The ideas outlined below are especially designed to make NASA competitive so that the goals that are currently set today are not only met but exceeded.  The ideas outline strategic methods that will make it possible for NASA to stretch the capital it has and stimulate the economy while doing it.  Some of the ideas listed might seem simple and latter ones radical but a case is made for all of them.

 I ask that an open mind be kept with regard to all the ideas listed with the goal to make all of them better.  The post is long but they are what I have come up with in my efforts to make NASA better.

Idea #1 : Ask!

If you are a leader you must realize that those in the frontline always know more than you do, even if you are the smartest person in the room. One of the question that should be asked is :

What are you required to do now that you would change if you were in charge to help save money and make NASA better?

A Case Study:

In manufacturing the many payloads that go into the ISS, we are sometimes required to pay high premiums to obtain the components that go into these payloads. For example if a project requires that six heat-treated bolts be purchased for the assembly many times it would be required that a minimum of 100 bolts be purchased to obtain the required order of 6 bolts. These are high quality bolts so lets assume that they each cost $50.00. For a $300.00 purchase it is required to cut a Purchase Order of $5000. That is an excess of $4700 which can be used for something much more beneficial. Now multiply this excess by many different small projects (that don’t always communicate) and many different commonly needed manufacturing parts. This is just an example of what is possible and efforts are made to avoid such a loss but it isn’t always possible.

If management asked the question that I stated, the person in charge of doing this type of purchasing would know that loss was occurring due to waste like this.

Solution (Idea #2) : Determine which items are commonly used and develop one point of purchase for all of NASA. Develop a catalog that contractors and civil servants can go to obtain their required parts for manufacturing. If it turns out that they are still required to purchase in bulk like the example above at least the next project that comes won’t have to. Having one point of purchase means that the people that do the job can be highly trained and thus highly competent. Each NASA center should have a physical location to pick-up and purchase these items (kind of like a Barnes and Noble store – but more like a UPS store), but only one warehouse is necessary (kind of like a Barnes and Noble warehouse). Lean manufacturing and just in time manufacturing ideas should be used for parts that are used commonly by NASA and industry. For example, some bolts can be purchased piece by piece. There is no point in purchasing these parts in bulk – no value added. I am still debating whether it would be best if the engineer would be better off dealing directly with the seller or the NASA Manufacturing Supply Store for commonly available parts. If the NASA Manufacturing Supply Store is always used it can be leveraged to obtain better deals by the mere chance that other projects require the same supplies, also the sellers will know that if they mess up relations with the central purchasing that they will loose a large customer, and quality can be ensured as well. On the negative side if NASA Manufacturing Supply Store is not well funded and the workers are under trained it could become a huge bottle neck that affects all project teams. Either way a well developed tracking system and online website will need to be made/purchased.

This can be expanded for other things as well. Like office supplies which are usually purchased from disadvantage small business outlets. I know that what I am suggesting might cause a loss of jobs, but lets face reality here these businesses are low value added businesses. It doesn’t really help the workers that are working for these companies because they most likely make very little above minimum wage. It only benefits a few people (the owners) that in my opinion are most likely basically taking advantage of the government and the people they hire (have you seen some of these prices?). I know that this will save a lot of money by being able to purchase in bulk, and it will require contractors to be more creative with how they meet the disadvantage business requirement that I understand exists in most NASA contracts.

This idea leverages the power of numbers and is similar to what Wal-Mart does.

Idea # 3: Create a Learning Center in each NASA facility

Create a central location that contractors and civil servants can create online courses using computers and camera technologies. There are many talented people in NASA that have accumulated a lot of knowledge between everyone. If their talents were leveraged to create online courses the wheel would not have to be redeveloped. It is understandable that contractors might not want to give up there own trade secrets and techniques but if this technology is accessible to them with no strings attached NASA still benefits because their employees will be better off. I expect that NASA likes to acquire experts of their own in every field to ensure that what contractors are providing meets the expectations of NASA. Leveraging the experts is what NASA should be doing. Many of the Baby Boomers are retiring soon, but online courses could be used to retain their acquired knowledge.

The courses developed can be used to teach people how to use specialty software such as CAD software, it can be used to develop self-paced courses in hand-analysis, it can be used to develop self-paced courses on understanding requirements, etc. Of course, no bucks no Buck Jones. Most individuals might not be motivated to create courses for free; therefore, a small fee can be provided for each course that is created lets say $500 to $2000 depending on the course. A system would need to be created to develop the adequate price for these courses that could be done using methodology used by Ebay. A minimum amount of people would b e required to take the course before the teacher gets paid or a number of people could be expected to request an item to be taught before a course is created. Each course will allow the students to rank the course and provide comments about their experience. That way the bad courses can be filtered out. If a course is created that doesn’t provide enough benefit the individual that created it will not get paid.

