Vdot A Revolutionary Tool for Space Logistics Campaign Planning and Simulation

Transcription

1 AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference & Exposition September 2009, Pasadena, California AIAA Vdot A Revolutionary Tool for Space Logistics Campaign Planning and Simulation Roger Herdy 1 Qualis Corporation, Huntsville, AL, Contributing Author Damian Yañez 2 ESI Group, St. Louis, MO, Space logistics is the science of planning, creating, and sustaining effective and affordable infrastructure, supply chain management, and maintenance to support space operations throughout the solar system. In information and entertainment, global commerce, navigation and communication, weather and environmental monitoring, surveillance and intelligence, and science and exploration, space connects the world and the flow of information across space becomes the lynchpin and focal point of any true advances in space logistics campaign planning and simulation. For the new era of human space exploration, new tools that surpass the existing Gantt and PERT chart approaches are needed as we transition from the Space Shuttle to Constellation while simultaneously balancing potential changes in priorities. At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s Marshall Space Flight Center (and including the Michoud Assembly Facility), a new tool has emerged which combines the benefits of both the Gantt and PERT charts with the power of the internet and the ability to orchestrate resources that excel using their own familiar tools. It is called Vdot TM (coined after the first derivative of velocity, or acceleration) and is a COTS software product. The process management methodology that Qualis Corporation has demonstrated with this tool has the potential to revolutionize space logistics campaign planning and simulation. I. Introduction Planning for space logistics campaigns is paramount for success, and more often than not, the central approach employed by most organizations heralds back to the methodology first implemented by Henry Laurence Gantt, an American engineer and social scientist and inventor of the Gantt chart, the most common form of visually showing a project plan and progress. Gantt is noted for his humanizing influence on management, and for emphasizing the benefits of developing conditions that have favorable psychological effects on the worker. The Gantt chart, for which Henry will be remembered, is a visual display chart based on time only, not on quantity, volume, or weight. It is a horizontal bar chart that graphically displays time relationships. In effect, it is a "scale" model of time, because the bars are different lengths depending on the amount of time they represent. Gantt charts provide a method for determining the sequence and simple logic of particular tasks and actions, which need to be taken to achieve a given objective. A PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart, conversely, is a pure logic representation of the project, with no time scaling, but with detailed logic relationships. Originally developed by the US Navy in the 1950s, it does not show the time factors involved. Modern computerized planning software enables both Gantt and PERT charts to be produced from the same database of information, plus more sophisticated bar chart representations, with resource and costing. Representative areas include the servicing and sustainment of the International Space Station with the Constellation Program Ares I vehicle, and a future lunar outpost, the optimization of future launch vehicles for responsiveness and serviceability, and the broader modeling of manned and unmanned missions and campaigns as a supply chain in space with both the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles. 1 Roger Herdy: Director Strategic Business Development, Qualis Corporation, 5000 Bradford Drive, Suite 3B, Huntsville, AL, AIAA Senior Member. 2 Damian Yanez: Manager Vdot Products and Services, One CityPlace Dr., Suite 520, St. Louis, MO, AIAA Member. 