Integrating Program Management and Systems Engineering

14SUCCESSFUL CHANGE PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVED INTEGRATION

14.1 Introduction

This chapter presents five short case studies, or vignettes, describing change efforts to develop or strengthen integration capabilities in engineering programs and organizations. The vignettes were chosen to illustrate the diversity of integration challenges that an organization might face, and each highlights the application of different facets of the integration principles discussed previously. They also illustrate different approaches taken to create the changes needed to increase the level of integration between program management and systems engineering or related technical disciplines. As such, this chapter not only illustrates the elements of the Integration Framework presented in Part II, but also provides examples of ways to implement them.

The efforts described in the vignettes take place at both project and program levels. This illustrates the multiscale nature of organizational change. Individual change projects with discrete outcome objectives may be part of an overall program with a larger set of benefits to the organization and its stakeholders defined. When a formal change effort is undertaken within a program, it can in some ways be considered a second program within or parallel to the program, with benefits delivered to the program and to the larger organization. The manager of these change programs may either be a dedicated change program manager (to be discussed in more depth in Chapter ...