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Hasegawa, Marnie Tardieu. "Systems engineering design for operations directorate administrative information system." Master's thesis, This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10242009-020024/.
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Foster, Jason. "Understanding and Improving Undergraduate Engineering Education." Thesis, University of Waterloo, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/849.
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This thesis seeks to understand the past and present state of engineering education and to plot a course for its future evolution. This research is limited to engineering education as it has taken place in North American universities during the last half of the 20th century. Within this context, broad trends are described. The description is supplemented with a case study of a unique and innovative engineering programme. The trends and case study form the foundation of a synthesis, and alternative vision, for higher education and engineering education. The intended audience of this thesis includes those who teach, design curriculum, or administer engineering education programmes. The description of the current state of engineering education contains analyses of the state and of the gaps within it. Both of these analyses are based almost exclusively on publicly available documentation. The present state of engineering is drawn from accreditation criteria. Critiques of the current state and suggestions for future change are drawn from reports commissioned by groups affiliated with professional engineering. The discussions identify recurring themes and patterns. Unlike the analysis of the literature, the case study merges interview evidence and personal experience with the available documentation. The synthesis and visions continue the trend away from formal sources towards experiences and beliefs. Engineering education research is in its infancy and shows few signs of maturing. There is no documented, common framing of engineering education nor have there been any efforts in this regard. Few sources address broad issues and those that do lack theoretical rigour. The visions for engineering education are simple amalgams of visions for the profession and for general higher education. The Department of Systems Design Engineering has enjoyed great past successes because of its unique vision that combines the theories of systems, complexity, and design with the discipline of engineering. Its recent decay can be traced to its faculty having collectively lost this vision. The original vision for Systems Design Engineering holds promise as a means to reinvent and reinvigorate both the engineering profession and engineering education. For this renaissance to be successful a theoretically rigorous research programme assessing the past, present, and future of engineering and engineering education must be developed.
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Ball, Linden John. "Cognitive processes in engineering design." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/674.
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The central aim of the current research programme was to gain an understanding of the cognitive processes involved in engineering design. Since little previous empirical research has investigated this domain, two major exploratory studies were undertaken here. Study One monitored seven final-year students tackling extended design projects. Diary and interview data were used to construct detailed design behaviour graphs that decomposed activities into structured representations reflecting the goals and subgoals that were pursued. Study Two involved individual observation (using video) of six professional engineers "thinking-aloud" as they tackled a small-scale design problem in a laboratory setting. A taxonomic scheme was developed to classify all verbal protocol units and other observable behaviours. In interpreting the data extensive use was made of theoretical concepts (e. g. schemas and mental models) deriving from current research on human problem solving and thinking. Evidence indicated that the engineers studied had many similar methods of working which could be described at a high level of abstraction in terms of a common "design schema". A central aspect of this schema was a problem reduction strategy which was used to break down complex design problems into more manageable subproblems. The data additionally revealed certain differences in design strategy between engineers' solution modelling activities and also showed up tendencies toward error and suboptimal performance. In this latter respect a particularly common tendency was for designers to "satisfice", that is to focus exclusively on initial solution concepts rather than comparing alternatives with the aim of optimising choices. The general implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to both the training of design skills and the development of intelligent computer systems to aid or automate the design process. A final, smaller scale of experimental study is also reported which investigated the possibility of improving design processes via subtle interventions aimed at imposing greater structure on design behaviours.
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Devereaux, Jaime E. (Jaime Erin). "Obsolescence : a systems engineering and management approach for complex systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59233.
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Thesis (S.M. in System Design and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).
Obsolescence mitigation is an increasingly important aspect of large systems development & maintenance that has often only been considered once obsolescence is imminent. For long lifecycle systems, this has become a major concern as the lifecycles of the components that are encompassed within these systems are often far shorter - up to ten times shorter - than the overall system lifecycle. Many defense systems can be characterized in this manner and therefore require obsolescence mitigation approaches to ensure the continuing ability for the system to perform and evolve. Current system-level obsolescence mitigation practices make recommendations for designing new systems to slow the onset of obsolescence and make the system more flexible when change for obsolescence is required. However, currently fielded systems were often not designed with this in mind. Other obsolescence mitigation techniques focus only on the approach to mitigating component-level obsolescence locally without examining the impact of the change on the system as a whole. This thesis combines the recommended approaches for obsolescence mitigation, the experience and lessons learned for obsolescence mitigation on a real-world case study system gained from interviews with key subject matter experts, along with systems engineering techniques for dealing with engineering change in systems to develop a robust systems engineering and management approach for obsolescence in large complex systems. The thesis provides the reader with a flow chart and a clustered DSM of the tasks along with a checklist that could be used with this obsolescence engineering and management approach.
by Jaime E. Devereaux.
S.M.in System Design and Management
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Yedeg, Esubalewe Lakie. "Control and design of engineering mechanics systems." Licentiate thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för datavetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-76675.
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Leung, Pah Hang Melissa Yuling. "Engineering design of localised synergistic production systems." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2017. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/845032/.
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Addressing a number of critical challenges caused by centralised production and large scale distribution infrastructures, local production systems designed in a synergistic manner could offer a possible pathway towards sustainability. The thesis focuses on the technical design of local production systems integrating local heterogeneous processes to satisfy local demands through efficient use of locally available renewable resources within technical and ecological constraints. A conceptual and quantitative multi-level framework, based on the Cumulative Exergy Resource Accounting methodology, was first developed for a better understanding of a local production system by considering the production and consumption of products or services as well as ecological processes. A general design framework comprising an optional preliminary design stage followed by a simultaneous design stage based on mathematical optimisation was then developed for solving the design problem towards minimum overall resource consumption. The preliminary design stage considers each supply subsystem individually and allows insights into the potential interactions between them. The simultaneous design stage has the capacity to include all design integration possibilities. A second, insight-based approach was further developed, which offers a new hierarchical and iterative decision and analysis procedure and incorporates design principles and ability to examine design decisions. The multilevel resource accounting framework was demonstrated on ethanol production from cane and successfully revealed how decisions at one level would affect other levels of the system. Both design approaches were illustrated on a case study for the design of local food-energy-water nexus. It showed the advantages of an integrated design of a system which makes use of local resources to meet its demands over a system relying on centralised supplies and over a design without considering integration opportunities between subsystems. The insight-based approach was also found to produce a comparable design to the simultaneous design approach while offering more valuable insights for decision makers.