1 Copyright 2009 by the, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 To succeed in improving the efficiency of any team, you must first capture the processes employed to a sufficient level of detail to understand the flow of information or deliverables required to produce your end product/s. To do this, most schedule facilitators gather a group of subject matter experts together to create a process diagram or value stream map. Typically, they use poster paper and sticky notes to capture the information, then manually transfer that data to a picture in PDF format, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Visio. Unfortunately, this is a painstaking effort and errors often occur in the transfer of information. Also it is frequently difficult to arrange for all key parties to physically be together in a room to collaborate on the process definition. In addition, the diagrams are static, and there is no way to easily deploy them to your teams. Testing of the processes is essentially an academic exercise, and the documentation quickly becomes outdated and unused. The core research behind Vdot originated within Boeing s Phantom Works unit in coordination with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The name is derived from the mathematical symbol for the derivative of velocity which is acceleration. Vdot is now a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) process management tool from ESI Group that provides the ability to define, deploy, and execute desktop processes for teams in a distributed network environment. Vdot provides the ability to route data, launch tools (IT applications), and it provides automatic real-time project status. Vdot s capabilities have been used on a wide variety of engineering and business processes. Project teams experience reduced data chase, rework, and status reporting effort while enabling greater project and process visibility. Qualis Corporation has a strategic relationship with the ESI Group, distributors of the Vdot tool, and we are tailoring the process templates produced by the tool to NASA space applications. To achieve significant improvements with any project, you must first understand the processes currently being employed. This includes identifying the scope of the processes, i.e., what products you are working to create (output) and what you need to create them (tasks, tools, time). Once the objectives are defined, you can begin to describe the activities required to achieve those products, and the associated inputs and deliverables for each step. Vdot s point and click graphical interface (see Figure 1) allows you to quickly and easily define your processes electronically using Smart Tasks in Smart Processes. Smart Tasks are analogous to kits in the lean factory in which everything an assembly worker needs for the job at hand is gathered into a package and delivered to the point of action. This includes the parts, fasteners, tools, work instructions, and timing information to ensure that the task is completed efficiently. Similarly in the office or electronic environment, Vdot Smart Tasks include a complete description of what needs to be done, when, and by whom, and defines the inputs and required outputs for each task. Vdot then makes it easy to define the flow of information among process participants so you have a true awareness of who needs what from whom. This visual map helps identify undocumented steps in your processes that may be significantly impacting throughput. It also highlights areas where tasks are being worked sequentially that could actually be worked in parallel. This is significantly different from a Gantt chart, yet Vdot can take a Gantt chart from Microsoft Project and use it to make an initial process thread, which accomplishes two things: it shows you dead ends or unconnected tasks that are an indication of a Microsoft Project file with low fidelity; and the initial process thread can be expanded and refined upon to capture the true nature of who needs what from whom. After this expansion and refinement, Vdot can also export to a Microsoft Project file, often with a higher degree of fidelity. At NASA MSFC, the Vdot tool is being used to map design processes for the Constellation Program, which will be eventually used to plan and execute space logistics campaigns. For example, we are mapping and executing processes within Vdot for the following: Human Factors Engineering Analysis and Implementation Core Stage Weights Rollup Essential Math Model & Simulation Accreditation Propellant Inventory Integrated Analysis Processes for Rupture, Staging, etc. II. Using Vdot in Conjunction with Microsoft Project The following is an example of this expansion and refinement. Figure 2 is a Microsoft Project file that was used to initiate the process thread for a Vdot case study (Ref AIAA ), where the Vehicle Integration and Performance Analysis (VIPA) process developed at NASA MSFC was mapped with Vdot after first being laid out in a Microsoft Project plan. By importing the project schedule, an initial project process template can be created by Vdot. Gaps and omissions in the project schedule are noticed immediately due to the interactive nature of the required flow of information, which is graphically displayed much like a PERT chart. However, with the paradigm shift in thinking about process information flow that Vdot requires rather than task flow of the old Gantt or PERT 2

