A System Maturity Index for Decision Support in Life Cycle Acquisition

Abstract : In the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale is a measure of maturity of an individual technology, with a view towards operational use in a system context. A comprehensive set of concerns becomes relevant when this metric is abstracted from an individual technology to a system context, which may involve interplay among multiple technologies that are integrated through a systems engineering process. This research proposes the development of a system-focused approach for managing system development and making effective and efficient decisions during a systems engineering process. This research will present a System Readiness Level (SRL) index that incorporates both the current TRL scale and the concept of an Integration Readiness Level (IRL) and provide a method for determining current and future readiness of a system to determine its potential position in the systems engineering process.