sdm - MIT SDM – System Design and Management

The newsletter of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
System Design and Management Program
vol. 9, no. 2
sdmpulse
SDM Evolution in Its 19th Year
in this issue
1 New SDM Curriculum
By Pat Hale, Executive Director, MIT SDM Fellows Program
2 Welcome Letter
3 Director Named for New IDM Track
4 STAMP for USCG Accident
Analysis
8 Solar Energy Startup
10 Product Design/Development
Competition
12 SDM 2015: Entering Class
• SDM’s first fall start date, designed to enable master’s and
certificate students to matriculate together in August of
each year.
• A robust number of students in each program—the MIT
S.M. in engineering and management and the SDM
Graduate Certificate Program in Systems and Product
Development.
13 Employment Report
14 Tech Trek Report
16 SDM Conference
• The inaugural offering of SDM’s three-semester core course,
which will provide an integrated view of architecting,
engineering, and managing the development of complex
systems (see page 6 for details). Because students in each
program will attend these together, the opportunities for
mutual learning and enrichment from classmates (who are
experienced professionals—a hallmark of SDM) will deepen
significantly.
20 Calendar
>
As MIT System Design and Management (SDM) marks its 19th year,
all of us involved in the program are proud to announce several
important milestones. These include:
on the web
> Move Over, Big Data! How
Small, Simple Models Can
Yield Big Insights
> System Architecture for
Corporate Innovation: How
to Run a Successful Initiative
and Deliver Tangible Results
• Additional flexible master’s options that will enable selfsponsored students to choose program length and
coursework based on their professional obligations, goals, and
interests—while enabling company-sponsored students to
make choices that also meet their employer’s needs.
• Development of a new specialization track called Integrated
Design & Managemet, which is scheduled to begin in August
2015 spearheaded by Matthew S. Kressy, director and senior
lecturer. (See page 3 for more information.) Program details
will be formally announced this fall.
> Hacking Medicine and the
Rx It Offers for Innovation in
All Industries
> Visit sdm.mit.edu
• More women enrolled than ever before.
http://
>
Watch for the
red dot indicating
expanded
stories online at
sdm.mit.edu
We are extremely grateful for the efforts of the SDM family—faculty,
company partners, alumni, students, and staff—in designing this
new core and supporting us in achieving all of the above. We want
to express special thanks to Professor Olivier de Weck, who led the
core and curriculum development team.
Please visit pages 6-7 to explore the new SDM options—and do
let us know your thoughts and suggestions!
fall 2014
sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
2
3
Welcome
This edition of the SDM Pulse is a prime example of systems thinking at work within
MIT, across industry, at all organizational levels, and around the world.
sdmpulse
Vol. 9 No. 2
Fall 2014
Copyright MIT, all rights reserved.
Publisher: Joan S. Rubin, MIT SDM
Industry Codirector
Editor: Lois Slavin, MIT SDM
Communications Director
Contributors: Joan Aguilar Fargas,
Sean Gilliland, Pat Hale, Qi Van
Eikema Hommes, Steven F. Osgood,
Erica Pernice, Alex Piña, Jonathan
Pratt, Jan-Cor Roos, Dave Schultz,
Tobias Walters
Photography: John Parrillo, Bridget
Queiroz, Alex Sanchez, Dave Schultz
In these pages you will find:
• An overview of SDM’s new core curriculum and examples of how it can be
customized to suit individual students’ interests and industry’s evolving needs;
• A brief announcement of the recent appointment of Matthew S. Kressy as
director and senior lecturer of SDM’s Integrated Design & Management track.
Matt will develop, manage, and teach the new track, which will launch in
August 2015. Check the SDM website (sdm.mit.edu) for updates or contact
[email protected];
• Detailed overviews of how systems thinking has been employed by a startup
specializing in solar energy product design and by the US Coast Guard to
help understand what caused a fatal accident at sea;
• A report on the spring 2014 SDM Tech Trek that demonstrates the mutual
value received by participating companies and students, as well as
information on how your company can get involved in future treks;
• An introduction to the 2015 SDM cohort, the first SDM class to matriculate
in the fall semester and to participate in the inaugural offering of the new
SDM core;
Layout: Janice Hall, TTF Design
Copy editor: Kathryn O’Neill
Printer: Puritan Press
MIT’s System Design and Management
program is jointly offered by the MIT
School of Engineering and the MIT
Sloan School of Management.
For further information, visit
sdm.mit.edu.
• Highlights of the most recent SDM Employment Report, along with a link to
the full report on the SDM website;
• A list of upcoming SDM events, such as this year’s SDM conference and
back-to-the-classroom sessions; an alumni-student networking evening;
live and virtual information events for prospective applicants; webinars on
applying systems thinking to various complex challenges; and more.
We hope you enjoy this edition of the Pulse. As always, we welcome your feedback
and suggestions.
Kressy Joins SDM to
Create New Product
Design Track
By Lois Slavin, MIT SDM Communications Director
The MIT System Design and Management (SDM) program
is pleased to announce that Matthew S. Kressy has
been named director and senior lecturer of Integrated
Design & Management to develop, manage, and teach
in SDM’s new master’s track.
Kressy, founder of Designturn, brings to SDM extensive
experience in globally distributed, interdisciplinary product
development, from research and concept generation
to prototype iteration, risk reduction, and volume
manufacturing. His firm has developed and manufactured
numerous successful products for a wide range of
industries, among them high tech, healthcare, and
sporting goods. His experience in academia includes
co-teaching Product Design and Development (both
15.783 and ESD.40) at MIT since 1999. He has also
taught at the Harvard Business School, Babson College,
and the Rhode Island School of Design (from which he
holds a BFA in industrial design).
