Abstract
SARISTU—Smart Intelligent Aircraft Structures—is a large, integrated research and technology project funded by the European Union as part of its 7th Framework Programme. This paper investigates some of the key project management decisions taken in the initiation, preparation and conduct of the project in order to assess the effectiveness of individual management principles, measures and activities. In particular, it investigates the effectiveness of lean project planning when coupled with a bottom-up change process, the impact of structured quality gates in the form of both regular peer reviews as well as progress-driven design reviews. In order to do so, it exploits the one-dimensional nature of “Quality, Time, Cost” and investigates the impact of this principal project management philosophy on a project. Supporting this, the paper outlines the specific deliverable dashboard methodology followed and gives an insight into practical research and development management within a Technology Readiness Level framework. Including a short analysis of financial considerations, the paper concludes by providing some key lessons learned for prospective future managers of large, integrated and hardware-based research and technology projects.
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Abbreviations
- CA:
-
Consortium Agreement
- CCR:
-
Critical Concept Review
- CDR:
-
Critical Design Review
- DoW:
-
Description of Work
- EC:
-
European Commission
- GA:
-
Grant Agreement
- PDR:
-
Preliminary Design Review
- PMO:
-
Project Management Office
- PP:
-
Project Plan
- PPCR:
-
Project Plan Change Request
- Prodaxs:
-
PROject DAta eXchange System
- QTC:
-
Quality, Time, Cost
- RPR:
-
Regular Progress Review
- R&T:
-
Research and Technology
- SARISTU:
-
Smart Intelligent Aircraft Structures (project)
- SL:
-
Scenario Leader
- TRL:
-
Technology Readiness Level
- WBS:
-
Work Breakdown Structure
- WP:
-
Work Package
References
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Other: Call Documentation & Guidelines for Reporting
Official Journal of the European Union (2006) L 391/1, Regulation (EC) No 1906/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006
European Commission (July 2010) Work Programme 2011, cooperation, theme 7, transport (including aeronautics)
European Commission (August 2008) Rules for submission of proposals, and the related evaluation, selection and award procedures, Version 3, 21
European Commission (2009) Guide for applicants, transport (including aeronautics), collaborative project, FP7-AAT-2010-RTD-1, Version 4
European Commission (July 2010) Guide for applicants, common part, coordination and support actions (coordinating)
European Commission (July 2010) Guide for applicants, common part, coordination and support actions (Coordinating), Annexes, specific to call: FP7-AAT-2011-RTD-1
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European Commission, Guide to financial issues relating to FP7 indirect actions, Version 28, Feb 2011 and Version 18 Mar 2013
Other: Project documents and Training documentation
Koetter A, Ditzel K, Wadleich R, Genzel K, Woelcken P (2014) SARISTU management handbook, Version 10
Woelcken P (ed) (2013) Project period report—period 3
Ansor Creative Communication and Management (4 February 2009) Manage structure and system integration teams course documentation and exercises
Airbus Group Learning Services (2014) Leadership at Airbus course documentation and exercises
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Acknowledgments
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under Grant Agreement No 284562.
Most of all, the PMO would like to thank the 431 project members who have turned the vague vision that existed in the earliest parts of the initiation phase into the robust hardware, test and simulation results which are at the core of SARISTU. Particular thanks are directed to Kristina Ditzel and her family in her memory.
Furthermore, the PMO would like to thank its sponsors, its internal customers and its supervisors for their support and continued trust, even when discussions became heated.
Our particular thanks are directed to the PMO’s principal customer: the European Commission as represented by our Project Officer Michael Kyriakopoulos, Legal Officers Ulrich Schmid and Mindaugas Laurinavicius and Financial Officer Guido Sacchetto. Without your extremely rapid and competent support we would find it much more difficult, if not impossible, to meet and exceed expectations.
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Wölcken, P.C., Kötter, A., Newman, B., Wadleich, R., Genzel, K. (2016). SARISTU: Six Years of Project Management. In: Wölcken, P., Papadopoulos, M. (eds) Smart Intelligent Aircraft Structures (SARISTU). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22413-8_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22413-8_1
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