The New DoD-Stevens-USC SERC and Collaboration OpportunitiesThe New DoD-Stevens-USC SERC and Collaboration Opportunities

Barry Boehm, USCUSC-CSSE Annual Research Review

March 9, 2010

OutlineOutline

• SERC Nature and Status– University Affiliated Research Center (UARC)

• Initial Projects and Roadmapping Approach

• Future Plans and Prospects

• Collaboration Opportunities

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What is a UARC?What is a UARC?

1. University Affiliated Research Centers are “not-for-profit, private sector organizations affiliated with, or part of, universities or colleges that maintain essential research, development and engineering capabilities needed by sponsoring DoD components.”

2. They maintain long-term, strategic relationships with sponsoring DoD components in specific core areas and operate in the public interest, free from real or perceived conflicts of interest.

3. UARCs are financed through long-term, non-competitive contracts awarded by sponsoring DoD components for specific core work. Any federal entity can MIPR funding to the UARC for work within the defined core areas, subject to the agreement of the UARC’s sponsors.

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1. Johns Hopkins University APL; 4,300 people; annual funding $680M

2. UC Santa Cruz with NASA Ames – information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computer science, aerospace operations, astrobiology, and fundamental biology. Has a Systems Teaching Institute with San Jose State University and UCSC to teach through hands on experience on research projects.

3. Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory for the Navy with focus on undersea missions and related areas; strategic partner with NAVSEA and ONR; established 1945; has >1000 faculty and staff

4. University of Washington APL – acoustic and oceanographic studies ; established in 1943

5. UC Santa Barbara Institute for Collaborative Biotechnology – Army Research Office; partnered with MIT and Cal Tech – focus on biologically-derived and biologically-inspired materials, sensors, and information processing …

6. University of Texas UARC started in 1945 focuses on sonar, acoustics, software system research, satellite geodesy, active sonar, …; now has 600 people on staff

7. USC Institute for Creative Technology – US Army; focus on virtual reality multimedia applications for training, C4ISR

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Several other UARCsSeveral other UARCs

• Auburn University• Air Force Institute of Technology• Fraunhofer Center at UMD• Georgia Institute of Technology• Missouri University of Science and

Technology (S&T)• Naval Postgraduate School• Pennsylvania State University

Lead organizations

• Southern Methodist University• Texas A&M University • Texas Tech University• University of Alabama in Huntsville • University of Maryland• University of Massachusetts• University of Virginia • Wayne State University

Members

As the DoD Systems Engineering Research-University Affiliated Research Center, SERC will be responsible for systems engineering research that supports the development, integration, testing and sustainability of complex defense systems, enterprises and services. Its members are located in 11 states, near many DoD facilities and all DAU campuses.09/21/2009 5

SERC Organization

Dr. Dinesh Verma Executive Director

Dr. Art PysterDeputy Executive Director

Stevens’ School of Systems and Enterprises will host the SERC at Stevens’ Hoboken, NJ, campus. Stevens’ faculty engagement will be complemented by a critical mass of systems engineering faculty at USC. A fundamental tenet of SERC is its virtual nature – each of its 19 members will be a nexus of research activities. All research projects will be staffed by the best available researchers and graduate students from across the members.

Pool of more than 140 Senior Researchers and hundreds of research faculty and graduate students from across membersPool of more than 140 Senior Researchers and hundreds of

research faculty and graduate students from across members

Doris SchultzDirector of Operations

Dr. Barry BoehmDirector of Research

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SERC Organization - II

Rough Financial ModelRough Financial Model

• Minimum of $2M/year– Can add more funded tasks within contract

• First year: two specified tasks– 1. SE Effectiveness Measurement: EM (USC lead; $500K)– 2. SE Methods, Processes, Tools Assessment : MPT (Stevens lead; $350K)

• Both also including UMaryland-FC, UAlabama-Huntsville

• Second-year tasks underway• Other Govt. sponsors can sole-source through UARC

– $1.2M on the books– Another $1M/year sponsor in the works– Second-year near $4M/year; $8M expected for third year

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OutlineOutline

• SERC Nature and Status

• Initial Projects and Roadmapping Approach

• Future Plans and Prospects

• Collaboration Opportunities

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SEPRT Seeks Performance EvidenceThat can be independently validated

SEPRT Seeks Performance EvidenceThat can be independently validated

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SECRT Seeks Competency EvidenceThat can be independently validated

SECRT Seeks Competency EvidenceThat can be independently validated

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EM Processes and Tools Help Enable MDAP Transformation

