Battle of the Bulge: The Software
Challenge of the Mission System
Integrator
Dennis Frailey, Raytheon, Network Centric
Systems, Ground Sensor Integrator Program
DJFrailey@raytheon.com (972-344-8366)
ASEE Workshop 2006
February 25, 2006
Program Tiers - What is a Mission System
Integrator?
>$300M
Mission
System
Integrator
>$100M
Complexity
>$100M
LSI
MSI
System
$50M-$100M
Subsystem
$1M-$50M
Component
Tier
5
Tier
4
Tier
3
Tier
2
Tier
1
Value ($)
2/25/2006
Slide 2
Communication Flow
Our Customer
(Lead System
Integrator)
Our
Internal
SW teams
GSI (Mission
System
Integrator)
Ultimate
Customer
(US Army)
GSDs
GSDs
GSDs
GSDs(Our
Suppliers)
2/25/2006
Slide 3
Sensors, Suites and Vehicles
Sensors
(what our suppliers do)
EO 2
Suites
(what we do)
S1
Dev1
Dev3
V1
V2
Dev2
Radar 1
Vehicles (our
customers)
S2
V3
V4
Dev4
EO 3
S3
EO 1
S4
Detector
S5
V5
V6
V7
S6
SPEC Sensors
S7
V8
V9
2/25/2006
Slide 4
Software Development and Management
SW Development
SW Oversight and Management
Delivery to
Vehicles
GSI Software Team
(Integration into Suites)
Simulator
Emulator
Simulator
Emulator
Sensor
Sensor
GSD #1
GSD #2
Simulator
Sensor
Special
System
Models
Lab
Tools
GSD #n
V&E IPT
I&T IPT
Emulator
…
Simulators
Each GSD produces multiple products
containing software.
Wrapper
Wrapper
Sensor
Suite
Control
Make/Buy
The GSI produces or acquires other
software needed for integration.
2/25/2006
Slide 5
Expanded
Risk/Opportunity Management
All Programs
MSI Additions
Honest assessment of risk or
opportunity with a solid
quantitative impact (technical,
schedule, cost)
Integrated risk/opportunity
plan with all program partners
Integrated risk/opportunity
assessment and tracking
Mitigation plans resourced in
program execution plan with
customer buy-in
+
Multi Level Risk/Opportunity
Boards with elevation process
Automated Tool (ARM) that
allows easy integration from
all levels is essential
List of Watch Items with well
defined trigger points
Balanced opportunity plan
2/25/2006
Slide 6
Expanded
Customer Relations
All Programs
MSI Additions
Honest timely communication
Multi Level communication
plan is critical
No surprises
Mutual Problem Solving
Constant focus on
Performance Assessment
Quality Presentation
Collaborative execution
environment is valuable
+
Lower Level customer /
contractor communication up to
the top levels are aligned (good
and bad)
Open forum to address
bureaucracy issues (One Team
Partner Council)
Peer partner relationships are
equally important
Collaborative execution
environment is mandatory
2/25/2006
Slide 7
Expanded
Change Management
All Programs
MSI Additions
Baseline definition and management





Requirements
Contract
SOW
Interfaces
Architecture and Standards
Traceability interfaces and impact
analysis
Balanced Cost/benefit process for
derived requirements
+
Automated workflow
configuration
management processes
and tools
Streamlined Holistic Multi
Level decision process
Balanced Cost/benefit
Process

Horizontal / Vertical
Robust Engineering Review Boards
and Configuration Control Boards
2/25/2006
Slide 8
Expanded
Process Requirements
MSI Additions
All Programs
Integrated Process
CMMI
Six Sigma
Local Tailoring of
Processes
+
Need processes that reflect MSI
type program
 i.e. multi-level integration,
 multi-level requirements
management,
 multi-level risk management,
 multi-level configuration control,
and
 many suppliers.
2/25/2006
Slide 9
Why This Isn't Enough
Gaps:
Our processes
assume one
program, not
multiple tiers of
programs
6 sigma
CMMI
Integrated
Product
Developmen
t System
Process for
Improvement
How we do
business
Standards
and Best
Practices
2/25/2006
Slide 10
Gap Analysis Process
MSI
Requirement
s
Organizationa
l Processes
Prioritized
List of New
Artifacts
Needed for
an MSI
Program
An MSI would need many new artifacts
in addition to the organizational
processes already in place
– Work Instructions, Tools, Procedures
 Well established estimating process
use to determine the development
costs
The
Bulge