Sincerely,
Pat Hale, executive director of the SDM Fellows Program,
said, “Matt is a thought leader in industrial design and
interdisciplinary product development and a widely
acclaimed hands-on industrial designer. He receives
accolades for his teaching from SDM students and
faculty and we are thrilled that he has joined SDM.”
Joan S. Rubin
Industry Codirector
MIT System Design and Management
[email protected]
Companies interested in learning about SDM’s new
product development track may contact Kressy at
[email protected].
design
+
engineering
+
management
About the Author
Applying Systems Theory to Analyze
Failed Coast Guard Rescue
The challenge: In 1997, a sailing vessel sank outside Charleston Harbor, SC, killing all four
passengers aboard. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
identified two probable causes:
• the operator’s inability to adequately assess, prepare for, and respond to the
known risks; and
• the substandard performance of US Coast Guard (USCG) Group Charleston in
initiating a search and rescue (SAR) response.
Steven (Sid) F. Osgood, is a
captain in the US Coast Guard.
This article is an excerpt from his
thesis, System Theoretic Value
Analysis of the United States
Coast Guard Search and Rescue
Communication System, which
was a finalist in SDM’s Best
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
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The tools: To understand how system interfaces interact with control elements, a safety control structure was drawn
to model the hierarchy of organization levels within the system. This allows the system to be evaluated as a whole
rather than by its individual parts.
The control structure starts at the physical or operating process level where the hazardous process or activity occurs
and where human controllers are typically involved. Figure 2 shows the operating process safety control structure at
the controller level. Figure 2 also displays how the operating process level is linked to the hierarchical safety control
structure, including the applicable control action and feedback loops.
Moving up the safety control structure enables us to see the whole system boundary with the key entities involved.
The NTSB also provided recommendations subsequently implemented by the USCG, including a
major upgrade to the National Distress Response System (NDRS) developed and deployed
through the Rescue 21 project.
continued on page 18
For four years I was responsible for deploying this system to USCG Sector Command Centers.
Though I believe that Rescue 21 was a success in terms of delivering value, I am equally interested
in determining what can be done to further improve policies and capabilities. To do this, I applied
System Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP), developed by MIT Professor Nancy
Leveson, along with its causal analysis based on STAMP (CAST) investigation component.
Human Controller
Communications Watchstander
Using STAMP and CAST enabled:
Response
Action
Thesis Competition.
Thesis advisor: Qi Van Eikema
Hommes, PhD, lecturer,
Engineering Systems Division, MIT.
To view the complete thesis,
please contact Joan S. Rubin,
SDM industry codirector,
[email protected] or 617.253.2081.
-Supervisor Direction
-Policy Guidance
-Training, Tactics, Protocols
• a comprehensive comparison of NTSB-generated recommendations to new findings and
insights, enabling us to assess actual implemented solutions; and
Location
Interpretation
Distress
Interpretation
Model of NDRS
Automation
Model of SAR
Communications
• a way to take contextual and environmental factors into account.
This analysis of system safety constraints and hazards against controls in the system’s
hierarchical control structure made it possible to identify weaknesses and recommend solutions
to the full range of causal and systemic factors, including humans.
The approach: When using system theory to assess accidents, a clear definition of system
hazards relative to the accident is essential. In this case, the relevant hazard was the USCG’s
failure to respond to a distressed mariner. Figure 1 shows that what was needed was a safety
requirement designed to ensure that the USCG would respond.
Response/Acknowledgment
Record/Replay
Search Commands
Search Patterns
Actuator
Response
Assets
HAZARD
SAFETY DESIGN CONSTRAINTS/REQUIREMENTS
The USCG
does not
respond to a
mariner who is
in distress.
The USCG must respond to a mariner who is in distress, therefore:
a. The USCG shall have the ability to receive/hear distress
notifications within the system boundary;
b. The USCG shall have the ability to understand/interpret
distress notifications received within the system boundary;
c. The USCG shall have the ability to respond to distress
notifications received within the system boundary; and
d. The USCG shall have the capability to communicate and
coordinate with other first responders within the system boundary.
Displays
Automated Controller
Command Execution
Data Recovery
Geographic
Feedback
Signal Clarity
System
Co n t r o l
Commands
Recorded &
Processed Signals
NDRS System
Control
Algorithm
Search
Criteria
Feedback
Model of SAR
Communications
Signal
Processing
Signal Frequency, Clarity, Location, Range
Search Time
Communications
Actuator
Other Response
Assets
Search Time
Communications
Controlled Process
Distressed Mariner
Call for Assistance
Acknowledgment
Conflicting Control Actions
Rescue Execution
Conditions of Distress
Disturbances
(e.g. Weather)
Figure 2: US Coast Guard search and rescue communications operating process control structure.
Figure 1: Safety constraints and design requirements necessary to address system
safety hazards.
