The objective: NASA needed a suite of analytic tools to assess future technology performance, cost, and programmatic metrics.
The method: To develop the Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS), The Tauri Group integrated multiple analytic inputs and technical designs to characterize and compare alternative approaches. These included architectures, system design, government/commercial relationships, and other technical and non-technical factors. An Integrated Architecture Assessment Model considered technical and non-technical performance metrics, comparing alternatives based on the team's evaluation of development cost and risk, life cycle operations costs, technical performance, revenue, and other attributes. Tauri specialists also provided cost estimating for advanced concepts, helping define appropriate methodologies and data inputs.
The Tauri Group conducted numerous workshops and technical interchange meetings that provided the basis for information gathering and integrated trade analysis, as well as wrote reports summarizing the results of several meetings, including the NASA-MIT Workshop on Transformational Technologies, The Flight Technologies and Demonstrations Workshop, and the Workshop on Technology for Human and Robotics Exploration and Development of Space.
The ATLAS project also involved development of the Technology Tool Box (TTB), a database providing data inputs to all ATLAS models. The TTB contains technical performance metrics specific to technology type in the areas:
The TTB also contains programmatic metrics that pertain to cost of development and timing of development, such as technology readiness level (TRL). The Tauri Group developed the database in Microsoft Excel as well as collected data to fill the database through various methods including research, interviews, and workshops.
The results: Team members received awards for outstanding performance. The ATLAS project built on The Tauri Group's previous modeling and analysis support for exploration advanced concepts R&D planning. When the ATLAS project ended, The Tauri Group was contracted to continue support to NASA in managing technology investments in a changing programmatic environment.
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