Supporting the Development of Customer Education

Al Hoheb, Brad Ayres, Dan Bursch, Gerard Fisher, and Dana Honeycutt

Many of Aerospace's customers look to the corporation for help in developing timely, space-related training programs that fit their educational needs and missions.

As part of its mission to serve the interests of the national security space community, The Aerospace Corporation assists in the education of its customer workforce. The Aerospace Institute, the in-house educational arm of the corporation, supports this effort through space-related learning programs and products as well as informational resources and services. Aerospace provides educational support to many of its customers' in-house universities and assigns technical-education advisors to these organizations.

Developed for employees of the corporation and the technical staffs of its customers, Aerospace courses are designed to enhance the administration and understanding of space programs. Their content includes policies, regulations, instructions, and standards related to customer acquisition and operations as well as space architecting methods, space systems engineering, and technical and functional specialties.

The technical courses span space systems architecting, space systems engineering, technologies, and science. Topics can be as varied as the architecture and engineering on a space program to capabilities and key processes, such as software development and mission assurance. Other courses may deal with requirements of quality reviews or what to look for in testing systems performance. They also compare and contrast the acquisition regulations for the intelligence community with those of the Department of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO); these regulations, in turn, might be contrasted with those in the commercial world.

Aerospace courses provide succinct, yet comprehensive, orientations into launch, support, space, and ground segments and cover topics as complex as the physics and mathematics of orbital mechanics. As an example, the "Colocation and Collision Avoidance for Geosynchronous Satellites" course is designed to educate students about the operational risks—and practical resolution strategies—of crowded orbits. "Parts, Materials, and Processes" defines the basis for government and industry standards and is taught by some of the experts who wrote the standards. Other courses are designed to educate the space workforce on high-priority topics. "Smarter Buyer," for example, teaches senior program managers and their staffs about the financial pressures on the space industrial base and how to work with industry from a financial and program success perspective.

Aerospace's technical courses are attended by members of the technical staff and customers in a collaborative setting. Students use laptops to record electronic notes and receive their customized CD for future reference.

Keys to Customer Education

Since its inception in 1995, The Aerospace Institute has learned how to develop effective courses. Keys include conducting interviews with requesters and experts in the field early in the course development, clearly defining the criteria for success, and ensuring that the curriculum and courses are aligned with customer objectives.

Understanding why the course is necessary for a particular customer is essential to determining success criteria and course requirements. Defining success criteria is difficult, but crucial, because it may vary with the requester. For example, some customers want to ensure uniform training across a wide student body, while others see comprehensive training of individuals as most important. Some customers want a particular class to be mandatory, while others believe a class should be open only to a specific few.

Defining objectives—what students should be able to perform at the conclusion of the class—is important to differentiate briefings (which impart information) from training (which teaches skills). Often, pressure to deliver a course at minimal cost and abbreviated schedule can influence the instructor to deliver a briefing instead of training, when it is the training that is most needed.

Clear course objectives can also help ensure that extraneous topics won't intrude into class discussions. Objectives can be derived from job duties, best practices, standards, and methods. Defining student objectives before the class begins is a vital aspect of clarifying course requirements. Defining expectations, candidate success criteria, and measurement of course material retention is difficult, but addressing these questions with customers at the beginning will ensure course results are as close as possible to defined expectations.

Aerospace courses are taught by subject matter experts. This approach requires a team to instruct on complex topics. Here, Steve Breese leads a section of the Space Systems Development, Integration, and Test course.

Aerospace and its customers are trying to resolve many of the same issues about staffing: how to hire qualified people, how to ensure they meet minimum proficiency standards, how to educate them for different tasks, and how to ensure they understand the organization's business methods and its customer's concerns. Many customers look to Aerospace to provide additional space-related training to augment their existing programs. Some of these customers offer university degree-granting programs, while others offer certificates or continuing education credit. The purpose and design of each of these programs can vary significantly.

These customers are often concerned with enhancing their own programs in systems engineering, project management, systems architecting, software engineering, and testing. They turn to Aerospace for assistance because of the corporation's success in creating course content and training for its own employees. Aerospace has a certification program in systems architecting, systems engineering, and systems acquisition, and effective curriculums in software-intensive systems and test management.

From 2000 to 2006, Aerospace and its customers witnessed broad growth in the number of courses attended by employees.

Degree-Granting Programs

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), in Monterey, California, and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, have been educating space professionals for more than 45 years. Graduates from these schools have filled key leadership positions in national security space; 44 have become astronauts.

At the NRO's request, Aerospace has filled visiting professor positions at NPS since 1999 and at AFIT since 2003. In 2002, the Air Force and Navy called for a greater alliance in the educational initiatives between AFIT and NPS. Both focus on the needs of their respective services, but strive to address joint educational and international issues. This collaboration together with Aerospace support has led to academic programs that connect students with the mission of NRO technical research. Aerospace visiting professors act as technical liaisons between the corporation, the NRO, and each school. They help to apply space system expertise and research, assist in identifying top talent at the schools, and connect students to NRO-funded research initiatives.

Aerospace visiting professors also facilitate student research, teach selected courses, and serve as thesis advisors. Other Aerospace technical staff members are guest lecturers, exposing students to experts on launch systems, ground systems, propulsion, space systems architecting, cost estimation, risk management, and areas directly tailored to the students' design projects. In one instance, for example, Aerospace experts in the field of optics provided hands-on support to the students as they designed the system of a space situational awareness project. Aerospace experts also attend student design reviews and offer their knowledge and experience in systems architecture and engineering.