System
Accuracy
Sensors
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
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continued from page 1
Distance Option
Aug
SDM Unveils New Program Options, Core
Curriculum
Y1
Sep
Orientation
Y2
Oct
16 Core (Distance)
Overview for All Options
• 38-unit unified systems core curriculum is spread evenly throughout the fall semester (16 units),
January Independent Activities Period (6 units), and spring semester (16 units)
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Feb
6 Core
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
16 Core (Distance)
Jul
Aug
Sep
Thesis
Degree
List
Thesis
Orientation
16 Core (Distance)
6 Core
Thesis
16 Core (Distance)
Thesis
24 Required + 30 Elective (on campus)
Degree
List
Distance students join the cohort for the initial two-week August orientation, then return to their full-time jobs. During the first
year, this group attends the core course at a distance using MIT’s state-of-the-art web technology to participate remotely in
live classes. In January the cohort continues the core course sequence primarily at a distance, but returns to campus for one
intensive week of classes and workshops. All distance students are required to spend one semester in residence at MIT and
may chose either the fall or spring of their second year to finish their required and elective courses. The other semester of the
second year is spent at a distance, working on and completing the thesis. The degree is granted in June of the second year.
• Intense two-week orientation begins in mid-August, prior to the start of fall classes
Sep
Jan
24 Required + 30 Elective (on campus)
Y2
Aug
Dec
or
Y1
Full-Time On-Campus Option
Nov
21-Month Program
12-Month Program
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Commuter, RA/TA, or Full-Time on Campus with Internship
Sep
21-Month Program
Orientation
16 Core + 27 Required/Elective
6 Core
16 Core + 27 Required/Elective
Thesis
Degree
List
Aug
Y1
SDM’s intensive 12-month option minimizes students’ time away from the workforce. Core,
required, and elective courses are concentrated in the fall, January, and spring terms. In the
spring and fall, students carry a minimum of 43 credit units split between the Sloan School and
the School of Engineering. Thesis work is scoped out and begun in parallel with classwork
during the academic year and finished during the summer. The SDM degree is awarded upon
completion of thesis work in September.
Orientation
Y2
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
16 Core + 12 Required + RA/TA
15 Elective + RA/TA+ 12 Thesis
Jan
6 Core
Thesis
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
16 Core + 12 Required + RA/TA
15 Elective + RA/TA+ Finish Thesis
Jul
Aug
Sep
Internship
Degree
List
Students who are working locally, participating in a research or teaching assistantship (RA or TA) on campus, or including an
internship with their course of study may spread out the course load evenly over their 21 months at MIT. All students in this
category attend the mandatory two-week August orientation, then typically add one additional course to the required core in
both the spring and fall of their first year. The summer between terms is generally reserved for work, either an internship or a
continuation of the student’s regular, full-time position. In the second year this group completes required and elective courses while
allocating time during both semesters to thesis work. Students receive their degrees in June of the second year.
Sample coursework could include:
SDM Core:
Foundations of Systems Design and Management (38 units)
Full-Time on Campus with Internship
Management Foundations:
16-Month Program
Management Accounting and Control (9 units)
Strategic Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (6 units)
Management Electives:
Operations Strategy (9 units)
Manufacturing System and Supply Chain Design (6 units)
Engineering Foundations:
Engineering Systems Analysis for Design (12 units)
Engineering Electives:
Product Design and Development (12 units)
Integrating the Lean Enterprise (12 units)
Aug
Y1
Y2
Orientation
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
16 Core + 27 Required/Elective
Thesis
Jan
6 Core
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
16 Core + 27 Required/Elective
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Internship
Degree
List
While some students join SDM planning to minimize time outside of work, many want to incorporate an internship into their
education. Internships offer students the chance to apply the theory they have learned to the workplace and potentially test
and explore new career directions. The 16-month option allows integration of coursework with an internship in a
compressed time period. Using this option, students complete all course requirements in their first year, similar to the fulltime on-campus students. During the summer they undertake an internship, returning to complete the thesis in the fall.
Students in this group finish in the fall and receive their degrees in February.
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
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About the Authors
SDMs Launch Solar Energy Startup
System architecture: Use of diagramming techniques from the object process methodology helped determine the
system’s architecture. This was employed as the basis for an alpha prototype design.
The challenge: Enabling middle-class homeowners to affordably and cost-effectively participate
in the solar energy revolution.
The approach: Conversations with potential purchasers helped AE identify three
key deterrents to "going solar”:
Concept
Water
• significant upfront costs, approximately $20,000 to acquire and install a solar system
that can generate and store enough energy for daily use;
Operating
Beneficial
Attribute
• long payback periods for return on investment; and
Alex Piña
• the need for large arrays of solar panels, which can mar a home’s aesthetics.
The team created a detailed profile of target customers for solar power that focused on
incentives, expectations, and frustrations with existing products. AE sought to develop a modular
solution that would address each key point and chose California as an initial test market because
the state provides significant incentives for purchasing and installing solar energy systems.
The tools: SDM’s emphasis on systems thinking and systems engineering provided an excellent
foundation for creating the final product, a patent-pending solar hot water collector. The team’s
overall vision is based on real-world requirements analysis, and the group used problem
decomposition to further refine their product and create a working prototype.
Sean Gilliland
System engineering: The team performed a series of analyses that included design structure
matrices, quality function deployment, and a problem-solving methodology called TRIZ. The
result was a sound architectural framework (see Figure 1).
