IPSA’s Trip to Boeing Offices in Seattle

From September 8 to September 11, part of JPDO’s Interagency Portfolio and Systems Analysis (IPSA) Division team visited the Boeing offices in Seattle, Washington. The team met with the Benefits Analysis group and with senior Technical Fellows at Boeing to discuss future scenario planning, key decisions, and an overall decision-tree framework for encapsulating the NextGen vision by 2025, particularly from a manufacturing and industry standpoint.

Kathleen O’Brien, senior Technical Fellow, briefed the group on Boeing’s progress on the ADS-B program and retrofit challenges, followed by an extensive briefing on Strategy and Policy by Robert Peterson, senior Technical Fellow and Geopolitical Analyst at Boeing. In the ensuing, often insightful discussions that followed, both Boeing and IPSA agreed on the importance of conducting rigorous policy and portfolio analyses, involving all stakeholders affected by the NextGen program, and developing a multi-stakeholder decision-tree prototype that would serve to highlight the major policy and budget commitments that government and industry stakeholders would need to make in the near-term in order to achieve the desired set of NextGen capabilities in the long-term. While recognizing that the final NextGen system can be varied based on a specified performance level (set by its metrics and goals), there seemed to be consensus on building a decision-tree construct as an overlay to the IWP to lay out the realistic paths that government agencies, airlines, airports, and manufacturers like Boeing would need to embark on to achieve the integrated vision of NextGen in the long-term. The team also discussed the need to further improve our industry stakeholders in becoming stewards and owners of the NextGen concept to implementation over the next 15-20 years (as exemplified by RTCA TF5 for the next 3-5 years).

Finally, with an emphasis on alignment and collaboration, the team discussed IPSA’s ongoing work in developing future NextGen modeling scenarios (including the use of secondary airports, accelerating fleet turnover, upgauging aircraft, and the development of a suite of low-fidelity, high access “screening tools”).

FY09 JPDO Portfolio Analysis OMB Submission

JPDO’s Interagency Portfolio and System Analysis Division (IPSA) is scheduled to submit its Pre-Decisional FY09 Portfolio Analysis package
to OMB in September.  The package contains extensive analysis on the benefits, costs, and risks of one initial alternative of NextGen from the Integrated Work Plan (IWP).  It also contains papers on the development of NextGen metrics and cost analysis of secondary alternatives developed to highlight the complete “trade space” of NextGen portfolio alternatives for 2025.

JPDO has just completed a series of briefings that provided the methodology and results of the analysis to partner agencies. Based on a memorandum dated July 20, the JPDO Board designated points of contact (POCs) within their agencies to serve as reviewers for the portfolio analysis package.  These POCs were then briefed by IPSA at JPDO offices (Office of Science and Technology Policy and Department of Transportation — August 11; NOAA — August 17; FAA Aviation Safety — August 20; FAA Office of Environment and Energy — August 25; NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate — August 27; Department of Homeland Security — August 31; Department of Defense Lead Service Office — September 1; FAA NextGen Chief Scientist and FAA Policy — September 3) and provided access to the package through the Joint Planning Environment.  Comments on the portfolio analysis documents are due September 4, 2009.

Once IPSA incorporates partner agency feedback and recommendations, the JPDO plans to submit the portfolio analysis package to OMB as part of the FY11 federal budget requirements.

Research Transition Team Progress

For the past two years, to support the implementation of the Integrated Work Plan (IWP), FAA, NASA and the JPDO have been planning for the transition of research results from NASA’s Airspace Systems Program to the FAA for eventual implementation in the National Airspace System (NAS).  Dubbed Research Transition Teams (RTTs), four specific teams were formed and are now finalizing their plans for approval next month.  The four teams are:  Efficient Flow Into Congested Airspace (EFICA), Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS), Multi-Sector Planner (MSP), and Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC).

Each team supports NextGen capability needs as defined in the NextGen Concept of Operations (ConOps), Enterprise Architecture, and IWP as follows:  EFICA and IADS support Trajectory Management; MSP supports Flow Contingency Management; and DAC supports Capacity Management.  As the plans are approved, the details can be added to the JPE to provide further definition to the research to implementation pathways.  Further description of the RTTs can be found on the JPDO.gov Web site, here and here.

Bob Pearce
JPDO Deputy Director

Another Successful JPDO Board Meeting

The JPDO Board met on Wednesday, July 29 in the JPDO Board Room.  A very full agenda and a lot of discussion led to a meeting that went 30 minutes past its planned conclusion.  The meeting started on an upnote as the National Aviation Safety Strategic Plan (NASSP), which has been delayed in interagency coordination, has finally been fully approved across all of the JPDO partner departments and agencies.  Progress toward the Integrated Surveillance Concept of Operations and Enterprise Architecture was then reviewed by Col. Doug Wreath.  DoD briefings continued with discussions of near-term net-centric graphical TFR and range scheduling applications.  Both of these applications should lead to improved information coordination across agencies.

The meeting then progressed through a series of briefings on JPDO products and progress.  First, Ed Waggoner detailed the good progress that is being made in validating Integrated Work Plan (IWP) Operational Improvements (OIs) with the partner departments and agencies.  While significant work remains to complete that validation process, the IWP update that will be made this fall will benefit from what has been completed thus far.

