Integrating Program Management and Systems Engineering

3THE FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

3.1 A Major Engineering Program Failure?

Success related to engineering program management is often very narrowly defined in terms of cost and schedule performance, and this can be to the detriment of delivered value. If either or both measures fall outside targets but the program delivers the desired result, the entire program may nevertheless be deemed unsuccessful. While these measures are convenient to assess and report, they provide only a limited perspective. They do not account for the full range of value and benefits that these programs are intended to deliver, and consequently do not provide a full accounting of the program, its benefits, or its degree of success or failure. In short, the more complicated the program objectives, the more complicated it is likely to be in providing a full accounting of its outcomes and, ultimately, its success.

Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel (aka the Big Dig), like other major infrastructure programs such as the English Chunnel and San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, is an example of a program that accomplished a complete restructuring of Boston's central roadways, which greatly improved the flow of traffic. The program also opened up areas of the city for new development. But the constant media barrage of articles and reports of schedule delays, out‐of‐control costs, and allegations of major corruption cemented a mindset among many stakeholders that the ...