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Aquaro, Matthew. "Systems engineering in practice : the application of systems engineering principles to the development of a hydraulic control system for an automatic transmission." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/44701.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 71).
Product development in the automotive industry has evolved around the design of components. The organization is established around components and people have a very component centric perspective on problem solving. This has led to local optimization of individual components, while the larger system spirals out of control. The penalty is often measured in terms of development time and cost. New programs are given autonomy to make independent choices without regard for what other programs are doing, which leads to a wide variety of architectures put into place. Program managers and functional managers have different prioritizations. Furthermore, new designs are provided by a separate organization from the group responsible for implementation. They have a very different value system and are unaware of the difficulties experienced in the implementation phase. This type of practice leads to programs nearing production deadlines with poorly optimized systems. Engineers must relearn due to the lack of standardization across program. The team absorbs additional resources from within to fix issues prior to launch. The robbing of resources leads to delays in subsequent programs and the cycle repeats itself. These issues are partly cultural, part organizational, part due to lack of understanding of systems engineering. A new organization is designed, which strengthen the systems perspective and give power to a new role in the organization, the Systems Engineer. The Systems Engineer is chartered with global optimization of the entire system, which includes both functional aspects as well as business aspects like resource availability, development cost and time. They are responsible for developing the complete system, from concept to final implementation. The Design Structure Matrix (DSM) shows the boundaries of the system and reveals new areas where the Systems Engineer can influence the design at lower cost to the organization.
(cont.) The Robustness Checklist, standardization and Systems Architecture provide Systems Engineers tools to change from a component mindset to a systems mindset and to optimize the system as a whole.
by Matthew J. Aquaro.
S.M.
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Holbrook, A. E. K. "Design assistance for complex engineering assemblies." Thesis, Cranfield University, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.303118.
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Adikari, Sisira. "Usability modelling for requirements engineering /." Canberra, 2008. http://erl.canberra.edu.au/public/adt-AUC20081204.145827/index.html.
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Tan, Kok Keng. "Cognitive Systems Engineering as an Ontology for Design." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1269531460.
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London, Brian (Brian N. ). "A model-based systems engineering framework for concept development." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70822.
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Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-151).
The development of increasingly complex, innovative systems under greater constraints has been the trend over the past several decades. In order to be successful, organizations must develop products that meet customer needs more effectively than the competitors' alternatives. The development of these concepts is based on a broad set of stakeholder objectives, from which alternative designs are developed and compared. When properly performed, this process helps those involved understand the benefits and drawbacks of each option. This is crucial as firms need to effectively and quickly explore many concepts, and easily determine those most likely to succeed. It is generally accepted that a methodical design approach leads to the reduction in design flaws and cost over a product's life cycle. Several techniques have been developed to facilitate these efforts. However, the traditional tools and work products are isolated, and require diligent manual inspection. It is expected that the effectiveness of the high-level product design and development will improve dramatically through the adoption of computer based modeling and simulation. This emerging capability can mitigate the challenges and risks imposed by complex systems by enforcing rigor and precision. Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) is a methodology for designing systems using interconnected computer models. The recent proliferation of MBSE is evidence of its ability to improve the design fidelity and enhance communication among development teams. Existing descriptions of leveraging MBSE for deriving requirements and system design are prevalent. However, very few descriptions of model-based concept development have been presented. This may be due to the lack of MBSE methodologies for performing concept development. Teams that attempt a model-based approach without well defined, structured strategy are often unsuccessful. However, when MBSE is combined with a clear methodology, designs can be more efficiently generated and evaluated. While it may not be feasible to provide a "standard" methodology for concept development, a framework is envisioned that incorporates a variety of methods and techniques. This thesis proposes such a framework and presents an example based on a simulated concept development effort.
by Brian London.
S.M.in Engineering and Management
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Fulton, Neale Leslie Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering Australian Defence Force Academy UNSW. "Regional airspace design: a structured systems engineering approach." Awarded by:University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy. School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, 2002. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/38722.
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There has been almost fifteen years of political controversy surrounding changes to the rules and procedures by which aircraft conduct their flight within regional Australia. Decisions based on a predominately heuristic (rule of thumb) approach to design have had many adverse consequences for the integrity of the proximity warning function. A sound mathematical model is required to establish this function on a mature engineering foundation. To achieve this, the proximity warning function has been investigated as a hybrid-system. This approach recognises the dual nature of the design: that aircraft dynamics give rise to continuous mathematical models while the communication protocols controlling proximity require discrete mathematical approaches. The blending of each aspect has yielded a deeper insight into the operational limitations and failure modes of this function. The presentation of the thesis follows a design thread through the function. It begins with a description of existing standards and implementations. Risk models are then developed. The pilot interface is recognised as a primary design constraint. Mathematical models are then developed to describe the topology of flow, proximity dynamics, and the scheduling constraints associated with visual, voice, and data-link communications required by the proximity warning function. These analyses show that many aspects of design can be bounded by analytical formulae that bring new robustness to the design and resolve some of the misconceptions arising from the often inaccurate perceptions of present airspace operations. Failure modes, unaccounted for in existing designs are found to actually aggravate failure in the very situations in which the airspace design should be robust and should act to prevent collisions. In particular, there are divergences of performance between the demands required by the system design and the ability of the pilot to deliver such performances. In some cases, these failures may be traced to policy decisions such as service between Instrument Flight Rule and Visual Flight Rule category aircraft. On the basis of the conclusions of this research, a formal engineering review of the proximity warning function is required to assure the containment of the likelihood of mid-air collision for all future operations.
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Atkinson, Simon Reay. "Engineering design adaptation fitness in complex adaptive systems." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648674.
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Zhang, Qiang. "Process modeling of innovative design using systems engineering." Thesis, Strasbourg, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014STRAD007/document.