Alex Piña ’13 and Sean
Gilliland ’13 cofounded
that solar energy should
be accessible to everyone,
1
2
3
PV Array
1
1
1
1
Heat exchanger
2
1
2
1
Turbine
3
1
1
3
1
1
everywhere. The company
Condenser
4
won first prize in the 2013
Generator
5
Charger
6
Boston Lean Startup Challenge,
Battery
7
was a semifinalist in both the
Inverter
8
AC Switch
9
MIT $100K Pitch and Accelerate
DC Isolation Switch
10
contests, and is currently
Generation Meter
13
Breaker Box
11
4
5
7
8
9
10 13
11 14
Level 1
Collector
Heat Water
Solar
Thermal
Energy
Sustainably
Heating
Focused
STE
Continuous
Water Heating
Ground
Support,
Solar
Energy,
Domestic
Water
System
Captured
STE
Unheated
Water
Heated
Water
Pressurized
Heated
Water
Delivered
Heated
Water
Intent
15 12
Supporting
Structural Body
Heat
Focusing
Parabolic Dish
Heat
Capturing
Glass Lens
Heat
Transferring
Heat Exchanger
Liquid
Moving
Pump
Liquid
Delivering
Copper pipe
Operands +
Processes
Support
External Energy
Interface and
Energy Transfer
Domestic Water
System Interface
Instrument
Objects
1
1
Figure 2. This object process methodology diagram shows a residential solar thermal water heating system,
demonstrating the function of each system component.
4
1
1
5
1
1
6
1
1
7
1
1
8
1
1
9
1
1
6
Heating
Heat Liquid
Switching System
is dedicated to the vision
Support,
Heat Source,
Water System
Level 0
Energy Generation and Conversion
Avalanche Energy (AE), which
Operator
1
1
Grid
Isolation
1
1
The results: AE team members used the information from their SDM coursework over six months to design a
patent-pending double reflector solar thermal collector that:
10
1
13
1
1
11
1
14
a semifinalist in the 2014
AC Supply (Consumer)
14
1
Cleantech Open Accelerator.
Electricity Meter
15
1
Mains Supply (Grid)
12
• is roughly twice the size of a satellite dish;
1
• provides the equivalent of 7 kilowatt-hours of energy per day in the southwestern United States;
15
1
1
12
Main Grid and Metering
Figure 1. This design structure matrix represents the general architecture AE
used for its solar hot water and electricity generation system.
• reduces roof-mounted weight through the use of two reflectors instead of the traditional single-reflector system;
and
• simplifies the installation process by utilizing the homeowners’ existing hot water tank.
The team is now manufacturing a second-generation, full-scale prototype. Functionality testing of the alpha prototype
of their low-profile solar thermal collector was completed during January 2014 at a home in San Jose, CA.
continued on page 17
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
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Urban Chariot Races to First Place in Product
Design Competition
Second Place
GetNeat—Zen and the Art of Photography
Our team was asked to tackle “terrible vacation photos.” Practicing the
methods learned in PDD, such as user-centric product development, we:
Editor’s note: Each year, in one of MIT’s most popular classes, ESD.40
Product Design and Development (PDD), SDM fellows convene with MIT
peers and others from the Rhode Island School of Design to gain hands-on
experience applying systems thinking to innovation.
The students work together in multidisciplinary teams to practice best-inclass methodologies to conceive, design, and prototype new products while
honing their skills in leadership and teamwork. All teams are charged with:
• identifying customer needs;
• conducted interviews to discover how users define a “good photo”;
• identified a latent user need—organized storage that enables rapid
image retrieval;
• brainstormed on the above, finding inspiration from Facebook’s use of a
plain English search function, existing tags, and data to return results;
GetNeat team (left to right): SDM students
Olivia Gao, Victor Rojas Gomez, Ari Liberman,
Jillian Wisniewski, and Sabin Mamen Thomas.
• refined this process by making tagging as simple as possible through
learning user behaviors, integrating existing smartphone functionality,
and designing a simple, intuitive user interface; and
• generating and selecting concepts; and
IDM Director Matthew S. Kressy and SDM Codirector
Steven Eppinger examine a student project—an
innovative bicycle lock—in an MIT-RISD product
design and development class.
• applied this to smartphone photos, using existing metadata, location,
color, origin/medium, etc., to aid the organization and search process;
• developing product architectures, industrial designs, concept
designs, and designs for manufacturing.
• sketched a variety of initial concepts, diagramming functionality,
composing screenshots for each unique feature, and attempting to tell
the story of what the product should do.
At semester’s end, each team participates in the annual PDD competition,
presenting design concepts and prototypes to a panel of judges comprising
MIT faculty and industry experts. The following profiles highlight this year’s
winners and some of the tools they applied.
We also learned a lot about what individual traits are important to creating a
successful team. These include:
• patience;
• openness to critical feedback;
• willingness to learn from others’ unique backgrounds and skill sets; and
First Place
The Urban Chariot—Improving Bicycle Functionality
Bike riding has become increasingly popular among those who want to
improve their health and minimize their carbon footprint—particularly in
traffic-heavy urban areas. However, an ordinary bike’s design can present
many challenges and, with them, opportunities for designing and developing
new products.
• receptivity to learning about new fields, such as industrial design,
application building, databases, and photography.
We ultimately developed a prototype quite close to meeting our goals for
functionality and aesthetics. However, we feel a few more iterations will need to
be completed before we go to market.
Third Place
ComfortZone—For Different Degrees of Sleep Preferences
We first studied the range of problems in depth. Our process included:
Urban Chariot team (left to right): SDM students Ankur
Kumar, Gaurav Khanna, Joseph Stanford, Tobias Walters,
and Zak Bright (Course 2).