MSI Process
Improvement
Project
2/25/2006
Slide 11
Some Examples of New Work
Instructions Needed







How to Review and Evaluate Supplier Bids, Plans,
Deliverable Documents and Software
How to Control Changes in a Multi-level Hierarchy
How to Manage Software Suppliers
How to Establish Architectural and Design Standards for
Multiple Suppliers that Enable Effective Integration but Allow
Each Supplier to Use its Own Processes
How to Define Metrics that Each Supplier can Provide within
their existing process and can be Consolidated into
Meaningful Assessments of Supplier and Program Health
How to Assess “ilities” (safety, supportability, maintainability,
etc.) at an overall system level when each supplier has its
own systems for defining these things.
How to gain maximum benefit from Reuse when the existing
reusable assets are highly diverse
2/25/2006
Slide 12
Example: Change Management
Consider the Possibilities …
Sensors
(what our suppliers do)
EO 2
Suites
(what we do)
S1
Dev1
Dev3
V1
V2
Dev2
Radar 1
Vehicles (our
customers)
S2
V3
V4
Dev4
EO 3
S3
EO 1
S4
Detector
S5
V5
V6
V7
S6
SPEC Sensors
S7
V8
V9
2/25/2006
Slide 13
CMMI Experience Gave Us Leverage
Estimation
Process
Continuous
Improvement
Ingrained in
the
Organization
Configuration
Control
Infrastructure
Templates
for Work
Instructions
• Our CMMI and Process
Peer Review
Process and
Tools for
Work
Instructions
Metrics
Baseline
foundation gave us many tools
to approach this challenge
• They provided a baseline
approach for metrics, work
instruction development and
review, configuration control,
estimation and improvement
• Thus we were able to focus on
Metrics
Collection,
Analysis
And
Storage
solving the problem rather than
defining the approach
2/25/2006
Slide 14
Multi-Year Approach
• We employed a phased approach to tackling this problem
 First identify and prioritize emerging program needs
 Then develop new, organization-level artifacts
 Finally, tailor those to program needs
• Artifacts arrive “just in time” to meet program needs
Program
Needs
Program
Needs
New Org
Artifacts
Year 1
Program
Needs
New Org
Artifacts
New Org
Artifacts
New
Program
Artifacts
New
Program
Artifacts
New
Program
Artifacts
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
2/25/2006
Slide 15
Future

Our organizational processes are enriched as we flow MSI
Improvement Project artifacts back into the organizational
process.
Organizational
Process
Enhancements
MSI Process
Improvement
Project
Enhanced
Integrated
Product
Developmen
t System
2/25/2006
Slide 16
Questions
2/25/2006
Slide 17
Biography Dennis J. Frailey
Dennis J Frailey is a Principle Fellow assigned to the Future Combat
Systems Ground Sensor Integrator team in Plano, TX. He is currently
responsible for many roles on the program such as development and
maintenance of the software development plan, chair of the software
configuration control board, and sundry duties associated with
selection and evaluation of software suppliers.
Dr. Frailey, who earned a PhD in Computer Science from Purdue in 1971, has
been with Raytheon (and previously with Texas Instruments) for 32 years. His
career includes positions ranging from college professor to developer of real-time
operating systems, scientific applications, and user interfaces to speechwriter for
corporate executives to software process improvement specialist. He has been
head of an SEPG and was the software lead on numerous proposals.
Dennis is an ACM Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer; an IEEE Senior Member
and Distinguished Visitor; and an Engineering Accreditation Evaluator. He served
as vice president of ACM, conference chair and program chair for over two dozen
major computing conferences, and is the author of over 100 published technical
papers. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist
University, UCLA and the University of Texas at Austin. Dennis has spoken at
many conferences, including keynote addresses at the SIGADA national
conference, the Conference on Software Engineering Education, the Euromicro
Software Engineering Workshop, and several regional conferences.
Dennis can be reached at: 972-344-8366 or DJFrailey@Raytheon.com
2/25/2006
Slide 18