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Nous développons des modèles de processus pour décrire et gérer efficacement la conception innovante, en suivant la méthodologie DRM. D'abord, nous présentons un modèle descriptif de la conception innovante. Ce modèle reflète les processus fondamentaux qui sont utiles pour comprendre les différentes dimensions et étapes impliqués dans la conception innovante. Il permette aussi de localise les possibilités d'innovation dans ce processus, et se focalise sur les facteurs internes et externes qui influencent le succès. Deuxièmement, nous effectuons une étude empirique pour étudier la façon dont le contrôle et la flexibilité peuvent être équilibrés pour gérer l'incertitude dans la conception innovante. Après avoir identifié les pratiques de projets qui traitent de ces incertitudes en termes de contrôle et de flexibilité, des études de cas sont analysés. Cet exemple montre que le contrôle et la flexibilité peuvent coexister. En se basant sûr les résultats managériaux issu de cette étude empirique, nous développons un modèle procédurale de processus et un modèle adaptatif à base d’activité. Le premier propose le cadre conceptuel pour équilibrer l'innovation et le contrôle par la structuration des processus au niveau du projet et par l'intégration des pratiques flexibles au niveau opérationnel. Le second modèle considère la conception innovante comme un système adaptatif complexe. Il propose ainsi une méthode de conception qui construit progressivement l'architecture du processus de la conception innovante. Enfin, les deux modèles sont vérifiées en analysant un certain nombre de processus et en faisant des simulations au sein de trois projets de conception innovanteWe develop a series of process models to comprehensively describe and effectively manage innovative design in order to achieve adequate balance between innovation and control, following the design research methodology (DRM). Firstly, we introduce a descriptive model of innovative design. This model reflects the actual process and pattern of innovative design, locates innovation opportunities in the process and supports a systematic perspective whose focus is the external and internal factors affecting the success of innovative design. Secondly, we perform an empirical study to investigate how control and flexibility can be balanced to manage uncertainty in innovative design. After identifying project practices that cope with these uncertainties in terms of control and flexibility, a case-study sample based on five innovative design projects from an automotive company is analyzed and shows that control and flexibility can coexist. Based on the managerial insights of the empirical study, we develop the procedural process model and the activity-based adaptive model of innovative design. The former one provides the conceptual framework to balance innovation and control by the process structuration at the project-level and the integration of flexible practices at the operation-level. The latter model considers innovative design as a complex adaptive system, and thereby proposes the method of process design that dynamically constructs the process architecture of innovative design. Finally, the two models are verified by supporting a number of process analysis and simulation within a series of innovative design projects
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Ajit, Suraj. "Capture and maintenance of constraints in engineering design." Thesis, Available from the University of Aberdeen Library and Historic Collections Digital Resources. Restricted access until May 30, 2112. Online version available for University member only until May, 30 2014, 2009. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?application=DIGITOOL-3&owner=resourcediscovery&custom_att_2=simple_viewer&pid=25928.
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Wang, Chenjie. "The design exploration method for adaptive design systems." Thesis, Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/28084.
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Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.Committee Chair: Janet K. Allen; Committee Member: Benjamin Klein; Committee Member: Farrokh Mistree; Committee Member: Seung-Kyum Choi.
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Liaw, Judy-Audrey-Chui-Yik. "DEFINITION AND REPRESENTATION OF REQUIREMENT ENGINEERING / MANAGEMENT: A PROCESS-ORIENTED APPROACH." MSSTATE, 2002. http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-04092002-095054/.
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Requirements are important in software development, product development, projects, processes, and systems. However, a review of the requirements literature indicates several problems. First, there is confusion between the terms ?requirements engineering? and ?requirements management.? Similarities and/or differences between the two terms are resolved through a literature review; resulting in comprehensive definitions of each term. Second, current literature recognizes the importance of requirements but offers few methodologies or solutions for defining and managing requirements. Hence, a flexible methodology or framework is provided for defining and managing requirements. Third, requirements methodologies are represented in various ways, each with their respective strengths and weaknesses. A tabular view and hybrid graphical view for representing the requirements process are provided.
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Chao, K. M. "Knowledge sharing and reuse for engineering design." Thesis, University of Sunderland, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.361204.
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Walser, C. P. "Dedicated universal microcomputer system for the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Stellenbosch." Thesis, Cape Technikon, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2177.
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Thesis (Diploma (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Technikon, 1988.The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of characteristics, to adapt the system for a number of applications Stellenbosch developed the need for an intelligent controller for their well-equipped laboratories. The system had to be dedicated only to their mechanical laboratories, but with universal on various experiments. The system had to be: 1. Universal to fit most experiments. 2. Programmable. 3. Fast control system. 4. Dedicated to one experiment at a time. 5. Long control time intervals. 6. Reliable system which can withstand harsh electrical interference. The microprocessor, with its ability to perform a wide variety of different functions and being programmable was the answer. It could be obtained at low cost and coupled via suitable interface circuits to a wide variety of external devices.
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Slocum, Alexander Henry Jr. "Design of nanomanufacturing systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61920.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-124).
Over 100 years of manufacturing knowledge and experience are available to a design engineer when considering the integration of a machine tool enabling macro-scale processes (milling, turning, welding, water-jet cutting) into a production or manufacturing line, and this thesis seeks to provide a design engineer with the insight so that the same can be done for a nano-scale process such as Dip Pen Nanolithography and Nanoimprint Lithography. Accordingly this work presents methods for designing nanomanufacturing systems, including the development of new technology to fulfill the unique performance requirements of nanomanufacturing processes. First, an introduction to nanomanufacturing and the differences between macro-scale and nano-scale manufacturing will be presented. Second, a "metric mapping" method will be illustrated which can be used to identify areas of nano-manufacturing where the need for the development of new technology is critical. Thirdly, this new method is capable of helping a design engineer synthesize technology for nano-manufacturing, as will be shown through a case-study in which a modular, precision belt-drive machine which is capable of enabling high-throughput nanomanufacturing was designed and built. This machine for highrate nanomanufacturing not only exceeds the performance requirements for a process (Dip Pen Nanolithography, or DPN) that has been called "not suitable for high-rate nanomanufacturing", but also is capable of implementing DPN at a rate almost 200 times that of previous machines.
by Alexander H. Slocum, Jr.
