Planet Orbits

INTRODUCTION

With $467 million in total budget and 144 months in duration, Planet Orbits is an ambitious program. Its objective is to build a spacecraft with a photometer for identifying the terrestrial planets in the universe. Scientists believe that this program will eventually help them understand the extent of life on the planets and across much of the universe. "It represents, fundamentally, a breakthrough in science that has the potential to change mankind's views about his position and place in the universe," according to Eric Anderson, the Planet Orbits program manager.

Next week the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) will be held. The review committee is expected to be tough, and Eric knows from experience that the program has to be in excellent shape in order to be granted approval to move to the next phase of development (from definition to the design phase). Eric believes the program is progressing well technically, but is aware of some interpersonal and human relations issues that may be a concern to the committee. Additionally, Eric is concerned that the latest schedule has some serious disconnects with senior management's delivery expectations. However, he feels that the program core team can push the team sufficiently hard enough to make up any schedule shortfall that they may encounter during the next few development phases. However, these issues could create barriers for a PDR approval decision.

Eric is excited to have the Planet Orbits program finally ready to advance to the next phase of development. He thought to himself, "It took us almost 10 years to achieve funding approval for this program. When we submitted the proposal to the program selection committee, it required several iterations to finally reach the necessary approval to move forward to actual development. " It has been three years since the program was approved. Eric still feels that the objective of the program fits well with the mission of the space agency exploring life in the universe. Eric has been through the status of the program several times already in preparation for the PDR meeting with the committee. However, it may be useful to recap with some of his key team members one more time to ensure all issues and concerns have been properly addressed. Eric reviewed his status documentation in preparation of Charles Wright's arrival to his office. Charles is the project manager of the local site for the Planet Orbits program. When Charles arrived, they proceeded to review the program again in comprehensive detail.

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The Planet Orbits program is a special space mission program sponsored by the space agency. The assigned program manager, Eric Anderson, is a senior scientist with the agency. The idea for the Planet Orbits program was initiated by Eric Anderson, and had been proposed to the space agency multiple times since 1992. "Our idea is to use a transit photometer to build a device that will help increase the understanding of life in the universe and other planets like Earth," Eric described. On several instances, the program cost estimates and proposed scientific methodology were compared (by the program selection committee) with much larger and complicated missions of the past. As a result, with each selection cycle, the program was forced to respond to new committees' demands and requests. In particular, the program had to redo its costing several times to validate its accuracy and had to prove the viability of its chosen data collection technique via ground - based demonstrations. Additionally, they had to demonstrate that the Research Center had the capability for the end - to - end management of the program. It was not until December 2001, after persistent attempts to prove the idea for almost a decade that the program was eventually selected.

PROGRAM ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

Because the breadth, depth, and complexity of the program are so large, the agency determined that all of the program components (program management, ground segment management, and flight segment management) were too much for the assigned program manager to handle individually. Therefore, in June 2002, the Planet Orbits program, whose main mission location is at the Research Center, selected the Spacecraft Laboratory as the mission management partner in an attempt to reduce risk. Additionally, the Technology Corporation was selected as the industrial partner of the program for development of the hardware. Under this arrangement, the Research Center was still responsible for roughly 70 percent of the direct cost via instrument development and delivery, and science management.

The structure of Planet Orbits is a program form of organizational structure involving multiple sub-teams in three organizations (see Figure 18.3). The structure is atypical since the program is shared by two centers (Research Center and Spacecraft Laboratory). The program has a Program Management Office (PMO), which is an entity created for a specific period of time that is dedicated specifically to the Planet Orbits program. The PMO provides a variety of managerial and administrative support pertinent to managing a major and complex program such as Planet Orbits.

Team members were selected by the program's core team, which represented the functional project managers reporting to Eric. The criteria for selection of the team members included experience, competency, dedication, and enthusiasm. External hiring for the program included employees from the Spacecraft Laboratory and the Technology Corporation, who were also picked by the Planet Orbits team. The Planet Orbits team size varies across program phases as the demand for personnel fluctuates. At the end of the definition phase, the team at the Research Center was composed of 25 full - time employees; the team at Spacecraft Laboratory numbered 12 full - time employees, and 5 part - time members; the Technology Corporation ' s team included 80 full - time equivalent employees. Since the program is geographically dispersed across three different organizations, communication among the members is critical. The major means of communication include phone (frequent), email (frequent), face - to - face meetings (frequent), and teleconference (weekly). There are also the casual and informal communication channels, including periodic social gatherings, picnics, and barbeques.

Figure 18.4 Program Life Cycle and Major Milestones Prephase A: Phase A: Phase B: Phase C: Phase D: Phase E: Advanced Preliminary Definition Design Development Operations Studies Analysis MCR MDR SDR PDR CDR SAR FRR ORR DR Current status - -. Early 90s 3/01 12/01 10/04 1 1/06 11/07 11/12Figure 18.3 Program Organizational Structure Program Manager, Principle Investigator (The Research Center) Investigator Working Group (IWG) Education and Public Photometer Contract Project Manager Project Manager (The Spacecraft Laboratory) Science Working Group (SWG) Outreach (EPO) (The Research Center) Program System Engineers Mission Assurance Manager (The Spacecraft Laboratory) (The Spacecraft Laboratory) Ground Segment (The Research Center) Flight System Contract Manager (The Spacecraft Laboratory) Science Operation Data Management Complementary Center Center Observation Flight System Project Manager Photometer (The Technology Corporation) Assembly/Test/Launch Mission Operation Spacecraft Photometer Operations CenterTable 18.1 Controls Requiring Program Manager and Higher-Level Approval Controlled Parameter Funding by year Level 1 Requirements (Technical Requirements) Program Objectives Program Plan Controlled by Enterprise Associate Administrator Unless controlled by program manager Unless controlled by program manager Controlled by Lead Center Director Yes Controlled by Program Manager Yes Yes Yes Yes Change Request Thresholds Change in approved program budget Anything beyond agreed upon de- scope options Anything beyond agreed upon de- scope options Changes in scope, schedule, or budget