NASA & ESA Project Change Management

This assignment examines the significance of a robust change management plan in NASA and ESA collaborative projects. It focuses on mitigating technical risks through effective hardware and software management, emphasizing the importance of baseline measurement and process flow monitoring. The analysis stresses the need for adhering to deadlines and streamlining processes to enhance collaboration and reduce time taken between CRs.

Running head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Operations Management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Executive summary
The report is aimed at understanding the different change processes that are being undertaken by
the concerned organization NASA in order to mitigate the issues faced by the same in the
operations. The management of the operations will be helping the organization to maintain the
position in the market. The main purpose of the report is to understand the change management
processes that are being undertaken by the organization and the risks that are associated with the
change that is planned by the same.

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Table of Contents
Project purpose................................................................................................................................3
Project Scope...................................................................................................................................3
Project objective..............................................................................................................................3
Process map.....................................................................................................................................4
Operations Theories.........................................................................................................................5
Comparison of the theories with the process...................................................................................9
Change management plan..............................................................................................................10
Risk management plan...................................................................................................................14
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................18
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
References......................................................................................................................................20

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Project purpose
This project will evaluate the bottleneck and issues in the configuration management of a
specified organization. Configuration management is used for maintaining the consistency of the
products processes and design. The International Space program in NASA has been chosen for
the report. The change review process will include the bottlenecks into the change management
plan so that the problems can be addressed and removed for better working of International
Space station program in NASA. The required changes will be proposed using he change request
process as it will require changes in the organizational baseline.
Project Scope
The project scope is defined based on the requirements of the organization. In this
scenario, the project scope will consist of the objective of the project and necessary requirements
for change management.
Project objective
Project objective will determine the deliverables of the study which are developed
depending upon the requirement of the stakeholders in the organization. The objectives of the
project are as follows:
 To identify the bottlenecks and issues in the configuration management process in the
organization
 To develop effective change management process
 To evaluate the process for further changes
 To identify the risk factors associated with the process

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Process map

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This process map shows the different areas of issues in the configuration management
process in NASA. The employees are facing issues regarding access to excel and shared drive at
the same time. However, the current system is not equipped enough to make the necessary
changes. There are large numbers of information in spreadsheets and keeping those data up to
data will be difficult for the organizations. There is only one person deciding upon the
applicability of the change request and as that person does not have a technical background will
does not understand the applicability of the requested change. Even though NASA indicates the
applicability in the mail there is no clarity. On the other hand, downloading data from the NASA
database is time consuming and consists of many logins due to high level of security. The
distribution process is also cumbersome and puts too much pressure on a particular individual.
Moreover, it is difficult to obtain the signature of the board as they travel all the time and there is
lack of onsite authorization which causes delay in the projects.
Operations Theories
The understanding of the operations management theories has helped in the proper identification
of the issues faced by the organization. It helps in mitigating the issues of the same in order to
bring forth improvements through the change in the structure and the functioning of the business
in the market. This section of the report helps in determining the change through the proper
understanding of the western operation management theories.
Supply chain management theory
The Supply chain management theory helps in determining the changes that the
organization must undertake for enhancing the proper movement of the products in the supply
chain. The smooth movement of the products in the supply chain helps in determining the

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various characteristic elements of the change that is being undertaken by the organization in the
market. According to Shirae et al. (2015), the complete process of the designing, planning,
executing, controlling, and monitoring over the change in the organization is facilitated through
the understanding of the prospects of the products and the services expected by the consumers of
the organization. On the other hand, Kiehtreiber et al. (2015) stated that the operation
management of the organization helps in determining the various aspects of the change in the
structure and the functioning of the same in the market. The process helps in maintaining the
product differentiation and ensuring the competitive advantage of the organization in the market.
Kerzner & Kerzner (2017)stated that the proper functioning of the supply chain and the
management of the same helps the organization in maintaining the availability of the products in
the market. On the other hand, the utilization of the management helps in ensuring the product
quality that is offered by the organization. The enhancement of the supply chain helps in
determining the costs and thereby differentiate between the structure and the functioning. The
concerned company NASA has taken steps to monitor over the databases in order to gain control
over the defaulters in the system. However, the monitoring over the systems has resulted to time
lags and security checks that have affected the smooth functioning of the operations in the
internal structure of the organization. In order to address the issue that is being faced by NASA,
the organization is taking up steps for bringing forth changes in the functioning of the business.
The product offering being the satellites that are being offered to various companies in the
telecast industry is being affected by the lag in the time due to the security checks. Therefore, the
organization must take steps in order to mitigate the factors based on the issues. It will be helping
the organization in maintaining a steady check on the different factors that hinders the supply
chain of the organization in the market.