S.M.
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Basil, Daniel L. "A systems engineering approach to the design of a COTS management system." Master's thesis, This resource online, 1996. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12162009-020103/.
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Simpson, Timothy W. "Development of a design process for realizing open engineering systems." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/17901.
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Hurst, Kyle B. "Applying the engineering systems multiple-domain matrix framework to nanosatellite space systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113513.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 86-88).
The nanosatellite industry is expanding rapidly, as academic and private institutions develop new technologies for experimentation on orbit. These "CubeSats" are resource constrained, complex socio-technical systems that have complicated interdependencies across multiple domains. To improve understanding and reduce ambiguity, systems engineers apply a variety of modeling frameworks to model system behavior. Introduced in 2007, the Engineering Systems Multiple- Domain Matrix (ES-MDM) framework addresses the interdependencies of a complex engineering system, such as a CubeSat, across five domains: environmental, social, functional, technical and process. Using the Free-space Lasercom and Radiation Experiment (FLARE) CubeSat constellation as an example engineering system case, the ES-MDM is constructed using the qualitative knowledge construction framework to model and analyze the system drivers, stakeholders, objectives, function, objects and processes of the system. The primary objective of this analysis is to provide a structured systems design approach for nanosatellite development that encompasses the entire system holistically. The second objective is to analyze the interactions and interdependencies within a highly-constrained system and determine key design nodes that are critical to system flexibility. The third objective is to evaluate the ability of the ES-MDM methodology to analyze a highly-constrained system. The fourth objective of thesis is to provide recommendations for future work to improve the ESMDM framework and the s7102 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Integrated Design and Management Program.
by Kyle B. Hurst.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Ang, Ying Hann. "Investigating the frustrations in managing and engineering defense system-of systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/100368.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-88).
This thesis is concerned with understanding the question on why, for several decades, engineers and project managers were experiencing similar frustrations when engineering and managing systems-of-systems despite various technological and organizational efforts. The first objective of this thesis is to identify the common frustrations in the area of System-of-Systems operations, management and system engineering. A second objective is to understand the systemic causes of these frustrations using different system engineering methods and tools. A series of interviews with mid-career experts from different disciplines were conducted in order to capture expert knowledge. Half of them were end-users from U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) while the other half represented the defense industry. A total of twelve common themes were observed: Technical Challenges: 1) Poor Requirements Engineering, 2) High Complexity and Magnitude of SoS, 3) Complex Stakeholder Management, 4) Evolving SoS Requirements. Management 'Pain Points': 5) Lack of Strong Leadership, 6) Misalignment between Industry & End-users, 7) Unstable Budget Environment, 8) Limited Information Available, 9) Information Compartmentalization. 10) High Turnover Rate Organizational Influences: 11) Excessive Bureaucracy, 12) Risk Avoidance Culture. By applying causal loop analysis and comparing the findings against current literature, a total of seven insights are identified: 1) Adopting Systems Thinking Perspective, 2) Understanding impact of Upstream Decisions, 3) Balancing Engineering and Politics, 4) Aligning Stakeholders, 5) Identifying gaps in Communication and Knowledge Management, 6) Understanding that workarounds may result in Technical Debt, 7) Understanding the Defense Culture, The thesis concludes with discussions on the seven insights as well as possible areas for future research. The author hopes that insights from this thesis will be used to develop guidance and advice for SoS engineering in future.
by Ying Hann Ang.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Changqing, J. "Integrated optimization of design and operation of engineering systems." Thesis, City University London, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.356323.
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Cavanaugh, Kenneth J. "The design of a geographic information system utilizing the systems engineering approach /." This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-03302010-020429/.
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Van, Dyk Liezl. "Manufacturing execution systems." Diss., University of Pretoria, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29348.
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The term Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) was created in 1990 by Advanced Manufacturing Research (AMR) to describe the suite of software products which enables the execution of manufacturing through the integration of planning and control systems. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the current status of MES and to investigate the possible role of the Industrial Engineer in the development, implementation and use of MES. To achieve this objective, the most commonly accepted, recent and relevant definitions, business models, functions and developments of MES are investigated. Based on these, a new MES Function Matrix is developed and validated by a case study. Finally, Industrial Engineering is related to MES and the role of the Industrial Engineer promoted. The emergence of MES is a result of the evolution of three interrelated elements, namely manufacturing strategies, manufacturing planning and control systems and information technology. The development of global markets and the requirement for agile manufacturing led to the need for MES. The evolution of various aspects of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and more specifically Manufacturing Planning and Control (MPC) systems, is discussed as part of the investigation of the development of MES. The Three-Layer-model and REPAC-¬model by AMR Research, as well as variations of these models compiled by MESA ("International MES Association"), are investigated. Manufacturing execution is absent in traditional MPC models. Modern models, such as the Three-Layer-model, suggest an execution layer to be inserted between the planning and control layers. The investigation of the function models of McClellan and MESA International indicates that discrepancies exist between these models with regard to the functions of MES. A new MES Function Matrix is developed to address such shortcomings and is applied to a case study of DIAMES, a software product used by Aberdare Cables and promoted as an MES product. As an MES developer, the Industrial Engineer can act as designer, planner and innovator. The greatest value can, however, be added by the Industrial Engineer as integrator to ensure that horizontal plant-wide execution takes place, and not only vertical "islands of automation" integrated with planning systems. In order to accomplish this, the Industrial Engineer needs to fulfill the roles of boundary-spanner, facilitator, coordinator, analyst, chairperson, decision-maker, as well as trainer or educator. MES can also be used by the Industrial Engineer as a tool, for example as part of a program of continuous improvement. The identification of the relationship between the expertise of the Industrial Engineer and the roles to be played within the MES arena gave birth to the establishment of an MES research initiative at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of the University of Pretoria.Dissertation (MEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Industrial and Systems Engineering
unrestricted
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Shaw, Trevor W. "A systems engineering design analysis of a U.S. Army secure storage system." Thesis, Monterey, California, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/6021.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.As the Army develops and fields new or improved tactical equipment for the soldier, the challenge of providing for its security, unit-level maintenance, availability, and accountability will exceed the capacity of present systems. This new or improved tactical equipment will include a number of high-cost, technically advanced items that will present storage and other logistical challenges. In garrison, the fixed facilities at unit level are inadequate for the projected need (both quantitatively and qualitatively). Finally, there are no current systems specifically designed to provide security, protected storage, availability, and accountability of sensitive and high-value non-sensitive items during training or operational deployments This thesis uses a tailored application of the systems engineering process to develop a design for a U.S. Army secure storage system. This study investigates the user's requirements for such a system, as well as requirements and constraints derived from security regulations, military and commercial intermodal transportation methods, and current Army facilities and force structure. It then examines existing Government and commercial equipment to assess their suitability for satisfying secure storage and transportation requirements. Ultimately, this system engineering analysis produces a physical architecture of a mobile secure storage system, as well as selected items of the system architecture.
