The New DoD-Stevens-USC SERC
and Collaboration Opportunities
Barry Boehm, USC
USC-CSSE Annual Research Review
March 9, 2010
Outline
• SERC Nature and Status
– University Affiliated Research Center (UARC)
• Initial Projects and Roadmapping Approach
• Future Plans and Prospects
• Collaboration Opportunities
09/21/2009
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What is a UARC?
1. University Affiliated Research Centers are “not-for-profit,
private sector organizations affiliated with, or part of,
universities or colleges that maintain essential research,
development and engineering capabilities needed by
sponsoring DoD components.”
2. They maintain long-term, strategic relationships with
sponsoring DoD components in specific core areas and
operate in the public interest, free from real or perceived
conflicts of interest.
3. UARCs are financed through long-term, non-competitive
contracts awarded by sponsoring DoD components for
specific core work. Any federal entity can MIPR funding to
the UARC for work within the defined core areas, subject to
the agreement of the UARC’s sponsors.
3/31/09
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Several other UARCs
1.
Johns Hopkins University APL; 4,300 people; annual funding $680M
2.
UC Santa Cruz with NASA Ames – information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology,
computer science, aerospace operations, astrobiology, and fundamental biology. Has a
Systems Teaching Institute with San Jose State University and UCSC to teach through hands
on experience on research projects.
3.
Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory for the Navy with focus on undersea
missions and related areas; strategic partner with NAVSEA and ONR; established 1945; has
>1000 faculty and staff
4.
University of Washington APL – acoustic and oceanographic studies ; established in 1943
5.
UC Santa Barbara Institute for Collaborative Biotechnology – Army Research Office;
partnered with MIT and Cal Tech – focus on biologically-derived and biologically-inspired
materials, sensors, and information processing …
6.
University of Texas UARC started in 1945 focuses on sonar, acoustics, software system
research, satellite geodesy, active sonar, …; now has 600 people on staff
7.
USC Institute for Creative Technology – US Army; focus on virtual reality multimedia
applications for training, C4ISR
3/31/09
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SERC Organization
Lead organizations
Members
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Auburn University
Air Force Institute of Technology
Fraunhofer Center at UMD
Georgia Institute of Technology
Missouri University of Science and
Technology (S&T)
Naval Postgraduate School
Pennsylvania State University
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Southern Methodist University
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University
University of Alabama in Huntsville
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts
University of Virginia
Wayne State University
As the DoD Systems Engineering Research-University Affiliated Research Center, SERC will be
responsible for systems engineering research that supports the development, integration,
testing and sustainability of complex defense systems, enterprises and services. Its members
are located in 11 states, near many DoD facilities and all DAU campuses.
09/21/2009
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SERC Organization - II
Dr. Dinesh Verma
Executive Director
Dr. Art Pyster
Deputy Executive Director
Doris Schultz
Director of Operations
Dr. Barry Boehm
Director of Research
Pool of more than 140 Senior Researchers and hundreds of
research faculty and graduate students from across members
Stevens’ School of Systems and Enterprises will host the SERC at Stevens’ Hoboken, NJ, campus. Stevens’ faculty
engagement will be complemented by a critical mass of systems engineering faculty at USC. A fundamental tenet
of SERC is its virtual nature – each of its 19 members will be a nexus of research activities. All research projects
will be staffed by the best available researchers and graduate students from across the members.
3/16/2009
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Rough Financial Model
Minimum of $2M/year
– Can add more funded tasks within contract
First year: two specified tasks
– 1. SE Effectiveness Measurement: EM (USC lead; $500K)
– 2. SE Methods, Processes, Tools Assessment : MPT (Stevens lead; $350K)
• Both also including UMaryland-FC, UAlabama-Huntsville
Second-year tasks underway
Other Govt. sponsors can sole-source through UARC
– $1.2M on the books
– Another $1M/year sponsor in the works
– Second-year near $4M/year; $8M expected for third year
09/21/2009
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Outline
• SERC Nature and Status
• Initial Projects and Roadmapping Approach
• Future Plans and Prospects
• Collaboration Opportunities
09/21/2009
8
SEPRT Seeks Performance Evidence
That can be independently validated
09/21/2009
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SECRT Seeks Competency Evidence
That can be independently validated
09/21/2009
10
EM Processes and Tools Help Enable
MDAP Transformation
Implements spirit of July 2009 Augustine BENS Report
Adversarial Mistrust
Unvalidated Requirements
Unvalidated RFP SOWs
Under-resourced Fixed Price
Build-to-Spec contracts
Under-resourced SE
GAO Reports: $300 Billion/yr
Cost growth, 22 months delay
09/21/2009
Collaborative Trust-and-Verify
Evidence
Reviews
