Managing unmanned flight projects using methods in complex product development

Recent developments in management science at the MIT Sloan School of Management provide a disciplined approach to managing complex product development. The methods are in wide use in industry both in the US and abroad. The principles involved in complex product development are very much applicable to managing unmanned planetary flight projects. Central to the methods involved is the decision structure matrix, also referred to as the design structure matrix by some. This paper discusses the use of decision structure matrices (DSMs) in managing complex unmanned planetary exploration projects. The DSM is a powerful approach for defining, recording, and examining system dependencies, be it at the program-level, project-level or at an individual task-level. It is based on the premise that success in business requires an efficient sharing of information. The DSM provides a disciplined approach and a powerful methodology for managing projects via identification of intrinsic system dependencies during both development and operational phases.