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MacDonald, Vincent J. "A systems engineering approach to the design of a vehicle navigation system." Master's thesis, This resource online, 1993. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04272010-020120/.
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Cavanaugh, Kenneth J. Jr. "The design of a geographic information system utilizing the systems engineering approach." Master's thesis, Virginia Tech, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41851.
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Vafiadis, Konstantinos G. "Systems and control problems in early systems design." Thesis, City University London, 2003. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/7661/.
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This thesis is concerned with the evaluation of properties of early design models, the control structure selection and the representation and properties of composite system models. The work is motivated by the need to introduce a Systems and Control Theory based framework for early design stages of the overall system design of engineering processes, and in particular chemical processes, such as process synthesis and control structure selection. The overall spirit of the work is that engineering design is an evolutionary process, the different stages of which shape the structure of the resulting system models and precondition the potential for design at the next stage. The work identifies a number of key problems in the overall design, which are of a generic, systemic character, and then deals with working out solutions for such problems. The results contribute in the development of a framework for systems integration using as criteria and tools, those provided by Systems and Control Theory. The work aims to provide a control theoretic dimension to the rules and practices currently used in the specific application areas. The thesis contributes in the development of a Systems and Control conceptual and tools framework for integrated design of engineering processes by providing results in the following areas: - Specification of a number of generic problems in the field of integrated design and identification of relevant control theoretic concepts and tools. - Study of Model Orientation for linear implicit state-space models and definition of classes of oriented realisations. - Development of solutions to two problems of Structural Identification for uncertain early process models related to infinite zero structure and McMillan degree. - Development of a generic representation of composite systems that allows the study of transition from the aggregate to composite system properties, as a generalised Control Design and characterisation of some key system properties. -Specification of a framework for integrated Control Structure Selection and development of software for many approaches of the "interaction analysis" indicators. The results contribute in the area of development of the systems and control ideas for the problems of systems integration and early design. The work emphasises the strong links between Modelling, Selection of Control Structures and Control Structural methodologies.
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Hurst, Kenneth Stell. "Selection of engineering design concepts : an expert systems approach." Thesis, University of Hull, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.242431.
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Kerzhner, Aleksandr A. "Using logic-based approaches to explore system architectures for systems engineering." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/44748.
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This research is focused on helping engineers design better systems by supporting their decision making. When engineers design a system, they have an almost unlimited number of possible system alternatives to consider. Modern systems are difficult to design because of a need to satisfy many different stakeholder concerns from a number of domains which requires a large amount of expert knowledge. Current systems engineering practices try to simplify the design process by providing practical approaches to managing the large amount of knowledge and information needed during the process. Although these methods make designing a system more practical, they do not support a structured decision making process, especially at early stages when designers are selecting the appropriate system architecture, and instead rely on designers using ad hoc frameworks that are often self-contradictory. In this dissertation, a framework for performing architecture exploration at early stages of the design process is presented. The goal is to support more rational and self-consistent decision making by allowing designers to explicitly represent their architecture exploration problem and then use computational tools to perform this exploration. To represent the architecture exploration problem, a modeling language is presented which explicitly models the problem as an architecture selection decision. This language is based on the principles of decision-based design and decision theory, where decisions are made by picking the alternative that results in the most preferred expected outcome. The language is designed to capture potential alternatives in a compact form, analysis knowledge used to predict the quality of a particular alternative, and evaluation criteria to differentiate and rank outcomes. This language is based on the Object Management Group's System Modeling Language (SysML). Where possible, existing SysML constructs are used; when additional constructs are needed, SysML's profile mechanism is used to extend the language. Simply modeling the selection decision explicitly is not sufficient, computational tools are also needed to explore the space of possible solutions and inform designers about the selection of the appropriate alternative. In this investigation, computational tools from the mathematical programming domain are considered for this purpose. A framework for modeling an architecture selection decision in mixed-integer linear programming (MIP) is presented. MIP solvers can then solve the MIP problem to identify promising candidate architectures at early stages of the design process. Mathematical programming is a common optimization domain, but it is rarely used in this context because of the difficulty of manually formulating an architecture selection or exploration problem as a mathematical programming optimization problem. The formulation is presented in a modular fashion; this enables the definition of a model transformation that can be applied to transform the more compact SysML representation into the mathematical programming problem, which is also presented. A modular superstructure representation is used to model the design space; in a superstructure a union of all potential architectures is represented as a set of discrete and continuous variables. Algebraic constraints are added to describe both acceptable variable combinations and system behavior to allow the solver to eliminate clearly poor alternatives and identify promising alternatives. The overall framework is demonstrated on the selection of an actuation subsystem for a hydraulic excavator. This example is chosen because of the variety of potential architecture embodiments and also a plethora of well-known configurations which can be used to verify the results.
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Visée, Michaël. "Modeling and engineering software systems using Petri networks." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42377.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 38).