Individuals have varying preferences for sleep temperatures, and this can be
tricky for couples sharing the same bed. Our team used the following SDM
tools to address this challenge:
• conducting extensive surveys and in-depth user interviews;
• applying system architecture principles and concepts to our
idea-generation process for one major bike shortcoming—the
difficulty of transporting bundles;
• ethnographic research;
• products as platforms;
• choosing one architecture to pursue; and
• modular design; and
• focusing relentlessly on user needs.
We developed two variants, then built a prototype for each potential model.
These designs:
ComfortZone team (left to right): SDM students
Douglas Hamilton, Alfredo Guerero Ortiz, an
unidentified fan, James Franklin, Ilias Hamdouch,
and Wei Wei
• parallel and iterative product development.
The resulting product, ComfortZone, features:
• preserve the normal feel—and enjoyment—of bike riding;
• a customizable, modular design of interchangeable insulation panels,
each with its own heat retention capacity;
• enable riders to easily transport up to 50 pounds of cargo, such as
groceries; and
• the capability for electric heaters to be added if desired;
• allow the use of an ordinary bicycle with little or no modification.
User and observer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and we are
now in the process of submitting a provisional patent application. We
intend to submit a full patent in the coming months.
• panels that can be attached to customize comforter warmth laterally
and longitudinally across a bed; and
• a seamless fit into a duvet cover, ensuring an aesthetic consistent with
other comforters.
Although the course has ended, we are now looking into a patent for our design.
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
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Snapshot: SDM Class of AY15
On August 18, 61 early to mid-career technical professionals became the first SDM cohort to matriculate in
the fall, the traditional start of the academic year for most, if not all, MIT students. (SDM previously started
in January.) As in the past, fellows in the newest SDM cohort come from a wide range of industries, including
energy, healthcare, software, defense, information technology, consulting, automotive, aerospace, and several
branches of the US military. This year’s cohort also contains the highest number of women in SDM’s history.
Employment Report: SDM Graduating Class of 2013
SDM prepares graduates to lead effectively and creatively by using systems thinking to solve large-scale,
complex challenges in product design, development, and innovation. The SDM program is committed to working
closely with self-sponsored students to ensure they find career roles that both challenge them and enable them
to help companies achieve key goals and missions.
Citizenship
Demographics
• Algeria, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Italy,
Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Singapore,
Thailand, Turkey, United States
• 44 men / 17 women
Sponsorship
• 17 company-sponsored / 44 self-sponsored
As in prior years, SDM’s 2013 graduates were hired into top-level technical and managerial positions across
a wide range of industries. Employers recognize that these individuals bring a unique and powerful combination
of attributes to the workplace, including:
• an average of 10 years prior work experience;
Average age / average previous work experience
• a rigorous academic education from SDM, including coursework from MIT’s School of Engineering and
Sloan School of Management; and
• 33 / 8 years
Program option
• 26 local commuter students
• 4 distance students
Ephraim Chen
Sarah Nolet
Former Product Manager,
Charles River Analytics
Delph Mak
Former Industry Development
Executive, Singapore Public
Utilities Board
Satellite Design Engineer, US Air Force
Dual-degree MIT SDM and SUTD
“The SDM educational experience will
enhance my effectiveness in overcoming
technical challenges in highly complex
systems.”
“SDM is ideal for someone like
me who has interests across both
engineering and management
disciplines.”
Highlights of this year’s report include:
• 100 percent employment of SDM graduates who responded to the survey;
• Average base salary of $112,500—an increase of 55 percent over base salaries reported prior to
entering SDM;
• The top job functions selected by the 2013 graduates were product design/management (26 percent)
and consulting/strategy (17 percent).
Hiring employers included Amazon Web Services, Apple, Chrysler, MKThink, MIT, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oliver
Wyman, Oracle, Procter & Gamble, SanDisk, and VMware.
For additional information, please contact Jonathan Pratt, director of recruiting and career development,
[email protected].
>
To view the
complete
report, visit
sdm.mit.edu/
employment_
report_2013
http://
Ryan Seekins
SDM annually surveys graduates of the previous year’s class to produce an employment report. This document
provides an overview of the program’s self-sponsored students and the world-class corporations that hired them.
“SDM’s customizable curriculum
and its diverse, brilliant cohort
will enable me to cultivate the
network and strategies to help
change the world for the better.”
Aerospace Engineer, Flight Controls and
Flying Qualities, The Boeing Company
“My SDM education will equip me to
synthesize various engineering
disciplines for technically feasible
systems and enable marketing and
execution of these systems as viable,
real-world customer solutions.”
• leadership and teamwork skills that equip them to appreciate and cultivate the diversity of thought
necessary to solve complex problems throughout business and technical domains.
sdm
• 31 full-time, on-campus students, including three in the
dual master’s program with the Singapore University of
Technology and Design (SUTD)
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
14
2014 SDM Tech Trek Report
Each year, the SDM program runs two tech treks—one in California’s Silicon Valley and the other in the Greater Boston area—
to offer SDM fellows opportunities to engage with, and learn from, executives at best-in-class companies. Designed to build
upon students’ classwork at MIT, the treks give fellows an opportunity to tour a wide range of facilities, view product
demonstrations, and engage in lively question-and-answer sessions with industry leaders. They learn about companies’
strategic, operational, and tactical challenges, as well as how they are being addressed from both technical
and business perspectives.
The spring 2014 SDM Tech Trek to Silicon Valley exposed fellows to eight companies from multiple industries in less than one
week. The trek was led by SDM ’14s Jan-Cor Roos and Tobias Walters with organizational assistance from all the participants.