This will require that a at least five computers be purchased by each center and most likely 10 computers ($40k at 4k each). It would require some software Camtasia ($300.00 x 10 = $3000), Mathcad ( $500 x 10 = $5000), Microsoft Office ($300 x 10 = $3000). By some hardware peripherals webcam ($100 x 10 = $1000) and microphone headselt ($100 x10 = $1000). By some hardware like video cameras ($2000 x 5 = 10k), scanners/copier ($20k for a very good one maybe). So far that is 83k. Just counting the number of JSC employees at 3000 the amount per employee is around $28 per employee for fixed cost supplies that probably have to be redone every couple of years. This does not count the benefit that is going to the contractors which well exceeds the number of civil servants. Lets assume that the total fixed cost (when what I haven’t considered is added in to the cost) of purchasing the supplies and maintaining the center comes out to $30 per year per person (civil servants and contractors). That is peanuts in comparison to the benefit that would be obtained.

The courses would be available online to all civil servants and contractors alike. The site should have a Youtube and Ebay style interface for ease in accessibility. If NASA is comfortable opening this service up to the public it could be used as a good PR campaign like MIT OpenCourseware. The service if open to the public could make it possible for people to submit their own content which will likely benefit everyone at NASA as well. If open to the public I understand that it will create a lot more logistical problems that I am not fully aware of. Also, it would be prudent to have a good library before it is open to the public.

This idea will save NASA money by having more capable workers. It will give proactive people the ability to grow as much as they are willing to invest in themselves, which will make it less likely for individuals to fear change because changing the status quo means that they might loose their job. It will also create On Demand Training that can be used when the weather changes in NASA and new priorities are needed to be met.

Idea # 4: Simplify Requirements and Explain them Better.

One of the greatest problems that I have experienced with requirements is that they are ambiguous and they can be interpreted in various ways. This causes confusion and sometimes causes deliverables to be over designed and sometimes under designed. Sometimes a requirement that was created for one very special case is transferred to all following cases when the requirement is really not required. In order for this problem to be cleared up the top experts in every field will be needed to comb through all the various requirements and edit them so that they are more easily understood. Using programs like Adobe Acrobat all the requirements can be linked into one file so that when a requirement says that this comes from requirement SSP ##### all you have to do is click on it and it automatically takes you there.

Further courses can be created using Idea # 3 to explain in detail every requirement and when it should be applied. A 3d graphics software can be used to create computer mock-ups that engineers can use to understand the life cycle of the deliverable that they are working on. An example 3d mock up would be the flight vehicles (Shuttle, ATV, HTV,etc) and the International Space Station. Rough dimensions can be used, it doesn’t have to be in exacting detail so that secret information is not lost. A program like Adobe 3d can be used to distribute these mock-ups so that everyone can read them and manipulate them using Adobe Reader.

The fact that requirements are ambiguous and difficult to understand is a well known fact amongst the engineers. I don’t know if upper-management realizes how big the problem really is. A lot of time is wasted debating the requirements and that should not be the case.

Idea # 5: Consolidate all the username and passwords into one

This I believe is being accomplished by oneNASA and is soon to be available to everyone. I hope! However, currently I have experienced that I have to get a new user name and password for every service that I request access to. Every website has a different help desk and different procedures. This leads to waste and it confuses everybody (or at least myself). Ideally it would be nice to have all services monitored by a central system. Less confusion more work! It doesn’t have to eliminate jobs, it just means that more work can be done. Also, it is possible to have a decentralized help desk so that nobody has to move to keep their job. A person with a question would call a number and the call would be distributed to the different help desks depending on availability.

Idea # 6 Instant Messaging Federation between Civil Servants and Contractors

Every civil servant and employee of major contractor should be able to “connect”. This can be done by creating a Federation between the different entities that commonly work together. This is a major undertaking but the benefits are immeasurable and it opens the door for collaboration between the customer and the contractor. Something like this might take several years to complete but by the time it does get complete I am certain that many new great features will be available that truly leverage this technology. This could be used to have a face to face meeting with different people across the world. It can be used to show someone what you are looking at on your own computer, it can be used to hold conversations with people across the world using VoIP. Also, all young people are already adept to using this technology. Federation does not open NASA to the whole world but it does open it up to its strategic partners. The great thing about Federation is that it allows the central administrator to give and restrict partners access to different capabilities depending on the group. I have read reports that say internet service that reaches up to 50 Mbit/s using FIOS technology are already available in special markets. This means that the price of internet bandwidth as a whole should be going down significantly in the coming years which will make the utilization of this technology not only feasible but lucrative.

