A Systems Engineering and Management Plan (SEMP) helps enable a successful engineering project or team. All university teams working on satellite development encounter similar obstacles that are not commonly seen in industry. As a result, university teams must determine new approaches to solve these unique and difficult problems. A SEMP can mitigate risks, solve problems, and provide streamlined solutions. A modified SEMP is proposed along with guidance for implementing it into a new team and an existing team.
The adopted SEMP provides a road map for the technical execution and program management of a university team. The SEMP should be periodically updated as the team develops, when activities move from plans to historical facts, when known risks are mitigated or altered, when new risks are identified, when new tools and technologies are adopted, and as a myriad of other factors suggest needed adjustments to teams’ overall technical approaches. It is expected that an SEMP will evolve over time and be revised as needed.
Missouri S&T Satellite Research Team’s (M-SAT) SEMP is provided as an example that can be tailored for other teams to adopt. Included in this thesis are methods based on lessons learned and successful practices implemented by the M-SAT team. Lessons learned include improvements to program management and system engineering practices. Successful innovations include the creation of a SEMP, the implementation of a human resources team, and a new member program among others --Abstract, p. ii