EM Processes and Tools Help Enable MDAP Transformation

Implements spirit of July 2009 Augustine BENS Report

Adversarial Mistrust Collaborative Trust-and-Verify

Unvalidated Requirements

Unvalidated RFP SOWs

Under-resourced Fixed Price Build-to-Spec contracts

Under-resourced SE

GAO Reports: $300 Billion/yrCost growth, 22 months delay

EvidenceReviews

EvidenceReviews

EvidenceReviews

CompetitivePrototyping

Rounds

Feasible Rqts.,Solutions, Plans

Realistic Contract,Feasible Staffing,

Change Adaptation

Timely, Affordable,Achievable Systems

EvidenceReviews

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12

# TopicLead

SchoolCollabo-rators

Description

1Graduate SE Body of Knowledge and Reference Curriculum (Pyster)

Stevens NPSCreate mature SE BoK and graduate reference curriculum with broad community involvement

2Modular Reconfigurable Architecture for SE Knowledge Dissemination

Stevens MS&TCreate way to rapidly publish and maintain currency of SE artifacts and other documents, extensively tailoring them to audience

3Rapid CONOPS Development Environment for Agile SE (Cloutier)

Stevens TAMU Develop approach to quickly construct a CONOPS that strongly informs all key stakeholders and can evolve quickly and easily – lead to coordinated RTs

4Developing SE Technical Leaders (Farr)

Stevens WSUCreate way to educate SE technical leaders rapidly and effectively using innovative educational technologies

5SE Implications of Evolutionary Acquisition (Boehm)

USCDefine needed SE MPTs for evolutionary acquisition in the context of new 5000.02 and emphasis on early SE , systems of systems, competitive protoyping

6Software Metrics for Future Defense Cost Analysis (Boehm)

USCNPSSMU

Create improved ways to cost complex software-intensive systems, especially systems of systems

8Early Exploration in Security Systems Engineering

StevensUVA, USC

Create a roadmap of research on security SE

9 MPT Extension (Turner) Stevens SeveralContinue efforts to explore agile MPTs identified in the original MPT TTO with focus on those applicable to NSA

10Early Exploration in Systems Engineering Transformation (Wade)

StevensUSC PSU

Create a roadmap of research to transform SE into a much faster, more responsive discipline

13Annual SERC Research Review (Pyster)

StevensUSC PSU

Hold a two-day event for all collaborators to interact on their research

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Current RTs now underwayCurrent RTs now underway

Roadmapping RTsRoadmapping RTs

1. Establish a small lead team to craft a series of white papers more fully characterizing a major research area.

2. Gradually draw in additional team members to mature the white papers.

3. Hold an invitation-only workshop of 30-50 people from across the SERC collaborators, sponsors, potential funders and adopters, and key technologists to validate the white papers and craft a research roadmap that will spawn multiple coordinated Research Topics.

4. Publish results of roadmapping workshop as polished professionally edited SERC report.

5. Execute roadmap, revisiting it periodically.

6. First example of this approach at midpoint- SE Transformation – with NSA as sponsor. Security SE underway. Others in work: Improving and valuing system flexibility; SE implications of evolutionary acquisition; Accelerating SE learning via game technology; Systems Engineering 202009/21/2009 13

OutlineOutline

• SERC Nature and Status

• Initial Projects and Roadmapping Approach

• Future Plans and Prospects

• Collaboration Opportunities

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15

# TopicLead

SchoolCollabo-

ratorsDescription

12System Readiness Level (Sauser)

Stevens TAMUExplore the equivalent of technology readiness levels, but for systems integration and other facets of engineering maturity

14 Exchange of SE Data (Dagli) MS&T SeveralExplore ways to enable systematic data exchange of SE data among DoD programs using AP-233 and similar standards

15 EM: Extension (Boehm) USC Several Extend and transition research begun under EM TTO

16SE Development Experience Accelerator (Wade)

Stevens SeveralSignificantly reduce the amount of time it takes for an SE to become proficient

17 Management (Pyster) Stevens USC Manage SERC operations

18Valuing and Improving DoD Systems Flexibility (Boehm)

TAMU SeveralDevelop architectural and other approaches to enabling change adaptive systems

19 STEM SE Initiative (Pyster) TBD SeveralDevelop educational research pilots for emphasizing SE in Science, Technology, Engr, and Math (STEM) Initiative

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RTs expected to be awardedRTs expected to be awarded

• FY10 will likely emphasize:• strong execution of work just beginning• new work from (a) Roadmapping RT spinoffs and (b) tasks paid for at least in part

by non-core funding

• Strong support from new DDR&E Zach Lemnios at recent SERC Research Review

• Systems Engineering 2020 initiative being defined

Collaboration OpportunitiesCollaboration Opportunities

• Security SE roadmapping and followons– Participation in workshops, pilot activities

• Other roadmapping tasks and workshops– Improving and valuing system flexibility– Accelerating SE learning via game technology– Agile-SE transformation – Systems Engineering 2020

• Piloting, evolving emerging SERC methods, processes, and tools– SEPRT, SECRT tools, report, and users’ guide on ARR web site

• Industry collaboration mechanisms being explored– E.g., pre-competitive Cooperative R&D Initiatives (CRADAs)

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