Management and Governance of LIGO

1. Management and Governance ofLIGO Mark Coles Deputy Director, Large Facility Projects Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management National Science Foundation Thanks to Barry Barish and Gary Sanders for many of these materials

2. Well managed projects are more likely to be technically successful • Putting an effective project management structure in place at the very beginning of a project undertaking is the most important task • Early project stumbles lead to trouble, reorganization, delay, poor reputation of scientific projects

3. Big science approach • Create a planned project • Convince yourself that you can do the project this way • Own the plan • Use the plan • Perfect/adapt/repair the plan in a highly disciplined manner • Develop confidence of sponsor • Planned project approach is not just a defensive shield against sponsor intrusion • Sponsor is an ongoing partner

4. Lessons learned from LIGO

5. LIGO Scope and Costs • The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is: • a joint project of Caltech and MIT • construct and operate two observatories with 4 km interferometers • detect gravitational waves • initiate ground-based gravitational wave astronomy • LIGO has been supported through the NSF Division of Physics/Gravity Program • Construction cost $292 million (Major Research Equipment + R&D) • Commissioning, early operations and R&D cost $79 million • This funding covered 1994 - 2001

6. LIGO Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory • LIGO consists of three laser interferometers located at two sites separated by 3000 km. • In eastern Washington, on the Department of Energy’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation, • Near New Orleans, Louisiana • LIGO is operated by Caltech in partnership with MIT through a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. • Caltech is the fiduciary agent, MIT is a sub-award • LIGO Science Collaboration is the scientific body of LIGO which defines science goals and supports their achievement.

7. University of Adelaide ACIGA Australian National University ACIGA California State Dominquez Hills Caltech LIGO Caltech Experimental Gravitation CEGG Caltech Theory CART University of Cardiff GEO Carleton College Cornell University University of Florida @ Gainesville Glasgow University GEO University of Hannover GEO Harvard-Smithsonian India-IUCAA IAP Nizhny Novgorod Iowa State University Joint Institute of Laboratory Astrophysics LIGO Livingston LIGOLA LIGO Hanford LIGOWA Louisiana State University Louisiana Tech University Loyola Univ of New Orleans MIT LIGO Max Planck (Garching) GEO Max Planck (Potsdam) GEO University of Michigan Moscow State University NAOJ - TAMA University of Oregon Pennsylvania State University Exp Pennsylvania State University Theory Southern University Stanford University University of Texas@Brownsville University of Western Australia ACIGA University of Wisconsin@Milwaukee LIGO Scientific CollaborationMember Institutions LSC Membership 35 institutions > 350 collaborators International India, Russia, Germany, U.K, Japan and Australia. The international partners are involved in all aspects of the LIGO research program. GWIC Gravitational Wave International Committee

8. DESIGN CONSTRUCTION OPERATION SCIENCE Detector R&D LIGO Laboratory MIT + Caltech ~140 people Director: Barry Barish LIGO Science Collaboration 44 member institutions > 400 scientists Spokesperson: Rai Weiss UK Germany Japan Russia India Spain Australia $ National Science Foundation LIGO Organization & Support

9. Empowering the research community • LIGO Science Collaboration (LSC) with independent leadership defines and carries out the scientific objectives of LIGO • MOU’s with LIGO Laboratory define framework for broad collaboration with community • semi-annually updated attachments • NSF support of community to utilize LIGO facilities • NSF coordinates with LIGO Laboratory management and LSC leadership in evaluation of proposals from the research community

10. LIGO: Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory Hanford Observatory MIT Caltech Livingston Observatory

11. LIGO Observatories LIGO (Washington) LIGO (Louisiana)

12. Features of the LIGO Construction Project • University (Caltech+MIT) managed, no national laboratory • Two green field sites • Carried out as two major sub-projects • 2/3 of the project constructs buildings, clean labs, vacuum system designed for ultimate terrestrial detectors • 1/3 of project constructs initial detectors • NSF funding provided when scheduled, leading to a technically (not financially) limited project

13. Features of the LIGO Construction Project • Organized and executed like a bridge building project • Product oriented Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) • Scope and technical configuration defined and controlled • Cost and schedule integrated into a performance measurement baseline with earned value analysis • Contingency funds managed centrally through a Change Control Board • Organization matches WBS • Subsystem managers responsible to deliver products • Subcontractors managed rigorously • Scientists fully integrated into the construction phase and aware of Voltaire’s maxim “le mieux est l'ennemi du bien” • Scientists did not destabilize project but were also the source for project repair and workaround

14. LIGO organization philosophy • Organization has only three levels • Tasks - execute specific tasks • Groups - coordinate related work (subsystem) • Project Office - integrate and insure progress and control • “Product Oriented” • Middle managers under pressure to deliver a “product” • Integration • Project Management at top level provides integration and system engineering

15. Project Management’s roles • Responsible to deliver the Project • Manage system engineering and Project cost/schedule/technical progress • Assure scientific success • Chair Technical Board/Change Control Board • Chair weekly Project Control Meeting • Chair monthly Performance Meeting • Responsible for interactions with sponsor • PMshould have no individual tasks

16. LIGO Organization

17. Vacuum Chambers

18. Change Control/Configuration Management • Baseline must be documented • Baseline is fixed and respected • Changed only by a disciplined process • Changes proposed formally and reviewed • Adopted changes must be documented and communicated • Change history must be traceable

19. Technical/Change Control Board • Members are leaders of subsystems and PM, subcontracts, project controls, QA • Review of all requests for: • cost changes >$50K • major milestone changes > 1 month • technical interface or performance changes • Recommendation to Project Management • Reviews all major technical choices

20. Project Controls Group • Responsible to provide detailed visibility of Project performance in cost and schedule • Manage review of technical configuration changes • Manage cost estimating and revisions • Manage schedule development and routine and urgent revisions • Manage performance measurement • Manage formal reporting to sponsor • Manage procurements, industrial contracting and payment actions • Manage all documentation

21. What NSF Has Done • Through the Gravity Program, NSF has created an oversight function for LIGO • Cooperative Agreement and Project Management Plan created the formal framework • A dedicated program officer led the oversight and structured NSF review • Semiannual project reviews during construction used a standing committee with slowly varying membership to provide review of progress • Program officer employed an internal multidisciplinary team to coordinate NSF reviews and approvals with periodic meetings • Gravity Program, grants and agreements, legal, public affairs, government affairs, property management, budget,…

22. Recap: Advantages of organizational approach • Aligns organizational structure with work to be accomplished: • Design, development, construction, operation • Facilitates definition and configuration control of interfaces: • Instrumentation, data formats, data distribution • Allows contingency resources to be held at top level of project • Facilitates empowerment of research community