4.3.4. Technical Assessment Process
4.3.4. Technical Assessment Process
The Technical Assessment process allows the Systems Engineer to compare achieved results against defined criteria to provide a fact-based understanding of the current level of product knowledge, technical maturity, program status, and technical risk. This assessment results in a better understanding of the health and maturity of the program, giving the Program Manager a sound technical basis upon which to make program decisions.
Disciplined technical assessment activities should begin early in the life cycle. They should initially examine the status of development planning activities and efforts in the Materiel Solution Analysis (MSA) phase. During the Technology Development (TD) and Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phases, technical assessment can provide a basis for tracking development of the system and lower-level system element designs. Disciplined technical assessment supports the establishment of the various baselines and the achievement of system verification. Technical assessment activities are also used in manufacturing and production activities during the Production and Deployment (P&D) phase, and these activities continue through the Operations and Support (O&S) phase in support of reliability growth and sustainment engineering efforts.
The Program Manager and Systems Engineer evaluate technical maturity in support of program decisions at the key event driven technical reviews and audits (see DAG sections 4.2.8. through 4.2.17.) that occur throughout the acquisition life cycle. The Program Manager and Systems Engineer use various measures and metrics, including Technical Performance Measures (TPM) and leading indicators, to gauge technical progress against planned goals, objectives, and requirements. See DAG sections 4.3.4.1. Technical Measurement and Metrics and 4.3.4.2. Technical Performance Measures for more information on measures/metrics and TPMs, respectively. The Program Support Review (PSR) (see DAG section 4.3.4.3. Program Support Review) is an assessment to identify and resolve planning and execution issues well before an upcoming acquisition milestone review.
Technical assessments against agreed-upon measures enable data-driven decisions. Evidence-based evaluations that communicate progress and technical risk are essential for the Program Manager to determine the need for revised program plans or technical risk mitigation actions throughout the acquisition life cycle.
Technical Assessment provides:
- A determination of the program’s progress against plans (resource, schedule, and performance)
- A basis to identify and quantify technical risks
- A rigorous method to define corrective actions that may be needed to address and resolve identified technical risks
Activities and Products
The Program Manager should ensure that technical assessments occur throughout the life cycle, and that appropriate resources are available to allow for program office personnel and independent subject matter experts to participate. The Program Manager and Systems Engineer should jointly plan for event-driven technical reviews and audits. Review criteria (e.g., completion of baseline documents and artifacts appropriate for the review) should support objective assessments of technical progress, maturity, and risk.
When required, the Program Manager should approve the performance measurement baseline (PMB) (see DAG Chapter 11 Program Management Activities) to capture time-phased measures against the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (see DAG section 4.3.2.1. Technical Measurement and Metrics) and a resource-allocated Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) (see DAG section 4.3.2.2. Integrated Master Plan/Integrated Master Schedule).
The Systems Engineer assists the Program Manager in planning and conducting the Technical Assessment process. This includes advising on technical reviews and audits, defining the technical documentation and artifacts that serve as review criteria for each review/audit, and identifying TPMs. Specific activities include:
- Establishing event-driven technical planning
- Identifying appropriate measures and metrics
- Identifying performance measures to assess program health and technical progress
- Conducting analyses to determine risk and to develop risk mitigation strategies
- Conducting assessments of technical maturity, process health and stability, and risk to communicate progress to stakeholders and authorities at key decision points
- Proposing changes in the technical approach to address risk mitigation activities
- Advising the Program Manager regarding the technical readiness of the program to proceed to the next phase of effort
- Obtaining independent subject matter experts as appropriate for reviews and audits
Technical assessments have close linkages to the Technical Planning and Decision Analysis processes (see DAG section 4.3.2. Technical Planning Process and 4.3.3. Decision Analysis Process, respectively); however, all SE processes (see DAG sections 4.3.2. through 4.3.17.) support activities that contribute to the assessment of program status, technical maturity, and risk in various areas (e.g., schedule, technology, manufacturing, threat).
Inputs to the Technical Assessment process should include approved program plans "(e.g., Acquisition Program Baseline, Systems Engineering Plan, TPMs, etc.), engineering products (i.e., drawings, specifications and reports, prototypes, system elements, and engineering development modules), and current performance metrics. Outputs may include various reports and findings (e.g., technical review reports, corrective actions, Program Support Review findings, or test reports).
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