Technology Readiness Levels at 40: a study of state-of-the-art use, challenges, and opportunities
Name
MITSloanWP5127-15_Eppinger_PICMET.pdf
Size
516.07 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
480a9c49cdc53378a1dd235428c9f6a8
Author(s)
Olechowski, Alison
Eppinger, Steven D.
Joglekar, Nitin
Date Issued
April 1, 2015
Publisher
SSRN
Citation
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2588524
Series/Report no.
MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper;5127-15
Abstract
The technology readiness level (TRL) scale was introduced by NASA in the 1970s as a tool for assessing the maturity of technologies during complex system development. TRL data have been used to make multi-million dollar technology management decisions in programs such as NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover. This scale is now a de facto standard used for technology assessment and oversight in many industries, from power systems to consumer electronics. Low TRLs have been associated with significantly reduced timeliness and increased costs across a portfolio of US Department of Defense programs. However, anecdotal evidence raises concerns about many of the practices related to TRLs. We study TRL implementations based on semi-structured interviews with employees from seven different organizations and examine documentation collected from industry standards and organizational guidelines related to technology development and demonstration. Our findings consist of 15 challenges observed in TRL implementations that fall into three different categories: system complexity, planning and review, and validity of assessment. We explore research opportunities for these challenges and posit that addressing these opportunities, either singly or in groups, could improve decision processes and performance outcomes in complex engineering projects.
Subjects
Technology assessment
Technology readiness
Engineering management
R&D management
Project management
Risk management
Terms of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States
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