Flex in specs: a license to innovate?
Article Abstract:
Military specifications are designed to prevent problems or defects that occurred in past procurements and to ensure that goods are of high quality. They can become a hindrance, however, when they prevent new solutions to problems that call for obsolete technology. Specifications and standards do show signs of becoming more flexible. One aim is to minimize their use in the early phase of military system development, allowing program managers and contractors to make basic decisions between different system designs before the details become solidified. Another aim is to tailor the specifications and standards to a particular system. Each branch of the military has instituted programs to streamline the creation and use of military specs. The US Air Force is considered the leader with a program that trades standardization for quality and performance goals. Efforts are also being made to increase and standards.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1988
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Learning from earlier systems
Article Abstract:
Douglas Aircraft's DC-3, based on its predecessor DC-2, is an example of the successful redesign of an existing aircraft. Certain constraints distinguish a redesign from ordinary design changes. Existing tooling may have to be utilized for the new design. Redesigns are divided into two categories: fixes and updates. Fixes correct problems that were not expected in the original product. Updates are usually planned developments of a product's life cycle.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1987
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Nanotechnology: raising the I.Q. of 'smart' drug delivery systems. Customized medicine
- Abstracts: The proposal contract: a legal silver bullet. Cultivating communication: a must. International Building Code debut
- Abstracts: Top end CAD aims to win new users. Insider dealing makes standards pay
- Abstracts: Computers: Learning From Dinosaurs. Superproject Management. Apollo: The Driver and the Driven
- Abstracts: An interactive debugging expert system for GPSS/H simulation models