A model of software applications for business process management based on colored Petri Networks is proposed and the corresponding application development process is exposed. A language is proposed to specify the enabling rules of the transitions. An algorithm to solve the binding problem is proposed and detailed. These elements allow the developers to isolate themselves from the very complex details of business process orchestration, transaction management, multi-threading issues, and to concentrate on the implementation of the transitions themselves. As a proof of concept, a lightweight business process engine based on that model has been implemented as well as the associated development and code generation tools.
by Michaël Visée.
S.M.
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Clepper, Erin Grace. "Agile Project Management/Systems Engineering of an AV Interior Prototype." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534732301197097.
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Racicot, Kelley Ann. "Active assessment in engineering design using a systems approach." Online access for everyone, 2007. http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Thesis/Summer2007/k_racicot_072707.pdf.
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Lehane, Andrew R. "The design and engineering of HCI in CAD systems." Thesis, Brunel University, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.337670.
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Mostashari, Ali 1974. "Stakeholder-assisted modeling and policy design for engineering systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/31173.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology, Management, and Policy Program, 2005.Page 462 blank.
Includes bibliographical references.
There is a growing realization that stakeholder involvement in decision-making for large- scale engineering systems is necessary and crucial, both from an ethical perspective, as well as for improving the chances of success for an engineering systems project. Traditionally however, stakeholders have only been involved after decision-makers and experts have completed the initial decision-making process with little or no input from stakeholders. This has resulted in conflict and delays for engineering systems with brilliant technical designs that do not address the larger context of the broader social goals. One of the fears of experts is that the involvement of stakeholders will result in technical solutions that are of poor quality. The hypothesis of this research is that an effective involvement of stakeholders in the decision-making process for engineering systems from the problem definition stage through the system representation can produce a system representation that is superior to representations produced in an expert-centered process. This dissertation proposes a Stakeholder-Assisted Modeling and Policy Design (SAM-PD) process for effectively involving stakeholders in engineering systems with wide-ranging social and environmental impact. The SAM-PD process is designed based on insights from existing engineering systems methodologies and alternative dispute resolution literature. Starting with a comprehensive analysis of engineering systems methodologies, the role of experts in engineering systems decision-making and existing stakeholder involvement mechanisms, this research explores the role of cognitive biases of engineering systems representation through actual experiments,
(cont.) and concludes that the process of defining a system through its boundaries, components and linkages is quite subjective, and prone to implicit value judgments of those participating in the system representation process. Therefore to account for stakeholder interests, concerns and knowledge in engineering systems decision-making, it is important to have a collaborative process that enables stakeholders to jointly shape the problem definition and model outputs necessary for decision-making. Based on insights from the literature, this research developed a collaborative process for engineering systems decision-making, and explored its merits and drawbacks in applying it to the Cape Wind offshore wind energy project involving actual stakeholders in the system representation process. It further explored the potential application of such a process to the Mexico City transportation/air pollution system and the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Planning project. The Cape Wind case study showed that a stakeholder-assisted system representation was superior to the equivalent expert-centered system representation used by the permitting agency as a basis for decision-making, in that it served as a thought expander for stakeholders, captured some effects that the expert-centered representation could not capture, better took into account social, economic and political feasibility and was more useful in suggesting better alternative strategies for the system. The case studies also highlighted the importance of the convening organization, institutional readiness for collaborative processes, the importance of stakeholder selection and process facilitation, the potentials of system representation as a basis for stakeholder dialogue and the importance of quantification versus evaluation of system representations.
(cont.) The basic implication of this research is that it would be myopic of engineering systems professionals to shift the burden of stakeholder involvement to decision-makers, and keep the analysis a merely expert-centered process. Due to the many subjective choices that have to be made with regards to system boundaries, choice of components, inclusion of linkages, nature of outputs and performance metrics and assumptions about data and relationships, system analysts are in fact not producing the analysis that will help the decision-making process. The best airport designs done with multi-tradeoff analysis and intricate options analysis may lead to nowhere if stakeholders affected by the project do not see their interests reflected in the analysis. The notion is that a good systems analysis is not one that impresses other engineering systems professionals with its complexity, but one that can actually address the problems at hand.
by Ali Mostashari.
Ph.D.
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Cardin, Michel-Alexandre 1979. "Facing reality : design and management of flexible engineering systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40301.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 108-112).
This thesis proposes a practical approach to defining flexible design and development strategies for maximizing the expected value of engineering systems. Specifically, the approach deals with the fact that it is generally computationally impractical to explore all the possible ways a system might be developed and operated, given the large number of possible scenarios in which the system might evolve. To make the analysis tractable within the computational resources available, it proposes that designers and program managers use a catalog of representative operating plans built from combinations of design elements and management decision rules. These are associated with a range of possible scenarios of uncertain variables that might affect the system's expected value and performance. This work develops the novel methodology introduced by (de Neufville, 2006) to guide the search for catalogs of operating plans while aiming at minimizing computational effort. It assumes a model of the engineering system is available, together with several value/performance metrics such as Expected Net Present Value (ENPV) and Value At Risk and Gain (VARG). It uses an algorithm based on statistical experiment design, Adaptive One-Factor-At-a-Time (OFAT) (Frey and Wang, 2006; Wang, 2007), to search the combinatorial space in light of system's responses to a limited set of uncertain variable scenarios.
(cont.) Two case studies demonstrate the benefits of the analysis methodology. One is inspired from the development of a parking garage near the Bluewater commercial center in the United Kingdom. The other relates to the development of a real estate project in the United States. Results from case studies show improvement compared to inflexible design of engineering systems while still requiring minimal computational effort. This, together with appropriate policy recommendations, provides incentives for dissemination of the analysis methodology in industry and government. The simplicity of the methodology and use of tools already familiar to the firm and government agency alleviate political barriers to implementation. It allows designers and program managers to remain within established framework, rules, and management constraints. It favors transparent presentation and efficient application to design and management of engineering systems, thus allowing program managers to present the natural evolution of decisions to senior decision-makers.
by Michel-Alexandre Cardin.
S.M.
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Yedeg, Esubalewe Lakie. "Analysis, Control, and Design Optimization of Engineering Mechanics Systems." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för datavetenskap, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-119978.
