ORION Systems (B) Rosas’s Plan Rosas and his staff worked hard over the past week to develop a…

ORION Systems (B)

Rosas’s Plan

Rosas and his staff worked hard over the past week to develop a plan to establish a new standard for completing projects at ORION. The Jaguar project management team will be expanded to seven managers, who will be responsible for overseeing the completion of the project from design to delivery to the customer. A brief description of the responsibilities for the three new positions follows (see Figure C8-3):

·   Production manager-responsible for raising production issues during the design phase; responsible for building and managing the production line.

·   ZLS (integrated logistical support) manager-responsible for all activities that require project/customer support after delivery including customer training, documentation, and equipment testing.

·   QA (quality assurance) manager-responsible for implementing a quality program that will enhance the reliability, availability and maintainability of the product.

These seven managers (the three just described plus the four discussed in Part A) will coordinate the completion of the project and see that their respective disciplines are factored into all major decisions. Rosas, as project manager, will work toward achieving consensus, but he will have the authority to intervene and make decisions if necessary.

The core work will be completed by 35 teams. Each team will have a “leader,” who will be responsible for designing, developing, building, and testing a specific subsystem of the project. They will also be responsible for the quality and productivity of the subsystems and for doing the work on time and within budget.

Individual teams will consist of 5 to 12 members, and Rosas insists that at least half of each team be assigned to work full-time on the project. This will help ensure continuity and enhance commitment to the project. The second key feature to the plan is the development of the overall master plan for the project. This involves abandoning the traditional sequential approach to product development and adopting a concurrent engineering approach to the project (see Figure C8-4).

Once the system design is reviewed and approved, different teams will begin working within the laboratory to design, develop, and test specific subsystems and components. Soon after this has begun the ILS team will start gathering information and preparing product documentation. Once the PDR is completed, the production teams will begin designing the necessary production lines. The CDR will include not only resolution of major technical questions but also a plan for manufacturing. Once the CDR is completed, project teams will begin field tests under a variety of different environmental conditions according to government specifications. Subsequent design refinements will be closely coordinated with manufacturing and ILS teams so that, ideally, ORION will be ready to begin producing the Jaguar upon completion of the PRR. Rosas believes that the phasing of the production and documentation work along side the core development work will accelerate project completion, reduce production costs, and contribute to customer satisfaction.

1. What are the major changes between this plan and the way ORION has managed projects in the past? 2. How well do you believe these changes deal with the problems identified in Part A?

3. Who is likely to support this plan? Who is not likely to support this plan?