I already asked my management for this and I got turned down, I think that NASA will have to request this if they plan on implementing it. This is not science fiction everything I mentioned can be done today.

Idea # 7 Switch to Linux and/or Mac and transition using virtualization software

Logistics might prove this idea to be too expensive, but don’t roll your eyes. Listen to the plan of action.

There are several things that will be suggested here. First strategic maneuver will be to move to Linux and keep Windows using virtualization software. Second strategic maneuver will be that all new computers purchased be Macintosh and both Windows and/or Linux be kept using virtualization software. Both maneuvers can be done or just one of the maneuvers can be done.

Benefits of Linux

1. Requires less resources which allows more to be done

2. Provide access to a lot of open-source software that is “good-enough” but whose functionality could not be leveraged if a purchase order was required.

3. Linux is more stable than Windows

4. Most high performance programs support Linux

5. Windows is not lost through the use of virtualization programs like VMware Fusion

6. Linux is the leading developer for clustering technologies which could one day help leverage the full computer resources available. Clustering technologies allow multiple computers to solve one problem using distributed processing.

Benefits of Macintosh

1. The computer architecture is more solid than common PC

2. The usability of MAC’s is more user friendly

3. Software is more stable because it is made for the hardware being used.

4. Microsoft is not lost using virtualization technologies like VMware Fusion.

Idea # 8 – Open Access Development – like IBM

IBM and other companies have leveraged the power of using people outside the company to develop much of the software that they later turn around and market. They provide central leadership and a sizable amount of software code that can be further developed for free by volunteers. This does not have to open NASA technologies completely to the public but by leveraging people outside the company walls more work can be done at a lower cost. This is especially worthwhile for the development of mathematical solver tools for niche scientific purpose and it could also be used to develop open source CAD and CAE applications.

A Case for Open-Source CAD and CAE

Developing an open-source version of CAD and CAE could help revolutionize the American industry and in turn help keep NASA at the peek of the space industry. Now before I explain why this would happen I want you to go back 15 years and imagine what would have happened if it was extremely expensive to purchase software that compiled computer code. What would have happened is that we would have simply not be as technologically advanced as we currently are. Computers have revolutionized our very existence and the abundance of computer programmers has led the way. Today it is so expensive to purchase a CAD and CAE software that only companies with a lot of money can enter the engineering market. Imagine what would happen to the engineering field if it was just as easily accessible to design new high-tech designs if the programming software that is readily available to programmers was available to engineers.

NASA can pioneer this effort and in doing so can spur interest amongst young individuals in the engineering and science fields which ultimately benefits NASA and everyone at large. It will spur the entrepreneurial spirit that would make it possible to reach the goals that are at hand for NASA. A lot of work has already been done in this effort and others like it. The publicity that NASA would obtain from such an endeavor should propel us to a level that we have not been in for many years. It would also make it possible to create a lot of VALUE ADDED small disadvantaged businesses. If incorporated with idea # 3 the possibilities are endless. Together this could one day allow the next Google to be formed in the dormitory of an aerospace engineer student.

Idea # 9 — Outside Innovation – like Proctor and Gamble

Proctor and Gamble under the leadership of one of the greatest CEO A. G. Lafley has turned Proctor and Gamble around by changing the focus of Proctor and Gamble from “created at Proctor and Gamble” to “created outside the walls of Proctor and Gamble” (paraphrasing). Now before you give up on this idea I ask you to bear with me and realize that I am not suggesting sensitive information be allowed outside the walls of NASA. What I am suggesting is a similar model as Proctor and Gamble be used to develop the stuff that is not completely high-tech but is still very much necessary.

Proctor and Gamble changed its R&D organization from “7,500 people inside to 7,500 plus 1.5 million outside, with a permeable boundary between them”. Read at http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/5258.html

Conclusion

My greatest fear is that some of my ideas will be used to cut jobs of good people.  Some have the potential to do that, but my hope in coming up with some of these ideas is to create more work and spur more innovation.  I would be happier if my ideas were treated as folly than having them used to cut jobs of good people.  I believe that there is plenty of work that can be done if a consistent amount of money is allowed to be pored into NASA.