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This thesis considers applications of gradient-based optimization algorithms to the design and control of some mechanics systems. The material distribution approach to topology optimization is applied to design two different acoustic devices, a reactive muffler and an acoustic horn, and optimization is used to control a ball pitching robot. Reactive mufflers are widely used to attenuate the exhaust noise of internal combustion engines by reflecting the acoustic energy back to the source. A material distribution optimization method is developed to design the layout of sound-hard material inside the expansion chamber of a reactive muffler. The objective is to minimize the acoustic energy at the muffler outlet. The presence or absence of material is represented by design variables that are mapped to varying coefficients in the governing equation. An anisotropic design filter is used to control the minimum thickness of materials separately in different directions. Numerical results demonstrate that the approach can produce mufflers with high transmission loss for a broad range of frequencies. For acoustic devices, it is possible to improve their performance, without adding extended volumes of materials, by an appropriate placement of thin structures with suitable material properties. We apply layout optimization of thin sound-hard material in the interior of an acoustic horn to improve its far-field directivity properties. Absence or presence of thin sound-hard material is modeled by a surface transmission impedance, and the optimization determines the distribution of materials along a “ground structure” in the form of a grid inside the horn. Horns provided with the optimized scatterers show a much improved angular coverage, compared to the initial configuration. The surface impedance is handled by a new finite element method developed for Helmholtz equation in the situation where an interface is embedded in the computational domain. A Nitschetype method, different from the standard one, weakly enforces the impedance conditions for transmission through the interface. As opposed to a standard finite-element discretization of the problem, our method seamlessly handles both vanishing and non-vanishing interface conditions. We show the stability of the method for a quite general class of surface impedance functions, provided that possible surface waves are sufficiently resolved by the mesh. The thesis also presents a method for optimal control of a two-link ball pitching robot with the aim of throwing a ball as far as possible. The pitching robot is connected to a motor via a non-linear torsional spring at the shoulder joint. Constraints on the motor torque, power, and angular velocity of the motor shaft are included in the model. The control problem is solved by an interior point method to determine the optimal motor torque profile and release position. Numerical experiments show the effectiveness of the method and the effect of the constraints on the performance.
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Fernández, Marco Gero. "A Framework for Agile Collaboration in Engineering." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/7630.
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Often, design problems are strongly coupled and their concurrent resolution by interacting (though decentralized) stakeholders is required. The ensuing interactions are characterized predominantly by degree of interdependence and level of cooperation. Since tradeoffs, made within and among sub-systems, inherently contribute to system level performance, bridging the associated gaps is crucial. With this in mind, effective collaboration, centered on continued communication, concise coordination, and non-biased achievement of system level objectives, is becoming increasingly important.
Thus far, research in distributed and decentralized decision-making has focused primarily on conflict resolution. Game theoretic protocols and negotiation tactics have been used extensively as a means of making the required tradeoffs, often in a manner that emphasizes the maximization of stakeholder payoff over system level performance. More importantly, virtually all of the currently instantiated mechanisms are based upon the a priori assumption of the existence of solutions that are acceptable to all interacting parties. No explicit consideration has been given thus far to ensuring the convergence of stakeholder design activities leading up to the coupled decision and the associated determination of values for uncoupled and coupled design parameters. Consequently, unnecessary and costly iteration is almost certain to result from mismatched and potentially irreconcilable objectives.
In this dissertation, an alternative coordination mechanism, centered on sharing key pieces of information throughout the process of determining a solution to a coupled system is presented. Specifically, the focus is on (1) establishing and assessing collaborative design spaces, (2) identifying and exploring regions of acceptable performance, and (3) preserving stakeholder dominion over design sub-system resolution throughout the duration of a given design process. The fundamental goal is to establish a consistent framework for agile collaboration that more accurately represents the mechanics underlying product development and supports interacting stakeholders in achieving their respective objectives in light of system level priorities. This aim is accomplished via improved resource management and design space exploration, augmented awareness of system level implications emanating from sub-system decisions, and increased modularity of decentralized design processes. Stakeholder synergy in design processes is enhanced via stakeholder focalization, based on the systematic communication of decision-critical information content.
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Dick, Jochen Helmut. "Cost modelling and concurrent engineering for testable design." Thesis, Brunel University, 1993. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5284.
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As integrated circuits and printed circuit boards increase in complexity, testing becomes a major cost factor of the design and production of the complex devices. Testability has to be considered during the design of complex electronic systems, and automatic test systems have to be used in order to facilitate the test. This fact is now widely accepted in industry. Both design for testability and the usage of automatic test systems aim at reducing the cost of production testing or, sometimes, making it possible at all. Many design for testability methods and test systems are available which can be configured into a production test strategy, in order to achieve high quality of the final product. The designer has to select from the various options for creating a test strategy, by maximising the quality and minimising the total cost for the electronic system. This thesis presents a methodology for test strategy generation which is based on consideration of the economics during the life cycle of the electronic system. This methodology is a concurrent engineering approach which takes into account all effects of a test strategy on the electronic system during its life cycle by evaluating its related cost. This objective methodology is used in an original test strategy planning advisory system, which allows for test strategy planning for VLSI circuits as well as for digital electronic systems. The cost models which are used for evaluating the economics of test strategies are described in detail and the test strategy planning system is presented. A methodology for making decisions which are based on estimated costing data is presented. Results of using the cost models and the test strategy planning system for evaluating the economics of test strategies for selected industrial designs are presented.
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Ayubi, Harry H. "Advanced skills required for engineering leaders in global product development." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70795.
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Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-88).
