Pre-Milestone A and Early-Phase systems Engineering: A Retrospective Review and Benefits for Future Air Force systems Acquisition (AFSB)

Released 12.18.07

The ability of U.S. military forces to field new weapons systems quickly and to contain their cost growth has declined significantly over the past few decades.  There are many causes including increased complexity, funding instability, bureaucracy, and more diverse user demands, but a view that is gaining more acceptance is that better systems engineering (SE) could help shorten development time.  To investigate this assertion in more detail, the US Air Force asked the NRC to examine the role that SE can play during the acquisition life cycle to address root causes of program failure especially during pre-milestone A and early program phases.  This report presents an assessment of the relationship between SE and program outcome; an examination of the SE workforce; and an analysis of SE functions and guidelines.  The latter includes a definition of the minimum set of SE processes that need to be accounted for during project development.

Released 09.06.07

The growing scale and complexity of software-intensive systems are introducing fundamental new challenges of uncertainty and scale that are particularly demanding for defense systems.  To assist in meeting these challenges, the Department of Defense asked the NRC to assess the nature of U.S. national investment in software research.  As part of this study, a workshop was held to examine uncertainty at scale in current and future software-intensive systems. This report presents a summary of the workshop discussions that centered on process, architecture, and the grand scale; DoD software challenges for future systems; agility at scale; quality and assurance with scale and uncertainty; and enterprise scale and beyond.  The report also offers a summary of key themes emerging from the workshop: architectural challenges in large-scale systems; the need for software engineering capability; and open questions and research opportunities. 

Released 06.20.07

Within the nation's infrastructure, there are equipment and facilities that are subject to degradation by corrosion that can seriously compromise infrastructure lifetime, reliability, and functionality. Direct costs of corrosion have been estimated to be about 3.2 % of the U.S.GDP. Better engineering education is essential to improving corrosion control and management, and an assessment of the corrosion curricula of undergraduate engineering schools is timely. To address this topic, the NRC convened the 2007 Materials Forum to examine the current status of corrosion engineering education. This report presents abstracts of the proceedings of that forum. The proceedings examine the motivation for improved corrosion education; assess current practice in the teaching of corrosion at colleges and universities; and analyze the issues that need to be addressed to develop a comprehensive corrosion curriculum in undergraduate engineering.

Released 05.09.07

Certification of a critical system means assurance that it is safe, secure, and will perform as intended. Usually, a software system is certified as dependable by assessing the process used to develop it. While direct observation of the system would provide a better means of assessing dependability, such observations are very difficult because of the complexity of software systems and discontinuous way they are used. To help understand the issues about determining software system dependability, the NRC, at the request of the NSF, the National Security Agency, the Office of Naval Research, and the FAA, carried out a study to asses the current state of certification in dependable systems. This study approached this task by addressing the question of how software might be made more dependable in a cost-effective manner, rather than the narrower question of software certification per se. The report presents a current view of software systems and dependability; an analysis of several key issues including transparency, evidence and openness, security concerns, education, and research; and findings and recommendations about software dependability and certification.

Assessment of the Results of External Independent Reviews for U.S. Department of Energy Projects (BICE)

Released 03.14.07

External independent reviews (EIR) and independent project reviews are essential parts of the U.S. Department of Energy's project management. These reviews were established as part of the critical decision process for project management set forth in DOE Order 413.3 issued in 2000. In addition, Congress continues to support the use of EIRs to validate project performance baselines. For EIRs to be most effective in a time of growing budget pressure, DOE must ensure that they are effectively planned, efficiently executed, and provide added value to the projects. To assist in meeting these goals, DOE asked the NRC for advice on how EIRs can be tailored to ensure that essential information is provided at the optimum point in the critical decision process; that resources are focused on the riskiest projects; and that EIRs are cost effective. This report presents a review of characteristics of effective EIRs, an assessment of criteria for structuring review programs, and recommendations for enhancing the EIR process.

Assessment of Millimeter-Wave and Terahertz Technology for Detection and Identification of Concealed Explosives and Weapons (NMAB)

Released 01/29/2007

The security of the U.S. commercial aviation system has been a growing concern since the 1970's when the hijacking of aircraft became a serious problem. Over that period, federal aviation officials have been searching for more effective ways for non-invasive screening of passengers, luggage, and cargo to detect concealed explosives and weapons. To assist in this effort, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) asked the NRC for a study of emerging screening technologies. This report-the third of four-focuses on currently maturing millimeter-wavelength/terahertz imaging and spectroscopy technologies that offer promise in meeting aviation security requirements. The report provides a description of the basic operation of these imaging systems, an assessment of their component technologies, an analysis of various system concepts, and an implementation strategy for deployment of millimeter-wavelength/terahertz technology screening systems.