Trade Study Training Need and Goals

Need Consistent methodologies and practices performing

trade studies Pros/cons, advantages/disadvantages,

customer/management directed solutions are not trade studies

Goals Provide Engineering practitioners pointers for

additional information and tools to assist in performing trade studies

Trade study training provides a consistent and practical trade study methodology

Trade Study Description

select the best solution to meet an identified problem within defined constraints

Defines a structured analytic framework for evaluating a set of alternative concepts, designs, or components

Conducted concurrently with other requirements development and design activities

Range from an informal comparison of alternatives to major efforts using sophisticated computer tools for simulation and cost estimation.

?

Trade Study Process

Document

Analysis Results

Review/Approve

Analysis ReportANDAND

Identify

CandidateAlternatives

Conduct

Analysis

of Alternatives

Establish Evaluation

Criteria and

Weights

Define Objective

for Analysis

OR OR

Loop

Trade study process is from SE Process Manual (SYSENG-100), and will be adopted by all Engineering disciplines.

Evaluate/Optimize Alternatives (Trade Studies)

StakeholdersStakeholders can be: can be:

•Other business Other business disciplinesdisciplines

•CustomerCustomer

•CorporateCorporate

•YourselfYourself

•Etc.Etc.

Define Objective for Analysis

Define the objective and purpose of the analysis

Determine scope of trade studyDetermine level of supporting

analyses

Determine amount of review and approvals needed

Determine level of documentation

Obtain approval with stakeholders of the objective and ensure that there is agreement on the purpose and scope of the analysis

Define Objective for Analysis - Example

Objective:

Decide where best to eat lunch on a typical workday.

Purpose:

Scope

Be sure to get approval of the purpose and scope of the objective from stakeholders.

Be sure to get approval of the purpose and scope of the objective from stakeholders.

Establish Evaluation Criteria and Weights

Establish an evaluation criteria and weighting for considering system design alternatives that includes, as a minimum, cost drivers, total ownership and life cycle cost, complexity, technical limitations, environmental impact, system expansion, growth, and risk.

Establish an evaluation criteria and weighting that is a tailored version of the standard criteria and weighting

Review the evaluation criteria to ensure that they are consistent with the range of alternatives.

Obtain agreement of decision maker on evaluation criteria and weights

Obtain agreement of decision maker on evaluation criteria and weights

Weighting

Criteria Grade Weighting Cost 1 – Very Low Cost Impact

2 – Low Cost Impact 3 – Medium Cost Impact 4 – High Cost Impact 5 – Very High Cost Impact

.25

Schedule 1 – Very Low Schedule Impact 2 – Low Schedule Impact 3 – Medium Schedule Impact 4 – High Schedule Impact 5 – Very High Schedule Impact

.25

Technical Performance 1 – Very Low Performance Impact 2 – Low Performance Impact 3 – Medium Performance Impact 4 – High Performance Impact 5 – Very High Performance Cost Impact

.25

Risk 1 – Very Low Risk 2 – Low Risk 3 – Medium Risk 4 – High Risk 5 – Very High Risk

.25

Tailor criteria and weighting as appropriate.

Ensure weighting is normalized, and grading uses the same scale (good=low) and range across criteria.

Tailor criteria and weighting as appropriate. Ensure weighting is normalized, and grading uses the

same scale (good=low) and range across criteria.

Establish Evaluation Criteria and Weights - Example

Cost 0.3

Time Required 0.3

Nutritional Value 0.3

Convenience 0.1

Most Trade Studies will have items related to Cost, Schedule, and Performance and Risk as part of their

evaluation criteria. Refer to SYSENG-100 Appendix E

Most Trade Studies will have items related to Cost, Schedule, and Performance and Risk as part of their

evaluation criteria. Refer to SYSENG-100 Appendix E

criteria

weights

Establish Evaluation Criteria and Weights - Example

Grades for

“Time Required”

0 to 15 minutes Very low impact (1)

15 to 30 minutes Low impact (2)

30 to 45 minutes Medium impact (3)

45 to 60 minutes High impact (4)

Over 60 minutes Very high impact (5)

Identify Candidate Alternatives

Generate alternative physical architectures and design solutions.

Reject unfeasible alternatives

Feedback loop

Option 1Option 1

Option 2Option 2

Option nOption n

..

..

..

Fast Food(e.g. McDonald's)

Full Service Restaurant(e.g. Foster's)

Company Cafeteria

Brown Bag

Identify Candidate Alternatives - Example

alternatives

For larger trade studies, it is a good idea to have a formal review of alternatives and criteria before proceeding with the analysis.

