The Impact of Technology Insertion on Organisations

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HFIDTC/2/12.2.1/1 Version 3 / 21 November 2007 • possible convergence <strong>of</strong> the roles <strong>of</strong> ‘Yeoman’ and ‘Foreman’. Personnel and organisational issues that needed to be addressed included: • current organisational structures need to be assessed to take account <strong>of</strong> role changes; • provision needs to be made for new specialist IT and s<strong>of</strong>tware engineering roles; • policies on recruitment and retention need revision to reflect future needs. Authors such as Martin and McLaughlin [211], and Bowyer and Martin [212] claim that the POINTS method has been successfully validated through application in these technology programmes. Despite the face validity <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the POINTS outputs, it is unclear from the literature whether predictions have proven accurate. Similarly there is little evidence <strong>of</strong> whether this approach has enabled technology programmes to avoid the risks that were identified. 10.1.3 Discussion <strong>of</strong> OSTA and POINTS Methods Socio-technical design approaches focus on involving users in the design process and on considering a wide range <strong>of</strong> social and technical alternatives. Although these approaches involve users at various stages <strong>of</strong> the design, they are not without their problems. One <strong>of</strong> the main problems is the need for a socio-technical expert to guide the design process and support users. Another is the degree to which it can be integrated with other system development processes and methods. This need for extra effort needs to be understood. Another problem is that these methods can only be used if the organisational and political climate accepts practitioners, their requests for workshops and views these methods as valuable and valid processes. If these methods are not perceived as valuable, their costs may be perceived to be unnecessary by programme managers. Sometimes the issue <strong>of</strong> cost effectiveness is raised and there must be a commitment by management to involve users and take on board their requirements. <strong>The</strong> OSTA method has been criticised by some due to the fact that whilst it provides useful guidance it is difficult to apply effectively. 10.2 Tools and S<strong>of</strong>tware to Support Practitioners 10.2.1 Supporting <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>Insertion</strong> Programmes In recent years, a number <strong>of</strong> tools have been developed to support practitioners in decision making about when technology insertion programmes should be carried out. In platforms with long lifespans, component obsolescence is an issue that needs careful consideration. <strong>Technology</strong> insertion <strong>of</strong> new components can have an impact on system performance and can be a costly process to undergo. In order to help the practitioner predict when technology insertion is appropriate within the platform’s lifecycle, a number <strong>of</strong> tools have been developed, which are described in the following sections. 10.2.1.1 Mitigation <strong>of</strong> Obsolescence Cost Analysis (MOCA) <strong>The</strong> Centre for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) in the Dept <strong>of</strong> Mechanical Engineering at the University <strong>of</strong> Maryland, has developed a methodology for determining 55
HFIDTC/2/12.2.1/1 Version 3 / 21 November 2007 component obsolescence and the associated impact on costs for long field life electronic systems. <strong>The</strong> Mitigation <strong>of</strong> Obsolescence Cost Analysis (MOCA) is a s<strong>of</strong>tware tool designed to support proactive design and life cycle planning <strong>of</strong> systems. <strong>The</strong> MOCA developers argue [213] that methodologies are needed to address optimal design in order to minimise the cost <strong>of</strong> component obsolescence and technology insertion. This tool is designed to support decisions on: • when best to carry out design refresh programmes; • what obsolete system components should be replaced at a specific design refresh (versus continuing with some other obsolescence mitigation strategy); • what non-obsolete system components should be replaced at a design refresh. Based on a detailed cost analysis model, the methodology determines the optimum design refresh plan during the life <strong>of</strong> the product. <strong>The</strong> design refresh plan consists <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> design refresh activities, their respective calendar dates and content necessary to minimise the life cycle sustainment cost <strong>of</strong> the product. <strong>The</strong> decisions that govern whether a technology is changed (replaced or upgraded) or not changed at a design refresh depend on the obsolescence attributes <strong>of</strong> the specific technology and on the ‘utility’ to the system realised by changing the technology (economic, performance, and reliability) [214]. To make the decision in a coupled-technology process, the MOCA developers formulated Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs). BBNs are applicable for reasoning about beliefs under conditions <strong>of</strong> uncertainty and using disparate sources <strong>of</strong> evidence (diverse data sources, including subjective beliefs and when all <strong>of</strong> the data entering into the decision is highly uncertain). An example <strong>of</strong> this is shown in Figure 8. Figure 8: Example Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) for determining whether to replace electronic components at a specific redesign point [218]. 56
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