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Lean management
Lean management helps the organization in undertaking steps for bringing in continuous
improvements in the structure and the functioning of the business for achieving the long-term
goals of the same in the market. It helps in enumerating steps for bringing in changes in various
processes that is being undertaken by the organization in order to support the organization in
enhancing the market situation and the value propositions offered by the same in the market.
According to (Kato 2014), “An operation management device includes: an information collection
module which collects, from a managed device, first and second performance information
showing a time series change in the performance information”. The change in the structure and
the functioning of the businesses is being facilitated through the analysis of the performance of
the organization and the determination of the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) which will be
helping the organization in understanding the flaws in the systems and the functioning. On the
other hand, the proper understanding of the different factors that helps in determining the
performance of the organization is through the quality checks and the services that are supposed
to meet the needs of the customers. The delivery of the expected products and the services helps
the organization in maintaining the statute position of the organization in the market scenario.
NASA is taking all possible steps to outnumber the issues that are being faced by the
same in the internal systems. It has helped in enumerating the various issues that are being faced
by the organization in the internal structure and thereby take steps in order to understand the
changes that are required to be taken by the organization for maintaining its long term goals of
the same in the market. “The results, although not based on a large sample, point to several
project management practices associated with project success that stem from both the traditional
paradigm as well as VDCL” (Nicholas & Steyn 2017 ). The value proposition of the organization

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is being supported through the understanding of the different issues that are being faced by the
same in the market and thereby strategies are formed y the organization to bring in changes in
the technological aspects of the organization. The development of the security systems and the
determination of the elements that support the progress of the organization help the same in
gaining a competitive advantage in the market.
Theory of Constrains and management of the same
The determination of the Theory of Constrains (TOC) helps the organization in
understanding the different paradigms that might be faced by the same while implementing a
change in the structure and the functioning of the organization in the market. TOC helps in
determining the value of the determinants and the change that is being undertaken by the
organization for bringing in the required change in the structure and the functioning. The theory
states that no matter what a company does to overcome the issues faced by the same while
operating on a large scale, the company is sure to face a constrain factor (Okitsu et al. 2012 ).
The determination of the constrain factor helps the organization in understand the effects of the
change and the hindrances that it might face while implementing the change in the structure and
the functioning of the business in the market. It facilitates the organization in maintaining the
effectiveness of the change as per the demands in the market.
The concerned company, NASA might face issues while implementing the change on
their security systems for the databases. However, in order to maintain the confidentiality, the
organization would not be able to implement the change completely. It has affected the change
that is being planned by the organization in the market. On the other hand, the determination of
the constrains will be helping the organization in undertaking the change more diabolically

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which shall affect the company structure and the functioning. Change is being undertaken by the
organizations in order to bring forth improvements in the functioning. However, the negative
capabilities of the change are a measurable content while determining the effectiveness of the
same in the organizational culture.
Comparison of the theories with the process
The theories that are being stated in the previous section of the report helps in
determining the value of the change that is being undertaken by the organization. The major
aspects of the change in the functioning and the operations are based on the necessity of the
organization to make its improvements in the market situation. NASA undertakes projects for
sufficing to the needs of its consumers, mainly the telecast companies and the media. NASA has
helped in the growth of these companies through their continuous support. “ Physical location
information of a network connection device, such as a network switch, is described in a master
data library or the like in advance, and is created as configuration items and discovered by a
software dependency discovery unit.” (Akamatsu et al. 2014). However, the company faces
issues relating to the structure of the security checking and monitoring over the databases that are
kept confidential. The technical person can only retrieve the databases from their systems
through the security checks that are being conducted by a single, non-technical parson who have
no knowledge of their data base or the kind of work that requires the same. This has affected the
smooth functioning of the organization as per the needs of the consumers. The performance of
the organization is also affected through the practices that are being undertaken by the
organization in their internal structure (Jacobs, Chase & Lummus 2014, pp. 533-535).

