Page 94 - Global Project Management Handbook

4-2 STATE OF THE ART OF GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TABLE 4.1 Reasons for TLCSM
• Link everything into one “big picture”
• Provide better management information
• Increase capability
• Improve availability
• Make better use of critical resources
• Minimize cost of ownership
• Recognize relationships between distributed organizations

Total life-cycle system management (TLCSM) is a technique that takes the long-term
view of projects to guide decision making toward solutions that provide lifetime suc-
cess rather than short-term limits of schedule and budget. TLSCM can be defined as

● The implementation, integration, and management of all activities associated with the
acquisition,development,production,introduction,sustainment,anddisposalofasystem
across its life cycle.
● Establishment of a single point of management responsibility and accountability for sys-
tem acquisition and sustainment.
● Emphasis on early and continuing translation of performance objectives into opera-
tionally available and affordable increments of capability over the system life cycle. The
result of this sustainment planning is encompassed in the product support solution
describing post-introduction support of the operational system.

The reasons justifying application of TLCSM to a project are listed in Table 4.1. Most
notably, TLCSM focuses on the results of decisions made by the project team during
acquisition of a system and their effect on long-term goals for the system being procured.
The key issues are having the “big picture” view rather than short-term limitations so
that the end result of an acquisition project minimizes the total cost of ownership of a
system. The goals of TLCSM are to produce benefits in terms of revenue and profitabil-
ity by focusing on optimizing system operational effectiveness and operational avail-
ability while at the same time minimizing cost of ownership.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

Any discussion of TLSCM must start with a description of the product life cycle. Figure 4.1
shows the six typical stages over the life of any item, which are concept, assessment,
development, manufacture or build, operation, and disposal. A system begins its life
when a need is identified. This occurs in the concept phase, where the organization’s
current and future requirements are continually reviewed to identify needs before they
start to impede productivity or capability. Once identified as a requirement, it is stud-
ied to define the parameters that must be achieved to meet the need. Sufficient justifi-
cation of the need should receive management approval to initiate a formal project to
procure or develop a system to meet the need. During the assessment phase, the project
team identifies and investigates alternatives to determine the best approach to meet the
need. The project movesintothedevelopmentphasewhenmanagementacceptstheproj-
ect’s recommendation for the most reasonable alternative to meet the need. This move to
the developmentphaseequiresfundingfordevelopment, manufacture, and delivery of the
system. The development phase consists of all system architecting, systems engineering,