Goals:
• Expand students’ knowledge of complex challenges across several industries; and
• Establish and/or strengthen relationships between SDM and companies’ senior leaders and recruitment professionals.
Companies visited:
• Google Ventures
• AppDynamics
• Salesforce.com
• Intuit
• Palantir Technologies
• Yelp
• Tesla Motors
• SanDisk Corporation
Trip highlights:
• At Google Ventures, product partners Ken Norton and Rick Klau covened with SDM fellows for a three-hour meeting.
They began by giving an overview of Google Ventures and detailing the company’s mission and successful investments
such as Uber and Nest. They noted that their operational independence from Google allows them the flexibility to pursue
funding the best startup companies, independent of Google’s target markets. A lively question-and-answer session
followed the presentation.
• SDM fellows gained a multifaceted understanding of AppDynamics’ business thanks to presentations and interactions
with several of its C-suite executives. CEO Jyoti Bansal delivered a company overview, which was followed by deep dives
into specific product features presented by Vice President of Product Management Bhaskar Sunkara and Product
Manager Adam Leftik. Chief Marketing Officer Steven Wastie detailed AppDynamics’ go-to-market strategy and the
director of the customer success team, Anna Mikhailova, explained how the company drives adoption in the broader
market. Students also had an opportunity to interact directly with staff to learn more about AppDynamics’ working
environment.
• Salesforce.com’s director of academic programs, Lisa Tenorio, welcomed the group and Vice President of Platform
Development Marketing Adam Seligman followed with a corporate overview. Senior Director Sarah Franklin gave a live
demonstration of the Salesforce platform. To test the system thinking design approach, the Salesforce.com host team
had developed an interactive session that highlighted the challenges of thinking creatively in an environment that is
sustaining 30 percent to 40 percent annual growth rates. SDM fellows were divided into groups of four and given 30
minutes to come up with a solution to a design problem. Each team proposed a unique approach and presented its
solution to an audience of Salseforce.com employees.
• Thanks to Intuit’s Vice President of Financial Services Olivier Hellebold, Vice President and General Manager Robert Lips,
and Vice President of Intuit Labs Incubator Hugh Molotsi, SDM fellows received a company overview that included a deep
dive into current challenges with MINT, the company’s personal money organization and management product. They also
received a brief introduction to Intuit’s “Design for Delight” process, then broke into teams to tackle a challenge: designing
ways to persuade Millennials to use MINT to address their growing need to save money. The teams presented their ideas
and discussed how they would rapidly develop prototypes to obtain immediate feedback.
• At software data analytics firm Palantir, employees gave a company overview, facilities tour, and product demonstration.
Product development staff delved into some of the real problems they have faced and solved through software design
and analytics. Dinesh Shenoy, SDM ’04, a Palantir staff member, participated in all activities.
• Fellows toured Yelp headquarters, focusing on the sales, product, and
engineering areas. They learned about Yelp’s internal hackathon events in
which engineers are encouraged to work on nontraditional, fun, and interesting
projects, then saw some of the results. Vice President of Consumer and Mobile
Products Eric Singley provided an overview of product management at Yelp,
followed by a talk by Product Manager Stephanie Teng, who discussed several
challenges in building global software and how Yelp addresses them. A
question-and-answer session followed.
• SDM students visited the headquarters of Tesla Motors to learn more about
how the company approached launching a new category of vehicles into an
established market. Following a tour, fellows met with Robert Aguirre, North
America fleet development manager, for an interactive session on breaking
traditional sales model approaches with new technology.
Google Ventures
• SanDisk Corporation brought in a large team of senior executives, including
John Scaramuzzo, senior vice president and general manager of enterprise
storage solutions; Gursharan Singh, senior vice president of global
manufacturing and supply chain operations; and Tom Baker, senior vice
president of human resources, for an interactive panel discussion. The team
shared the company’s growth story and emphasized the need for strong crossfunctional teamwork to tackle rapid changes in industry. The full panel stayed
for lunch with the fellows to allow continued small group discussions.
Key takeaways:
• Visiting companies in rapid succession provided valuable insight into the different
cultures, strategic approaches, and challenges of each business,
as well as a real-time opportunity to contrast and compare them.
• Interactive team-based design exercises developed by various companies gave
SDM fellows an opportunity to apply systems thinking to specific challenges,
demonstrate their high level of technical expertise, and rapidly develop
prototype solutions. It also provided company leaders with a first-hand view of
systems thinking in action and how it could be applied within their
organizations.
Tesla Motors
• Meeting and engaging with SDM fellows enabled company executives, hiring
managers, and recruiting personnel to experience the unique perspectives and
skills SDMs acquire at MIT and to identify future graduates to recruit.
• SDM fellows acquired an expanded sense of the versatility and applicability
of their SDM education across industries.
Upcoming Tech Treks
Each year, MIT SDM fellows, faculty, and staff visit best-in-class companies to discuss global business challenges and to learn various ways
of addressing them directly from business leaders. In the 2015 academic year, SDM will hold two treks:
Fall 2014
October 14: SDM fellows will visit top technology-based companies in the Greater Boston area, including The MITRE Corporation.
Spring 2015
March 23-27: This five-day trek to California’s Silicon Valley will feature visits to companies in a wide variety of industries.
If your company would like to participate, please contact Joan S. Rubin, SDM industry codirector, at [email protected], 617.253.2081, or
Jonathan Pratt, director of SDM recruitment and career development, at [email protected], 617.327.7106.