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As per the concept of Lean Management, the company must take steps in order to bring
in changes in the systems for enhancing their long term goals and their achievement. On the
other hand, the identification of the constrains as per the Theory will be helping the organization
in understanding the pros and cons of undertaking the change. It will be helping the organization
in making use of the forecast as a means to understand the effects of the change that is being
undertaken by the organization in the market. “a power generation output prediction processing
unit configured to calculate power generation output prediction data indicating a generated
power obtained by a generator within the day-of-prediction” (Nakamura et al. 2015). The
determination of the long term goals of the organization will be facilitating the same in bringing
forth the change in the structure and the functioning for undertaking the improvements. The
major aspects that are being undertaken by the organization are based on the enhancement in the
supply chain and its proper management in order to deliver the quality services to the clients. It
will be helping the organization in applying a sustainable approach in the market.
Change management plan
It takes more than 2 weeks to complete the whole process flow that is completion of CR
process between NASA and ESA. This process is time consuming and consists of various
bottlenecks and issues. Therefore, the change management plan has been developed based on the
issues faced by NASA and ESA in the change request process. This is a schedule consisting of
the project deliverables and the milestones. The project deliverables are developed according to
the exiting process flow and the loopholes in it. These change management plan will reduce the
short comings of the process flow by making necessary changes. There are six phases in this
change management process and each phase has a specific contribution to the overall project.

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The milestone determines the completion of each of the phases and has greater significance to
the overall project.
Task Name Duration Start Finish
Change management 137 days Mon 3/26/18 Tue 10/2/18
Preparation 22 days Mon 3/26/18 Tue 4/24/18
analyzing the CM process 5 days Mon 3/26/18 Fri 3/30/18
Identify the bottlenecks 10 days Mon 4/2/18 Fri 4/13/18
develop first draft 5 days Mon 4/16/18 Fri 4/20/18
refining change scope and description 2 days Mon 4/23/18 Tue 4/24/18
milestone 1 0 days Tue 4/24/18 Tue 4/24/18
Initiation 25 days Wed 4/25/18 Tue 5/29/18
Validating the changes 20 days Wed 4/25/18 Tue 5/22/18
CR release 5 days Wed 5/23/18 Tue 5/29/18
milestone 2 0 days Tue 5/29/18 Tue 5/29/18
Evaluation 34 days Wed 5/30/18 Mon 7/16/18
CR evaluation 5 days Wed 5/30/18 Tue 6/5/18
TCM 10 days Wed 6/6/18 Tue 6/19/18
evaluation matrix 8 days Wed 6/20/18 Fri 6/29/18

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disposition 7 days Mon 7/2/18 Tue 7/10/18
draft directive 4 days Wed 7/11/18 Mon 7/16/18
milestone 3 0 days Mon 7/16/18 Mon 7/16/18
Approval 30 days Tue 7/17/18 Mon 8/27/18
board presentation 2 days Tue 7/17/18 Wed 7/18/18
CD release 3 days Thu 7/19/18 Mon 7/23/18
CD evaluation 4 days Tue 7/24/18 Fri 7/27/18
resolve issues 7 days Mon 7/30/18 Tue 8/7/18
Administrative revisions 10 days Wed 8/8/18 Tue 8/21/18
program approval 4 days Wed 8/22/18 Mon 8/27/18
milestone 4 0 days Mon 8/27/18 Mon 8/27/18
Implementation 21 days Tue 8/28/18 Tue 9/25/18
CD approval notification 4 days Tue 8/28/18 Fri 8/31/18
Update technical baseline 7 days Mon 9/3/18 Tue 9/11/18
Update Contractual Baseline 10 days Wed 9/12/18 Tue 9/25/18
milestone 5 0 days Tue 9/25/18 Tue 9/25/18
Closure 5 days Wed 9/26/18 Tue 10/2/18
verify completion of action 5 days Wed 9/26/18 Tue 10/2/18

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milestone 6 0 days Tue 10/2/18 Tue 10/2/18

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Gantt chart

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The Gantt chart shows that schedule of the change management plan and dependency of
the task on each other and the order in which the tasks will be executed.
Risk management plan
The risk management plan has identified the different risk factors in the project which
may affect the cost and time span. The success of a project may be hampered by the different
risk factors. The different factors causing risk to the project have to identified, prioritized and
then mitigated according to their degree of their severity. The different types of risk factors are
internal, external and technical. The following risk factors are developed based on the project
tasks and activities. The external, internal and technical risk factors have been identified and
prioritized according to their severity. The table also includes the areas that will be affected by
the risk factors and the different ways of mitigating them.
External
Risk Description Delay in approving the
required changes
Shortage in resources Unexpected issue
Priority Medium Medium Medium
Summary As the board travels all
the time, it is difficult
to get their approval for
proceeding with the
project. Therefore,
there may be delay
from the original
There may be reduction
in the actual timeframe
of the project due to
organizational
emergency and delay in
other corresponding
Unexpected issues will
have to be taken into
consideration as
uncertainty is a part of
risk management.