Aerospace has been involved with developing software applications at these schools and was instrumental in helping to establish the Spacecraft Design Laboratory at NPS in 1999. Experts from Aerospace's Concept Design Center are working annually with the school to update its software and to introduce students to the powerful Concept Design Center tool. AFIT is pursuing a similar facility and is working with Aerospace to develop its own concept design center.

Certification and Continuing Learning

Tremendous educational opportunities are available to government space professionals. They may progress through career field certifications as part of the 1990 Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, which established education and training standards, requirements, and courses for the civilian and military acquisition workforce; they may take courses geared toward individual goals; or they may enroll in classes that meet continuing learning requirements. Space-related assignments often inspire government employees to complete certifications or take advantage of staff development options.

Aerospace technical advisors assist certification and continuing learning programs at many of its customers' schools, including the National Security Space Institute, Space and Missile Systems Center, NRO, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and most recently, NASA.

The National Security Space Institute

The National Security Space Institute (NSSI), located close to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, was commissioned by the Air Force in October 2004 to complement graduate education at AFIT and NPS. The NSSI developed as a direct response to the 2001 Space Commission Report, which detailed a shortfall in space professionals at senior level positions as well as the need for more space education and training across the military. The NSSI grew out of two other Air Force schools, the Space Tactics School and the Space Operations School. Together as NSSI, they are designed to expose students to broad space concepts with a goal of integrating space power and military operations.

Aerospace assisted the NSSI in preparing its curriculum and works closely with NSSI in course architecting, course evaluation, courseware validation and verification, and instructor development. In particular, Aerospace advises course development in science and technology, space capabilities, acquisition, systems engineering, operations support, and the national security space contractor base.

Space and Missile Systems Center

The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base is responsible for acquisition and procurement for the Air Force Space Command. SMC looks to Aerospace for much of its architecting, systems engineering, and engineering specialty work. Its colocation with Aerospace headquarters in El Segundo, California, makes it easy to provide training, and the two organizations have a nearly seamless registration system with high SMC participation in Institute courses. Aerospace designed and delivered the mandatory one-day systems engineering revitalization course for SMC, was the chief technical advisor to the six-week training program for personnel new to space acquisition, and is working with SMC on requirements for a new space test school as well as planned certifications for systems engineers and project managers.

National Reconnaissance Office

In 2004, the NRO began offering a professional development and certification program in space systems engineering. It is a three-level program requiring prior technical education and systems engineering experience and training. Students must have a bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics, engineering, or a related field, and experience in areas relating to systems engineering—from either government or aerospace industry.

Aerospace was asked to help establish this program because of its longstanding relationship with the NRO and also because of its experience in developing successful training programs. The objective was to develop a curriculum that complemented NRO parent-agency programs while avoiding any redundant training requirements.

The NRO's workforce is made up of military and civilian employees from many Department of Defense and intelligence community agencies. This fairly new program is a combination of existing NRO courses, traditional academic courses, commercial training, and newly developed classes. Course topics include risk management, requirements development, concepts and architecture, integration, validation and verification, decision analysis, and measurements and analysis. More than 375 employees have attended at least one training class, and the program is certifying systems engineers at the rate of 10–12 a month. To date, 160 engineers have received certification. The success of this program has led to potential expansion into other areas of the U.S. government.

The training consists of three levels: Level 1 for new systems engineers who have a basic understanding of the field and its application to space; Level 2 for experienced systems engineers with added training in specific areas related to their job responsibilities; and Level 3 training is being designed to provide new material for senior engineers to assist them in managing highly complex development activities. In the meantime, Level 3 certification will be awarded to engineers who have received certification from the International Council on Systems Engineering. Applicants to these certificate programs may substitute six graduate semester hours of prior systems engineering–related training for any of the Level 1–3 training requirements. Additionally, any student with a master's degree or Ph.D. in systems engineering will automatically receive Level 3 certification. A legacy certification option is available to senior systems engineers who have a specific amount of experience and are able to meet the training requirements.

NASA

Aerospace recently began assisting the NASA Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership as it works to enhance systems engineering capability throughout the agency. Aerospace will provide an independent assessment of NASA's systems engineering development process, offer guidance and suggestions for improvement, and compare the program with similar endeavors in the national security space community.

Aerospace will present recent research findings on these issues by members of its technical staff and will identify resources related to developing systems engineering capabilities. The work builds upon Aerospace's growing expertise in integrated methods of developing systems engineering capability at the individual, team, and organizational levels.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), like most Aerospace customers, wants to improve its employees' systems engineering skills and has begun a systems engineering advancement program to help achieve this objective. The goals are to measurably improve the practice of systems engineering at JPL, to help increase efficiency and decrease the risk associated with the development and operation of JPL flight projects, and to ensure a steady supply of qualified systems engineers with needed critical skills.

Systems engineering accountabilities are different for every organization, requiring specific competency models be developed for each. Here is an example of JPL's systems engineering competency model. Aerospace helped JPL develop courses in the process dimension and also in the application of the systems engineering practices to the technical discipline.

The multipronged program is designed to address the need for recruiting, assessing, and training people. To this end, JPL has created a systems engineering competency model and systems engineering training courses and has implemented programs for on-the-job training, mentoring, and recruiting of systems engineers. Aerospace assists with course design and development and is also working with JPL on the process dimension of its competency model and application of the systems engineering practices to technical disciplines. The systems engineering advancement curriculum now includes systems engineering courses oriented toward specific disciplines; for example, classes are offered in instruments, mechanical systems, mission architecture, and flight systems.

Conclusion

Aerospace is frequently asked to assist its customers as they develop their technical education curriculums. The corporation's extensive history and involvement in U.S. space systems development and its ability to teach evolving technologies and skills to its own workforce have made it a prime educational partner to many U.S. government agencies.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Heidi Davidz and Matthew Marshall for their assistance in the preparation of this article.

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