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continued from page 9
SDM Conference Centers on Emerging,
Evolving, Established Leaders
sdm
Conference
The MIT System Design and Management (SDM) program’s annual Conference on Systems Thinking
for Contemporary Challenges provides practical information for technical professionals on how to
apply systems thinking to their most complex and pressing challenges. Each year’s event focuses on
a single area, such as big data, healthcare, energy, finance, sustainability, or services. The theme for
the October 8, 2014, conference is systems thinking for emerging, evolving, and established leaders.
“Systems thinking is increasingly a competitive imperative for leaders at all stages of their careers,” said
Joan S. Rubin, SDM industry codirector and conference convener. “Not only must they understand how
to apply systems thinking to address complex challenges, but their companies must be able to apply this
approach to develop the systems-based thinkers that will become their future leaders.”
To help organizations succeed, the conference will focus on best practices for leaders at all levels.
Speakers will include emerging, evolving, and established leaders (many of whom are SDM alumni) from a
range of industry and government sectors. Companies represented include Intuitive Surgical, The MITRE
Corporation, NASA, MIT Hacking Medicine, the US Air Force, Endeavour Partners, and more. Speakers
will discuss:
• How to use systems thinking to align and lead functionally and geographically dispersed teams
that are tackling complex challenges;
• Ways to monitor progress and results;
Alpha prototype of the patent-pending solar hot water collector that was tested in
San Jose, CA. Photo courtesy of Avalanche Energy
• Benefits achieved, lessons learned, and next steps for developing leadership within organizations
and individuals; and
• How systems thinking has advanced their organization’s objectives and benefited their personal
careers.
In addition, Matthew S. Kressy, director of SDM’s new Integrated Design & Management (IDM) track, will
give a brief overview of this new offering, which will admit its first cohort in 2015.
The conference will include ample time for question-and-answer sessions following presentations as well
as for networking with fellow attendees at a special reception that will take place immediately following the
formal event. Attendees are also invited to the SDM Information Evening scheduled after the conference to
learn more about SDM and IDM. Details can be found at sdm.mit.edu.
During the test, the system demonstrated nearly 50 percent end-to-end energy transfer
efficiency (i.e. amount of energy collected by the system that raised the water
temperature divided by the theoretical maximum of energy available from the sun).
The team was able to identify areas of further improvement to help the system move
closer to the theoretical maximum efficiency of 92 percent. (Current marketed products
for heating hot water using solar energy are about 60 percent efficient. Solar
photovoltaics are only about 20 percent efficient.)
The AE team plans to offer a low-profile solar thermal collector that:
• lowers the barriers for entry to solar power use;
• immediately provides homeowners with savings on hot water heating bills;
Head Back to the Classroom!
This year, SDM will offer preconference back-to-the-classroom sessions delivered by two of
SDM’s best and brightest faculty members. This event, slated for the afternoon of October
7, will include:
• A New Era in Project Management: Viewing Projects as Systems, presented by
Bryan R. Moser, Ph.D., lecturer, System Design and Management, MIT: researcher,
Design Engineering Laboratory, University of Tokyo; president and CEO, Global
Product Design.
For details, please visit sdm.mit.edu or contact Joan S. Rubin, SDM industry codirector,
[email protected].
• offers a platform that will be able to grow as the homeowner’s needs increase
and change.
On top of all this, AE’s system, when installed in place of an electric water heater, will
displace 3 tons of CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere over 10 years. Avalanche Energy
believes that combining all these benefits into one product will change the landscape of
sustainable energy for this generation and empower homeowners to achieve the solar
future today.
For additional information visit AE’s website at www.avalanche-energyinc.com.
>
To read a
more detailed
version of this
article, visit
http://
• What is Systems Thinking and Why Is It Important? presented by Qi Van Eikema
Hommes, lecturer, Engineering Systems Division, MIT; senior staff engineer, Volpe
National Transportation Systems Center.
• provides a maximum energy benefit using a minimum of space; and
sdm.mit.edu/
news/avalanche
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sdmpulse fall 2014 sdm.mit.edu
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continued from page 5
Recommendation
System Development
D e p u t y Co m m a n d a n t f o r
Mission Support
(DCMS)
C4IT
Acquisition
D e p u t y Co m m a n d a n t f o r
Operations
(DCO)
Capability
Response
Policy
Operational
Command
(Area)
SAR
Coordinator
(District)
Ensure full NDRS radio coverage within system boundary
✔
x
Provide continuous monitoring of VHF CH-16
✔
x
✔
Provide continuous NDRS operational availability
✔
x
✔
✔
✔
x
Provide capability to receive non-radio distress notifications
✔
x
Provide rapid and seamless record/replay/enhance capability
✔
✔
✔
Provide distress call location-finding capability
✔
✔
✔
Improve command center watch-stander ergonomics
✔
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Provide remote sensor status indicator capability
Fund and implement NDRS system upgrades
Group
Commander
RCC
Fund and implement maintenance program based on operational availability requirement
Provide remote sensor fault detection/notification capability
Conduct a human factors review of command center watch-stander responsibilities
Program
Executive
Officer
C4 &
Sensors
Capabilities
Search &
Rescue
Policy
SMC
Review command center staffing standards
Review policy on handling of unclear or nonresponsive calls
Review policy on required radio log entries
CDO
Project
Execution
Implement policy for use of Incident Control System in SAR operations
Review watch-stander qualification requirements with an emphasis on decision-making capabilities
Improve feedback loops between policy developers and end users
NDRS Operating
Process
Improve feedback loops between training developers and end users
Improve feedback loops between capability developers and end users
Develop a command center user forum
Notes:
1) Solid connector lines indicate formal
hierarchical relationships
2) Dashed connector lines indicate ad-hoc
or informal relationships
3) The box entitled “NDRS Operating
Process” is represented in Figure 2
Acronyms:
C4 – Command, Control, Communications, and Computers
C4IT – Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Technology
CDO – Command Duty Officer
NDRS – National Distress Response System
RCC – Rescue Coordination Center
SAR – Search and Rescue
SMC – Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator
Figure 3: US Coast Guard search and rescue hierarchical system control structure.