For larger trade studies, it is a good idea to have a formal review of alternatives and criteria before proceeding with the analysis.

Conduct Analysis of Alternatives

Develop timelines scenarios for system operation and user interaction for each system design alternative.

Allocate key requirements to the hardware and software components for each of the design alternative as a part of the analysis.

Analyze all candidate alternatives that have been identified. Analyze the alternatives using a structured decision making

technique that is appropriate for the analysis. Use the evaluation criteria and weighting to select the

recommended alternative (see example). Determine the alternative representing the “Best Value” for

projects that have a CAIV requirement. Evaluate the failure conditions associated with each of the

alternatives. Perform a sensitivity analysis to determine if any factors

inordinately dominate the selection outcome

Conduct Analysis of Alternatives - Example 1

eat

drive get eat drive

get eat

drive order wait eat pay drive

Full Service Restaurant

Fast Food

Company Cafeteria

Brown Bag

Example:

Timeline Analysis

Use analysis techniques such as timeline analysis, CAIV, analysis of possible

failure conditions, etc.

Use analysis techniques such as timeline analysis, CAIV, analysis of possible

failure conditions, etc.

Conduct Analysis of Alternatives - Example 2

Another Example:

Data Gathering

McDonald’s Web Site

Conduct Analysis of Alternatives - Example 3

Apply weights to grades

to find optimum alternative

Weight Fa

st

Fo

od

Fu

ll S

vc

Re

st

Ca

fete

ria

Bro

wn

Ba

g

Cost 0.3 2 4 3 1Time 0.3 3 4 2 1Nutrition 0.3 4 2 2 1Convenience 0.1 3 3 1 3

Score 3.0 3.3 2.2 1.2

Multiply weighttimes grade,

and sum acrossall criteria, i.e.

.3(1)+.3(1)+.3(1)+.1(3)=1.2

Document Analysis Results

The report contains the following:

Document the rationale for the analysis decisions.

Document the decision making technique used for the analysis and the rationale for its selection.

Document the rationale for the selection of the evaluation criteria and weighting for the analysis.

Document alternatives considered and the rationale for not selecting them as the recommended alternative.

It is recommend to produce the document incrementally in parallel with the process

It is recommend to produce the document incrementally in parallel with the process

Document Analysis Results - Styleguide

1 Introduction

2 Applicable Documents

3 Trade Study Analysis

3.1 Trade Study Objective

3.2 Requirements, Constraints, and Assumptions

3.3 Evaluation Criteria, Grading, Weighting and Scoring

3.4 Definition of Alternatives

3.5 Analysis of Alternatives

3.6 Summary of Analysis

4 Conclusions and Recommendations

Document Analysis Results - Example

TRADE STUDY REPORT STYLEGUIDE

September 30, 1999

Weight Fas

t Fo

od

Fu

ll S

vc R

est

Caf

eter

ia

Bro

wn

Bag

Cost 0.3 2 4 3 1Time 0.3 2 4 2 1Nutrition 0.3 3 2 2 1Convenience 0.1 3 3 1 3

Score 2.4 3.3 2.2 1.2

eat

drive get eat drive

get eat

drive order wait eat pay drive

Conventional Restaurant

Fast Food

Company Cafeteria

Brown BagTrade Study Trade Study

ReportReport

Review/Approve Analysis Report

Review the assumptions to ensure that they are reasonable and valid for the alternatives being considered.

Review the selected alternative to ensure it is the best solution based on the evaluation criteria and weighting.

Involve effected disciplines in the review and approval of the recommended alternative.

Obtain the appropriate approval for the recommended alternative.

Communicate the analysis results to the affected parties.

Capture the analysis information in an analysis report and obtain approval in accordance with ETR process, and the project data and configuration management activities.

Review the candidate alternatives to ensure that the appropriate alternatives have been analyzed. If all appropriate alternatives have not been analyzed, then the analysis of alternatives needs to be continued

TRADE STUDY REPORT LUNCH VENUE EVALUATION

October 13, 2003

Review/Approve Analysis Report - Example

CMCM

DMDM

Conducting a Trade Study takes time and resources. Programs shall establish specific guidelines as to when a Trade Study should be conducted. The guidelines are documented within a Program or Project’s Plan.

Trade Studies are usually conducted to help understand competing solutions and to select the most optimal solution. Trade Studies are usually conducted for items significantly impacting:

• Cost• Schedule• High Risk Items• Performance Objectives• Architectural Design

When to Conduct a Trade Study