Proactive Risk and Problem
Management
19th Annual Conference on Quality in the
Space & Defense Industries (CQSDI)
March 14 – 15, 2011
John E. Tinsley
Director,
Air & Missile Defense Systems
Mission Assurance
© 2011 Northrop Grumman Corporation. All rights reserved. (Log # DTD-11-07)
Overview
• Organizational Risk Management
• Keeping Risks from Becoming Problems
• Problem Management Overview
• Proactive Leadership, Management, and Problem Solving Team
• Proactive Continuous Quality Solutions
2
Organizational Risk Management
• Organizations strive for the highest quality solutions and services to
satisfy their customer needs for highly reliable and quality products.
• Organizations have access to many standards, tools and techniques to
assist in this high quality endeavor. Examples include: AS9100, CMMI,
Agile, ITIL, Lean Six Sigma, Quality Circles, TQM, and “oh wait I am
going backwards in time!” These buzz words or trends have some
things in common:
– Generate focus on quality and reduced life cycle costs and schedules
– Involve similar emphasis on incident, change or problem management
– Don’t replace a world class engineering organization and supporting structure
• Robust Risk Management must include an organizational focus on:
– Technical Organizations
– Management Organizations
– Supporting Organizations
– Interface Assurance
3
Keeping Risks from Becoming Problems
Risks
• Technology Readiness
• Capability Readiness
– Systems Engineering Processes
– Systems Engineering Tools
– IT Environment (Simulation Based
Modeling)
• Knowledge, Skills and Ability
• Acquisition
• Budget/Funding
• Data Management
• Schedule
• Technical Performance
–
–
–
–
System Safety
Reliability
Quality
Unique Customer Requirements
• Programmatic
• Infrastructure
• Political
• Safety
• Security
4
Knowledge
Known Knowns
(Program Management
Systems Engineering)
Mitigation
• High Quality
– People
– Processes
– Products
• Reduce Uncertainties
Known Unknowns
(Continuous Risk
Managment)
– Test Data
– Data Analysis
• Manage Residual Risk
– Procedures
– Contingency Plans
Unknown Knowns
(Continuous Process
Improvement)
Unknown
Unknowns
(Continuous Research
Test & Evaluation)
• Rigorous Supplier Quality
• Communications
• Improved Data Analysis
– Tools
– Techniques
– Trending
• Exercise Curiosity
• Constantly Challenge
– Assumptions
– Models
– Analyses
Problem Management Overview
Support Processes
Technical Data Management
Requirements:
Specifications, Procedures,
Standards & Processes
Data Collection
Tools
Unknowns
Knowns
Lessons
Learned
Program
Metrics
Problem Identification
Problem Assessment /
Investigation Analysis
Data Mining
Technical Requirements &
Process Improvements
Root Cause Determination
Trend Analysis
Problem Report
Corrective Action/Problem
Resolution
Lessons
Learned
Yes
Problem
5
Risk
Yes
Continuous Risk
Management
Problem Recurrence Control
Problem Disposition Closure
No
Continue
Continue
Proactive Leadership, Management, and
Problem Solving Team
• Problem Identification (Team)
• Problem Assessment/Investigation Analysis (Team)
• Root Cause Determination (Team)
• Problem Report (Team/Management)
• Corrective Action/Problem Resolution (Team/Management)
• Problem Recurrence Control (Team/Management/Leadership)
• Problem Disposition Closure (Team/Management/Leadership)
Lessons Learned or Forgotten? (Team/Management/Leadership)
6
Proactive Continuous Quality Solutions
• Proactive versus Reactive Continuous Improvement
– Reactive CI, including Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) can add value but
eventually diminishes productivity, efficiency, reliability and quality
– Proactive CI promotes a high Quality mindset and culture
• Proactive CI based on strategic thought leadership about
organizational goals and goal accomplishment methods can add much
more value and result in:
– High Quality People, Processes and Products
– Better products despite unexpected events and unknowns
• Examples of Proactive CI:
– Includes CMMI, AS9100, Agile Software Development, ITIL
– Software and Hardware Development with Incremental Risk and Progress Reviews
– Proactive Lean Six Sigma and Rapid Improvement Events
– Continuous Focus on Interface Assurance (All Organizational Interfaces: Suppliers)
– Customer Requirements (Remember there is a forest beyond the trees!)
7
– Communicate, Communicate, Communicate