Evidence
Reviews
Evidence
Reviews
Evidence
Reviews
Competitive
Prototyping
Rounds
Feasible Rqts.,
Solutions, Plans
Realistic Contract,
Feasible Staffing,
Change
Adaptation
Timely, Affordable,
Achievable Systems
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Current RTs now underway
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Topic
Lead
School
Collabo
-rators
Description
1
Graduate SE Body of
Knowledge and Reference
Curriculum (Pyster)
Stevens
NPS
Create mature SE BoK and graduate reference curriculum
with broad community involvement
2
Modular Reconfigurable
Architecture for SE Knowledge
Dissemination
Stevens
MS&T
Create way to rapidly publish and maintain currency of SE
artifacts and other documents, extensively tailoring them
to audience
3
Rapid CONOPS Development
Environment for Agile SE
(Cloutier)
Stevens
TAMU
Develop approach to quickly construct a CONOPS that
strongly informs all key stakeholders and can evolve
quickly and easily – lead to coordinated RTs
4
Developing SE Technical
Leaders (Farr)
Stevens
WSU
Create way to educate SE technical leaders rapidly and
effectively using innovative educational technologies
5
SE Implications of Evolutionary
Acquisition (Boehm)
USC
6
Software Metrics for Future
Defense Cost Analysis (Boehm)
USC
NPS
SMU
Create improved ways to cost complex software-intensive
systems, especially systems of systems
8
Early Exploration in Security
Systems Engineering
Stevens
UVA,
USC
Create a roadmap of research on security SE
9
MPT Extension (Turner)
Stevens
Several
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Early Exploration in Systems
Engineering Transformation
(Wade)
Stevens
USC
PSU
Create a roadmap of research to transform SE into a much
faster, more responsive discipline
13
Annual SERC Research Review
(Pyster)
Stevens
USC
PSU
Hold a two-day event for all collaborators to interact on
their research
09/21/2009
Define needed SE MPTs for evolutionary acquisition in the
context of new 5000.02 and emphasis on early SE ,
systems of systems, competitive protoyping
Continue efforts to explore agile MPTs identified in the
original MPT TTO with focus on those applicable to NSA
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Roadmapping RTs
1.
Establish a small lead team to craft a series of white papers more fully
characterizing a major research area.
2.
Gradually draw in additional team members to mature the white papers.
3.
Hold an invitation-only workshop of 30-50 people from across the SERC
collaborators, sponsors, potential funders and adopters, and key
technologists to validate the white papers and craft a research roadmap
that will spawn multiple coordinated Research Topics.
4.
Publish results of roadmapping workshop as polished professionally edited
SERC report.
5.
Execute roadmap, revisiting it periodically.
6.
First example of this approach at midpoint- SE Transformation – with NSA
as sponsor. Security SE underway. Others in work: Improving and valuing
system flexibility; SE implications of evolutionary acquisition; Accelerating
SE learning via game technology; Systems Engineering 2020
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09/21/2009
Outline
• SERC Nature and Status
• Initial Projects and Roadmapping Approach
• Future Plans and Prospects
• Collaboration Opportunities
09/21/2009
14
RTs expected to be awarded
#
Topic
Lead
School
Collaborators
Description
Stevens
TAMU
Explore the equivalent of technology readiness levels, but
for systems integration and other facets of engineering
maturity
MS&T
Several
Explore ways to enable systematic data exchange of SE
data among DoD programs using AP-233 and similar
standards
USC
Several
Extend and transition research begun under EM TTO
Significantly reduce the amount of time it takes for an SE
to become proficient
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System Readiness Level
(Sauser)
14
Exchange of SE Data (Dagli)
15
EM: Extension (Boehm)
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SE Development Experience
Accelerator (Wade)
Stevens
Several
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Management (Pyster)
Stevens
USC
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Valuing and Improving DoD
Systems Flexibility (Boehm)
TAMU
Several
Develop architectural and other approaches to enabling
change adaptive systems
19
STEM SE Initiative (Pyster)
TBD
Several
Develop educational research pilots for emphasizing SE in
Science, Technology, Engr, and Math (STEM) Initiative
Manage SERC operations
• FY10 will likely emphasize:
• strong execution of work just beginning
• new work from (a) Roadmapping RT spinoffs and (b) tasks paid for at least in part
by non-core funding
• Strong support from new DDR&E Zach Lemnios at recent SERC Research Review
• Systems Engineering 2020 initiative being defined
09/21/2009
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Collaboration Opportunities
• Security SE roadmapping and followons
– Participation in workshops, pilot activities
• Other roadmapping tasks and workshops
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Improving and valuing system flexibility
Accelerating SE learning via game technology
Agile-SE transformation
Systems Engineering 2020
• Piloting, evolving emerging SERC methods, processes, and
tools
– SEPRT, SECRT tools, report, and users’ guide on ARR web site
• Industry collaboration mechanisms being explored
– E.g., pre-competitive Cooperative R&D Initiatives (CRADAs)
09/21/2009
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