Value Impact of an Organization Structure in the Context of Value-Driven Design

The design of Large-Scale Complex Engineered Systems (LSCESs) involves large organizations and groups of individuals. The structure of an organization impacts the design process and is therefore an essential component to the design and development of complex engineered systems. Previous work has demonstrated the merits of using Value-Driven Design (VDD) to improve the engineering process to capture true stakeholder preference, particularly when using Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) frameworks to design these complex systems. Organization Design (OD) has contributed significantly to the understanding of organization structures and their relationships to efficient resource use. The focal point of this paper is the incorporation of organization structures to the value driven approach of designing complex systems. In particular, the impacts of organization structure on the design process and the design product is explored. A commercial communication satellite is used as an example LSCES to show how capturing the impact of change in organization structure (through individual and team interfaces) can affect the value of a system and thereby provide a means for more informed decision making. The satellite system's design is considered in both certain and uncertain conditions. The value function used incorporates attributes characterizing the system as well as the engineering process (such as time and analysis costs). The paper demonstrates that the organization structure does affect the value of the system and should be considered at the beginning of the design process.