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timeframe. projects.
Affected Area The next phases of the
project will be heavily
affected due to the
delay in the preparation
phase of the project.
There may be shortage
of resources as many
projects are running
simultaneously and the
time schedule may
collide resulting in
shortage of funds.
It may affect any phase
or area of the program
as it not possible to
identify the unexpected
error.
Mitigation Plan An effective
communication plan
will have to be
developed so that there
is no lack of
communication
between the
stakeholders and the
project team.
The time plan will have
to be developed by
considering the other
projects so that their
interest does not
coincide with other.
The organization will
have to take all the
external risk factors
into consideration
before commencing the
project.
Internal
Risk Time delay in CR evaluation
phase
Scope Creep
Priority Medium High

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Summary This is the most crucial phase in
the project and there may be
delay in releasing and evaluating
the CR evaluation.
There will be some changes to
the project that are
uncontrollable. Even though
there is a buffer time it may not
be enough to regulate the
process.
Affected Area This will affect the overall
change management process as
other phases depended on the
success of this phase of the
project.
The deviation from the original
requirement in the project will
result in the loss of integrity
within the project requirements.
Moreover, changing the
requirements at a later stage of
the projects will be time
consuming and will increase the
cost of the overall project.
Mitigation Plan An effective communication
plan has to be developed so
there is no lack of
communication among the
members of the team and
project.
Therefore, the requirement will
have t analyzed effectively and a
simulation will have to identify
the variation that occurs. Once
the variation is identified
preparations should be made so
that scope creep be easily
mitigated.

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Technical
Risk Technical issues in software Unexpected issue in
hardware
Priority Medium Medium
Summary Technical issue in software
will cause a delay in the time
frame of the overall project.
Moreover, identifying it will
take time to identify the error
due to the huge volume of the
database.
The unexpected issue in
hardware will cause the
overall process to stop and
delay in time schedule.
Affected Area The overall time span of the
project will be delayed.
This will affect the time span
and budget of the project
Mitigation Plan Therefore, before
commencement of the
project, all the software will
have to be checked for
possible glitches and
problems.
The project will have to
prepare addition inventory so
that the required changes can
be executed during the buffer
time.

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Recommendations
The new change management will identify the issues in all the phases so that effective
solution can be reached. It is advised to use store data on cloud platform so that data does not
needs to be stored separately. This will enable the users to access real time data at the same time
and the data in the spreadsheet has to be moved into database and automated so that the database
can be updated on their own. The number of employees working behind the change request has
to be increased so that the queue of change request can be reduced. This will increase the overall
operational efficiency of the process (Jacobs, Chase & Lummus 2014). The signature of the
board is essential for approval and they are not available most of the times so an authoritative
body has to be developed which can approve the overall process. The offsite access issue can
also be solved using the cloud database and data can be easily accessed.
The risk management plan shows the various risk factors that have to be considered so
that the project is a success. Therefore, project manager will have to develop an effective
communication plan so that risk factors can be discussed and avoided. The communication plan
enables the project manager, team and the stakeholders to communicate with each other.
Therefore, they will be able to discuss about the status of the project, the changes that are
required and the precautions that are to be taken to make the changes. The internal and external
risk factors can easily mitigated by maintaining a proper communication channel internally and
externally. “a power generation output prediction processing unit configured to calculate power
generation output prediction data indicating a generated power obtained by a generator within
the day-of-prediction” (Nakamura et al. 2015). However, in order to mitigate the technical risk
factors, the organization will have to make sure that all the hardware and software are managed

20OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
effectively to avoid technical issues. Moreover, spare hardware equipments have to be stored so
that even if the problem occurs it does not hamper the overall time frame of the project.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded from the study that effective change management plan is
essential for better functionality of the projects. Time is essential factor and this will enable to
provide better service to the customers (Jacobs, Chase & Lummus 2014). Effective management
of the project configuration is essential as it consist of processes such as baseline measurement
and process flow measurement. NASA will have to keep the deadlines in track and meet them
more frequently as there are rarely met (Kerzner & Kerzner 2017). The change management
process will increase the flow of the processes and the delay and management of the datasets can
be handled in a better way. Moreover, the new process will be able to reduce the time taken for
the CR between ESA and NASA.