The contingent effects of implementing systems engineering in Program Management on program performance: Lessons learned from the Boeing Company

Abstract

This study provides empirical evidence that Systems Engineering, implemented in Program Management, drives improvements in program performance. For a three-year interval, systems engineering processes were systematically integrated into the Program Management Best Practices for the Boeing multi-purpose airliner program. Critical system reliability and maintainability measurements were used to assess the program performance. Significant improvements were observed in Mean Time Between Maintenance Inherent, Mean Time Between Maintenance Corrective, Mean Time Between Removal, and Maintenance Man Hours per Flight Hour. The results of the study indicate that a positive correlation existed between the implementation of the systems engineering processes and the improvements in the program performance.