Collaborative Research: Delegated Decision Making in Value-Driven Systems Engineering

这个协作奖的研究目标是描述大型系统工程项目中价值驱动的决策权授权的好处和局限性，与更传统的通过需求流向下过程授权的方法相比。基于概率论、决策理论和博弈论的数学基础，将定义一种新的、实用的价值驱动的决策授权方法。使用严格的数学分析，调查将描述这种新方法，并将其与需求驱动的方法进行比较。新的方法将被衍生出来(1)子系统工程师可以通过这些方法向系统工程师传达他们对技术能力的信念，(2)系统工程师可以通过这些方法激励子系统工程师寻求最大化系统级预期效用的设计。调查将从检查单个子系统的情况开始，并最终分析并发子系统设计的一般情况下的决策委托。如果成功，这项研究将对私营企业、政府和公众感兴趣的大规模复杂工程系统的发展产生重大影响。对决策授权的改进理解将使工程师能够以更高效和有效的方式构建工程项目，从而以更低的成本和更短的时间产生更好的系统。此外，本研究中发现的基本见解将为未来的计算和实证研究提供方向。最后，在这项研究中取得的发现将被纳入新的系统工程课程，这将导致一个更好的准备下一代系统工程师。

The research objective of this collaborative award is to delineate the benefits and limitations of value-driven decision authority delegation in large systems engineering projects as compared to the more traditional approach of delegating authority through a requirements flow-down process. A new and practical value-driven decision delegation approach will be defined based on the mathematical foundations of probability theory, decision theory, and game theory. Using rigorous mathematical analysis, the investigation will characterize this new approach and compare it to a requirements-driven approach. New methods will be derived (1) by which subsystem engineers can communicate their beliefs about technical capabilities to systems engineers and (2) by which systems engineers can incentivize subsystem engineers to seek designs that maximize system-level expected utility. The investigation will start by examining the case of a single subsystem and will culminate with the analysis of decision delegation in the general case of concurrent subsystem design.If successful, this research will have a significant impact on the development of large-scale complex engineered systems of interest to private industry, the government, and the public at large. An improved understanding of decision delegation will enable engineers to structure engineering projects in a more efficient and effective matter, resulting in better systems, at lower cost, and within less time. Furthermore, fundamental insights discovered in this research will provide direction to future computational and empirical studies. Finally, the discoveries made in this research will be incorporated into new systems engineering curricula, which will lead to a better-prepared next generation of systems engineers.