Improve coordination between various system development offices
Assess and address impacts from streamlining initiative on system development processes
Review watch-stander qualifications and experience when developing watch schedules
Review policies and procedures for training new watch-standers
Review policies and procedures for staffing command center watch positions
Review procedures for relieving command center watches
Enhance/reinforce watch-stander training and emphasis on decision-making capabilities
Develop and execute periodic training exercises/evaluations
Develop agreements with local response agencies
The results: By using a CAST analysis to assess the accident at both the physical and hierarchical
control structure levels, while considering coordination and communication contributors as well as
dynamics in the control structure over time, the following findings were generated that considered the
full system impacts.
✔
Provide increased radio signal clarity
Provide inter-agency interoperability capability
Shore
Forces
Rescue
21
NTSB
System Operations
USCG Commandant
USCG
Policy
CAST
Develop and execute ICS training with local response agencies
Establish procedures for testing watch-standers for alcohol and drugs after an incident occurs
x
Review the navigation aids marking the intracoastal waterway at Winyah Bay
x
x
x
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x
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x
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x
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x
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x
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Figure 4: Comparison of CAST and NTSB recommendations with implemented solutions.
• Initial determination that human error caused the USCG’s lack of response to a distress call
was likely based on hindsight bias and missed many other systemic factors involved.
Improvements to NDRS implemented by the USCG, both through policy changes and capability
upgrades via Rescue 21, helped correct many of these deficiencies. However, several feedback loop
gaps noted in this CAST analysis still remain, warranting further investigation. Most notable are
gaps between end users and system developers. The results of these findings are presented in
Figure 4.
In summary, CAST is an extremely valuable tool for examining the ways that an entire system
contributed to an accident. This form of analysis helps to identify and correct deficiencies and
may therefore prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. It can be very useful in
determining sound technology and policy improvements in a constrained budget environment.
>
A more detailed
article can be
accessed on the
SDM website at
http://
• Although the NTSB provided a detailed list of findings and recommendations that proved
useful in guiding the USCG’s policy and capability changes in SAR communications, it did
not take into account some of the higher level systemic factors that contributed to the day’s
events, such as identifying gaps in feedback control structures inherent to the system and
between those who developed USCG policies, training, and other capabilities and the end
users of the system.
sdm.mit.edu/uscg
20
fall
2014 sdmcalendar
Annual MIT SDM Conference on Systems Thinking for Contemporary
Challenges and Related Events
October 7-8
Systems Thinking for Emerging, Evolving, and Established Leaders
Wong Auditorium, MIT Details: See page 16
MIT SDM Information Sessions
Learn about the MIT master’s of science degree in engineering and management, the new Integrated
Design & Management track, and the MIT-SUTD dual master’s degree program. Discuss career
opportunities and network with SDM alumni, faculty, students, and staff. Details/registration: sdm.mit.edu
October 8
MIT SDM Information Evening
Bush Room, Building 10, Room 105, MIT
November 19, 2014; January 14, 2015; February 25, 2015
Live Virtual SDM Information Sessions (Recordings will be available on demand.)
Details/registration: sdm.mit.edu
MIT SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series
This series features research conducted by members of the SDM community.
All webinars are held on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. and are free and open to all.
Details/registration: sdm.mit.edu.
I
L
A
B
L
E
> on
demand
Prerecorded
webinars:
sdm.mit.edu/voices
/webinars.html
October 20
The 2014 Midterm Elections: Voting to Surmount Financial/Political Barriers and
Achieve Systemwide Change
Nicholas Ashford, Ph.D., J.D., professor of technology and policy, MIT
November 3
When Bad Designs Happen in Good Companies: A New Approach to Product Success
Matthew S. Kressy, director and senior lecturer, Integrated Design & Management, MIT SDM
November 17
The 2014 Midterm Election Results: A Systems Approach to Effective Collaboration
Nicholas Ashford, Ph.D., J.D., professor of technology and policy, MIT
Videos:
sdm.mit.edu/voices
/videos.html
December 1
System Theoretic Value Analysis of the US Coast Guard Search and Rescue
Communication System
Steven F. Osgood, captain, US Coast Guard and SDM alumnus. Details: See page 4
February 9, 2015
Conceptual Modeling of Cyber-Physical Systems: Risk Management, Decision
Making, and the Physical-Informatical Gap
Dov Dori, Ph.D., professor of information and systems engineering, Technion—Israel Institute
of Technology; visiting professor, Engineering Systems Division, MIT
February 23, 2015
The Era of Makers: Why Gatekeepers Are No Longer Necessary for Creative and
Financial Success
Ali Almossawi, data visualization engineer, Mozilla, and SDM alumnus
Event information contains all details available at press time. Final details are available at
sdm.mit.edu two weeks prior to each event.
sdm.mit.edu
A V A