Observations from first hand experience on the Boeing 787 Program during development of perhaps the most important and exciting new commercial airplane in recent history has identified opportunities to enhance the global product development skills of key engineering leaders. Extreme challenges related to typical factors (e.g., cost, schedule, quality) are coupled with a radically different business model - one shaped by a product development strategy that relies heavily on globally dispersed risk-sharing partners. In addition, the 787 would use dramatically new carbon composite materials and manufacturing methods for the airplane structure, as well as advanced technologies for the airplane systems and propulsion. This was further complicated by the parallel development of new design software intended for use in creating, sharing, and managing all 787 product definition data. The lead design engineer - among the most critical resource on the product development team - must engage on all fronts. Given the complexities of this endeavor, advanced skills are necessary for engineering leaders to succeed, and Boeing must ensure they have these skills. This research was intended to specify some of these advanced skills, identify deficiencies in the current workforce, and suggest ways in which industry and academia might team together to address such deficiencies.
by Harry H. Ayubi.
S.M.in Engineering and Management
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Amadori, Kristian. "On Aircraft Conceptual Design : A Framework for Knowledge Based Engineering and Design Optimization." Licentiate thesis, Linköping : Department of Management and Engineering, Linköpings universitet, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-11873.
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Uddin, Amad. "Development of an integrated interface modelling methodology to support system architecture analysis." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/15905.
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This thesis presents the development and validation of a novel interface modelling methodology integrated with a system architectural analysis framework that emphasises the need to manage the integrity of deriving and allocating requirements across multiple levels of abstraction in a structured manner. The state of the art review in this research shows that there is no shared or complete interface definition model that could integrate diverse interaction viewpoints for defining system requirements with complete information. Furthermore, while existing system modelling approaches define system architecture with functions and their allocation to subsystems to meet system requirements, they do not robustly address the importance of considering well-defined interfaces in an integrated manner at each level of systems hierarchy. This results in decomposition and integration issues across the multiple levels of systems hierarchy. Therefore, this thesis develops and validates following: -Interface Analysis Template as a systematic tool that integrates diverse interaction viewpoints for modelling system interfaces with intensive information for deriving requirements. -Coupling Matrix as an architecture analysis framework that not only allocates functions to subsystems to meet requirements but also promotes consistent consideration of well-defined interfaces at each level of design hierarchy. Insights from the validation of developed approach with engineering case studies within an automotive OEM are discussed, reflecting on the effectiveness, efficiency and usability of the methods.
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Apgar, Joshua Farley. "Experiment design for systems biology." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61217.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biological Engineering, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-233).
Mechanism-based chemical kinetic models are increasingly being used to describe biological signaling. Such models serve to encapsulate current understanding of pathways and to enable insight into complex biological processes. Despite the growing interest in these models, a number of challenges frustrate the construction of high-quality models. First, the chemical reactions that control biochemical processes are only partially known, and multiple, mechanistically distinct models often fit all of the available data and known chemistry. We address this by providing methods for designing dynamic stimuli that can distinguish among models with different reaction mechanisms in stimulus-response experiments. We evaluated our method on models of antibody-ligand binding, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation and de-phosphorylation, and larger models of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. Inspired by these computational results, we tested the idea that pulses of EGF could help elucidate the relative contribution of different feedback loops within the EGFR network. These experimental results suggest that models from the literature do not accurately represent the relative strength of the various feedback loops in this pathway. In particular, we observed that the endocytosis and feedback loop was less strong than predicted by models, and that other feedback mechanisms were likely necessary to deactivate ERK after EGF stimulation. Second, chemical kinetic models contain many unknown parameters, at least some of which must be estimated by fitting to time-course data. We examined this question in the context of a pathway model of EGF and neuronal growth factor (NGF) signaling. Computationally, we generated a palette of experimental perturbation data that included different doses of EGF and NGF as well as single and multiple gene knockdowns and overexpressions. While no single experiment could accurately estimate all of the parameters, we identified a set of five complementary experiments that could. These results suggest that there is reason to be optimistic about the prospects for parameter estimation in even large models. Third, there is no standard formulation for chemical kinetic models of biological signaling. We propose a general and concise formulation of mass action kinetics based on sparse matrices and Kronecker products. This formulation allows any mass action model and its partial derivatives to be represented by simple matrix equations, which enabled straightforward application of several numerical methods. We show that models that use other rate laws such as MichaelisMenten can be converted to our formulation. We demonstrate this by converting a model of Escherichia coli central carbon metabolism to use only mass action kinetics. The dynamics of the new model are similar to the original model. However, we argue that because our model is based on fewer approximations it has the potential to be more accurate over a wider range of conditions. Taken together, the work presented here demonstrates that experimental design methodology can be successfully used to improve the quality of mechanism-based chemical kinetic models.
by Joshua Farley Apgar.
Ph.D.
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Schmiechen, Philipp. "Design of precision kinematic systems." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12628.
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Saini, Gagandeep Singh. "Reliability-based design with system reliability and design improvement." Diss., Rolla, Mo. : Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2009. http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/thesis/pdf/Saini_09007dcc8070d586.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2009.Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed November 23, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-68).
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Bates, Ronald Anthony. "The robust design of complex systems." Thesis, City, University of London, 1995. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/17421/.
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Robust Engineering Design has evolved as an important methodology for the integration of quality with the process of design. The methodology encompasses the disciplines of experimental design, model building and optimization. First an experiment is conducted on a system (or a simulation of the system), second a model is built to emulate the system and finally the emulation model is used to optimize the system design. Applying these methods to large problems can be difficult and time-consuming because of the complexity of most design problems. It is the goal of this thesis to introduce methods which reduce problem complexity and so make the application of Robust Engineering Design (RED) methodology easier for large design problems. By drawing from methods used in systems theory and circuit optimization several techniques are presented with the aim of reducing the complexity of performing experiments for Robust Engineering Design. A common framework for experimentation is created by combining a commercial circuit simulator with established methods for experimental design and model building. This provides the basis for experimentation in subsequent chapters. A method of design optimization with respect to quality is presented to complete the model-based Robust Engineering Design cycle. Three approaches to reducing problem complexity are adopted. First a method of system decomposition is applied directly to an electronic circuit to reduce the size of experiment required for RED. Second a method of modelling system response functions is described which integrates the action of the circuit simulator with the model building process. Third information about system topology is used in the design of experiments to enhance the model-building process. Conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of the approaches described with respect to the impact on problem complexity.
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Tam, Ka-wing. "Feature based reverse engineering for thermoforming mould design /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B36537196.
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