from PDF version of thesis.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (pages 123-130).en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis presents three essays on the topic of tools for assessment and decisionmaking in complex engineering systems development. The first essay presents an extension to the design structure matrix, used to present and analyze the suite of tests a system undergoes at multiple levels of the architecture. This method decomposes the multilevel integration test suite - progressing from component to subsystem to system - and visually represents the test coverage. We demonstrate the new method on a subsea system at BP. The second essay presents a study of the current state of use of the technology readiness level method. We discovered, described and prioritized 15 challenges associated with assessing and using the technology readiness levels. We further discuss existing and potential solutions to these challenges. This paper is based on input from interviews at seven different organizations, and a survey of over 100 system engineers. System complexity related challenges were found to be particularly critical and currently without adequate solution. The final essay presents an expansion of our current understanding of the options available at a phase-gate review. Beyond the typical Go and Kill options, we describe the Waiver (with and without review), Delay and switch to a Back-up plan options. We show how it is feasible to extend a simple decision tree model to analyze the expected value of this broader set of options. We demonstrate this method with four case applications from industry.en_US
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityby Alison Olechowski.en_US
dc.format.extent130 pagesen_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherMassachusetts Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.rightsMIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582en_US
dc.subjectMechanical Engineering.en_US
dc.titleEssays on decision-making in complex engineering systems developmenten_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.degreePh. D.en_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
dc.identifier.oclc1005924028en_US


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record