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4.2.2 How Planning for Success Can Lead to Catastrophic Failure
Author(s) -
Schoening William W.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
incose international symposium
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-5837
DOI - 10.1002/j.2334-5837.2006.tb02764.x
Subject(s) - lead (geology) , risk analysis (engineering) , catastrophic failure , forensic engineering , product (mathematics) , engineering , computer science , operations management , business , physics , geometry , mathematics , geomorphology , thermodynamics , geology
Abstract Despite significant advances and continuing efforts to improve our processes, major programs continue to fail – not slowly and gracefully, but suddenly and catastrophically. Examination of failed programs over several decades suggests that our traditional systems engineering and program management methods are inadequate for discovering and mitigating the underlying causes because they have significant difficulty coming to grips with such huge failures. This paper identifies several symptoms related to potentially catastrophic failures during product development. Each symptom is accompanied by suggestions for remedies that can illuminate the underlying potential problems without undue impact on the program.