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Tinkertoy Tower Design

Tinkertoy Tower Design. Post Mortem Discussion. The point of the exercise. “It is your job to discover the system requirements.” Who is the customer? Exercise consists of 2 phases: Design (40 minutes) Implementation (15 minutes) . Design phase. Planning (problem & solution)

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Tinkertoy Tower Design

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  1. Tinkertoy Tower Design Post Mortem Discussion

  2. The point of the exercise • “It is your job to discover the system requirements.” • Who is the customer? • Exercise consists of 2 phases: • Design (40 minutes) • Implementation (15 minutes)

  3. Design phase • Planning (problem & solution) • Classes of components • Deliverables are a design and its inventory of technologies • Finding & fixing issues cheap • Deadline (40 min) • Penalty (large) • Bonus (smaller) • Ends with PDR

  4. Implementation phase • Build • Specific components (objects) • Deliverable is a prototype • Must pass system test • Resolve unplanned issues • but at a steep cost • Deadline (15 min) • Penalty (absolute) • Bonus (large) • Ends with CDR

  5. Operations phase • Not addressed in exercise • Customer will operate • Design must address maintenance and other life cycle issues • Never ends • The clearer the milestones between phases, the better

  6. Construct Figures of Merit

  7. All choices are trade-offs

  8. Schedule always matters

  9. Prototypes must pass tests • Include cost of test equip. • Environment is described • Flat hard surface • Free standing • Minimum test is stated, but • Additional requirements are always present

  10. Discovering requirements

  11. Design life • Implicit in every project • Should be explicitly stated • Y2K was a design life issue • Observatory systems can have an especially long life • STB running since 20 July 1993 • Lifecycle planning • Retirement requirements • Evolving environments

  12. Analyze Risks • Unprecedented challenges • Software projects are notorious for collapsing under own weight • Either a project is tied to core mission of the organization or • It isn’t - which is riskier?

  13. Implementation Issues • Different technologies have different acquisition costs • Different recurring costs • Integration issues • Quality assurance • Maintenance and reliability • Availability of HW/SW/personnel

  14. All design is evolutionary • Improve Tinkertoy exercise? • Display example tower? • “Here is a 60’ tower. It earns minus $33K. Why?” • Swap designs w/ other teams? • Hand out requirements with less prodding from teams? • One shared can of Tinkertoys during design phase?

  15. Not applicable to software? • The tower exercise is only a cartoon model of real towers • No civil engineering, per se • No beams or trusses • No welds or rivets • No tension or compression

  16. The essence of Systems • System engineering is responsible for identifying and satisfying the life cycle requirements. • One problem • Many solutions

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