3 Figure 1. Defining Value Streams using Vdot s Process Editor. tools, a much more thorough and intrinsically beneficial result is a complete methodology to accomplishing the space campaign planning and the simulation of the various process threads. These process threads lead to the most efficient outcome, and generate an extremely useful and resource efficient approach Also, for those who still need to see projects or programs depicted in Gantt or PERT charts, when a project process template is complete, an updated Microsoft Project schedule can be exported from the Vdot tool. Microsoft Project is a project schedule tool widely used at MSFC; it provides limited project management capabilities that include: Definition and management of milestones, tasks, deliverables, and resources Schedule and resource status reporting. When initially configuring and setting up Vdot to support the robot development project, the original project schedule was imported into Vdot and then automatically converted into a process flow. The process flow was then fully defined by adding information flows and the applications acting on that information. When adding the information flows, tasks were discovered that produced data needed by no one and/or that required data from undefined tasks. After the Project Team completed configuring and inputting project processes and data flows into Vdot, an updated Microsoft Project schedule was exported from the Vdot tool and is presented in Figure 3. The updated schedule reflected the basic structure of the initial schedule, but included far more detail documenting the hidden or additional tasks found when configuring Vdot. 3

4 Figure 2. Initial Project Schedule (Imported into the Vdot Tool). 4

5 Figure 3. Final Project Schedule (Exported from Vdot Tool). 5

6 The updated schedule also contained the updated start/end dates, and personnel assigned to the various tasks. At various points during the project development cycle, Microsoft Project schedules were exported from Vdot and used as additional checkpoints and reporting mechanisms. Team members determined that the exported project schedules had all required information, and were able to be updated and manipulated just as any other schedule initially developed using the Microsoft Project scheduling tool. This feature allows projects using Vdot to provide Microsoft Project compatible schedules as a reporting mechanism to other organizations, should that capability be required. One drawback to using Microsoft Project to track your processes is that there is often no existing data on cycle time and effort to establish a baseline for efficiency comparisons between your as-is and to-be states. Vdot can help you capture this information by providing a simple interface for applying your initial estimates to each task in the process and rolling up the overall duration and hours on the entire process template. Once your process is defined as a Vdot process template, it may be activated and deployed instantly to your teams. This creates a dynamic copy (instantiation) of the process template and begins leading the process participants through the activities, ensuring that they get the right information and tools at the right time. Teammates actively work within your processes ensuring proper project execution. Status is automatically gathered in real time as the work is done. Behind the scenes, an as-performed database captures a complete history of the events that occur during process execution including when tasks are started and completed and by whom. Vdot s dashboards and task lists are tied directly to the state of your processes and the people working them to provide unprecedented visibility. At any point, as shown in Figure 4, you can see your progress and compare actual schedule and effort results to your original plan. Once you have executed the as-is process through Vdot, you will automatically have an actual baseline that may be used for future process improvements. Figure 4. Vdot Enables Real-Time Progress Visibility. Vdot helps you improve your processes in a number of ways. As mentioned previously, it allows you to quickly capture all of the details of your processes in an accessible format that can be continuously refined and reused. This is in keeping with the goal for the new era of human space exploration where new tools that surpass the existing Gantt and PERT chart approaches are needed as we transition from the Space Shuttle to Constellation while simultaneously balancing potential changes in priorities. It also helps you capture a baseline of your current state 6

7 and see the problem areas through actual execution of the processes by your teams. One extremely valuable advantage of using Vdot is that you can adapt your active processes on-the-fly (see Figure 5) to fix bottlenecks and problems immediately without stopping progress. Tasks may be added or removed and changes to the information flow may be incorporated as necessary for improvement. Any changes you make may be saved as a new process template for the next project so that you can gain from your actual experiences and capture the knowledge of what works and what doesn t work. Figure 5. Adapt Processes On-the-fly. III. Conclusions This paper described the various advantages Vdot offers to NASA and the aerospace industry in general. Specifically, it shows the benefits of uploading directly into Vdot a comprehensive project schedule compiled in Microsoft Project. By importing the project schedule, an initial project process template can be created by Vdot. Gaps and omissions in the project schedule are noticed immediately due to the interactive nature of the required flow of information, which is graphically displayed much like a PERT chart. However, with the paradigm shift in thinking about process information flow that Vdot requires rather than task flow of the old Gantt or PERT tools, a much more thorough and intrinsically beneficial result is a complete methodology to accomplishing the space campaign planning and the simulation of the various process threads. These process threads lead to the most efficient outcome, and generate an extremely useful and resource efficient approach. For those who still need to see projects or programs depicted in Gantt or PERT charts, when a project process template is complete, an updated Microsoft Project schedule can be exported from the Vdot tool. 7