The
Master of Science in Systems Architecture and Engineering program
prepares students to lead the development of complex systems. The required courses provide formal training in systems engineering and program management techniques as well as an understanding of the political and economic issues affecting the development of systems. The technical concentration was in software engineering.
Several of the classes provided useful opportunities to document some of my past work.
Risk Management Shows the variety of risk management approaches available and discusses how the select the appropriate one for a particular project. (for CSCI 510, Software Management and Economics)
Design for Financial Success Demonstrates a method for identifying the optimum payload size for a reusable launch vehicle to maximize the financial success of the system (under the market assumptions of 1998). This revisits work done at Pioneer Rocketplane. (for AE 590, Directed Research)
Pathfinder Evolution Describes the spiral design process at Pioneer Rocketplane as the launch vehicle design went from an initial concept to a closed baseline architecture. (for AE 549a, Systems Architecting)
RLV Heuristics Compares the rules of thumbs used by different launch vehicle designers and studies how they were applied in a variety of system designs. (for AE 549a, Systems Architecting)
NPOESS History Analyzes the development process of the NPOESS weather satellite system in terms of the political constraints on the system architecture and development process. (for ISE 550, The Political Process in Systems Architecture Design)
Click here for details of the USC transcript