Next, Yuri Gawdiak provided highlights on the progress in building the NextGen Business Case, and led a productive discussion on how the business case can provide feedback on feasible paths within the IWP.  This is especially true with regard to the far-term OIs, where decision trees will provide greater definition as to the level of performance and timeframes for NextGen capabilities.

JPDO’s Risk Management Process was detailed, including the Board’s role in validating multi-agency and far-term risk and approving mitigation strategies, especially where substantial policy or investment issues are in play.

The final briefing was by NASA’s Dr. Amy Pritchett, Director of the NASA Aviation Safety Program.  Dr. Pritchett reviewed NASA’s progress in planning a Complex Systems Validation and Verification research project.  This project is in response to the top multi-agency, far-term risk identified by the JPDO.

The Executive Session of the JPDO was focused on moving forward collaboratively on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) planning.

Bob Pearce
JPDO Deputy Director

Upcoming JPDO Board Meeting

The next meeting of the JPDO Board of Directors (look here for a list of Board members) is scheduled for July 29, 2009.  A very full agenda will cover multi-agency agency programs, JPDO Working Group products, and progress in NextGen planning and analysis.  Highlights from the draft agenda include discussion of specific DoD initiatives with NextGen relevance such as Center Scheduling Enterprise and Command and Control (C2) Gap Filler Joint Concept Technology Demonstration (JCTD); the status of aligning agency ownership of the Offices of Primary Responsibility and Offices of Collateral Responsibility for the Operational Improvements and Enablers within the Integrated Work Plan (IWP); the status of building and utilizing the NextGen Business Case; and, NASA’s evolving approach to research to advanced Verification and Validation of Complex Systems.

Bob Pearce
JPDO Deputy Directory

Aligning NextGen Operational Improvements

In support of an overall effort to coordinate agency plans with the JPDO’s NextGen architecture, the JPDO and the FAA have completed an effort to align mid-term and far-term Operational Improvements (OIs).  Fifty-one Integrated Work Plan (IWP) OIs were addressed during this effort.  At the completion of the activity, we agreed on common definitions for the IWP and FAA’s National Airspace System (NAS) architecture for 49 of the 51 OIs. Work will continue to resolve the differences for the remaining two OIs. This alignment will be reflected in the next version of the IWP scheduled to be released October 1, 2009.

The next step in the process between the FAA and JPDO will be to address the IWP Enabler elements that have the FAA as the Suggested Office of Primary Responsibility.  A similar approach will be used for this activity. Fundamentally, that involves bringing together the relevant subject matter experts from the FAA and the JPDO’s Working Groups to address and resolve identified differences among the Enabler elements.

Edgar Waggoner, D.Sc.
JPDO Director, Interagency Architecture and Engineering Division

NASA Issues RFI for Validation and Verification of Flight Critical Systems

Last year, the JPDO ran an architecture-driven, multi-agency gap analysis to better understand how multi-agency investments lined up to NextGen needs as defined by the NextGen Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Integrated Work Plan (IWP). One of the areas that was uncovered as a part of the gap analysis and ranked as a high priority is Verification and Validation of Complex Systems. Given the current complexity of the aviation system and the projected increase in automation and integration as we transition to NextGen, the ability to demonstrate the performance and safety of the system under a broad array of conditions will become increasingly challenging. JPDO requested that NASA take leadership for this gap. As a result, NASA has begun exploration of the issue with an eye to future research in this area.

As a part of this effort, NASA has recently released a request for information (RFI) as follows:

NASA’s Aviation Safety Program is seeking information from the entire aviation community to identify key research needed to help create more effective methods for validation and verification of flight-critical systems.

To this end, earlier this month we released a Request For Information (RFI), available here. This RFI is NOT an initial step in a procurement process, but instead is truly a request for insight from the aviation community, including yourself, and will be used to identify key gaps that research by the NASA Aviation Safety Program can help address.

The response to this RFI is due on April 24 to NASA. We encourage members of the JPDO Community to respond to this important request.

Bob Pearce
JPDO Deputy Director

Configuration Management for Key JPDO Documents

Some of the key foundational documents that have been published by the JPDO over the past year are coming under a structured Configuration Management (CM) process. Once a proposed change or comment to one of the documents has been submitted, it enters the CM process.  The potential change is assigned to a reviewer who determines impact, extent, and issues that would result from the proposed change and proposes an initial resolution to the Change Control Board (CCB).  The CCB then adjudicates the proposed change and decides on a disposition for the proposal. If the disposition results in a change being accepted, the change is implemented and verified, and subsequently published in the next release/update of the document.  Some of the items that are anticipated to be under the new CM process include:

• Any Element in the JPE (ConOps, EA, and IWP)
• Joint Planning Framework (i.e., the metamodel)
• Approved CM Plan and CCB Charter

Other items will be included as appropriate.  For more detailed information on the CM process including the CM Plan and CCB Charter, go here (you’ll need access to KSN) under the Deliverables library.

Edgar G. Waggoner, D.Sc.
JPDO Director, Interagency Architecture and Engineering Division