Assignment:
Comment.
There are several types of design reviews that will vary in nature depending upon the objective of the review. For the purpose of this post, I will address the Preliminary Design Review also referred to as the PDR.
Expectations for the PDR are to convince the customer that the design is sound and that we are making reasonable progress. In the case of PickPOCIT, the PDR is a useful means by which the design of the system can be optimized by systematically reviewing key aspects of the project. During the design review the team will provide an in depth review of the project tasks and schedule and design approach, and review the plan for acceptance testing and the demonstration. It's expected that the project team will demonstrate that the system design meets the design and technical functional requirements as prescribed by the customer, with acceptable risk and within the triple constraint. It is an opportunity for the attendees to ask and answer questions and clarify assumptions.
For the PickPOCIT PDR I would select team members who are fundamental contributors/stakeholders in the design of the system and possess an understanding of the objectives of the project and the constraints of the contract. These are people who have varying perspectives and strengths. Key is having the right people with the right perspective. I would include the software and hardware lead and their team members, systems architect, the business operations manager, scheduler, functional managers, and the customer. Although a stakeholder, I would not include Executive Staff, as they typically do not have a participative or direct role in the development of the system.
CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENT
Inventory Specialists Inc. (ISI) has recently been awarded a $9M contract by OK.COM to design, produce, and demonstrate a prototype automated inventory picker and mailer for their company. OK.COM is attempting to rival Amazon in its ability to quickly get orders in the hands of their customers as quickly as possible.
The system architecture is based on inventory management hardware and software (IMS) developed by ISI and must take inputs from the Automated Order Taking (AOT) software developed for OK.COM by SAP Software and Solutions. AOT can take orders from both customers on-line as well as from company customer service personnel. If the merchandise is in stock, AOT then generates an order output that the PickPOCIT system must be able to process.
PickPOCIT will then automatically locate the product in the warehouse; select the product off the warehouse shelve; box it if necessary, and, depending on the customer selected shipping method (2-day or standard delivery), generate and paste a UPS or USPS mailing label on the box before delivering it to the shipping department. If the shipment is less than 5 lbs, and it is being delivered to an address within 15 miles of the shipping facility, the package will be prepared for delivery to the customer using a drone that ISI will purchase from Drone Delivery Systems, Inc.
If the package is to be delivered by the drone, it must be delivered within 30 minutes of the customer's order. OK.COM will provide the AOT software as "customer furnished equipment (CFE) at no cost to ISI.
ISI proposed the PickPOCIT System concept based on the adaptation of its well-proven and low cost IMS hardware and software, and a well-planned OK.COM system integration and performance demonstration program. Previous versions of IMS have been able to:
Take in and process 200 orders a minute
Utilizing "First-In/First-Out" logic, process, locate, package, and prepare for Shipping an order within three minutes
Mean Time Between Repairs - 2500 hours of continuous operation
Software will run on existing OK.COM computer hardware
These performance specifications are not to be compromised as a result of this application for the PickPOCIT Project.
In short, ISI proposed a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS), Best Commercial Practices, Event Driven approach to the development, production, and demonstration of the prototype system. OK.COM stipulated in their Request for Proposal (RFP) that industry specifications and standards be used and that the prototype system must accept input form the AOT software provided as CFE from OK.COM. ISI is formally certified ISO9000 compliant. ISI proposed a project of twelve (12) months duration and was the lowest price bid. The contract is fixed price ($9M) with a potential additional award fee of 3%, split 60/40 on schedule and performance.
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
OK.COM seeks to acquire, install, and test an automated stock picker and mailer capability to get orders to their customers via a drone, UPS, or USPS depending on the size of the package and/or the delivery time the customer selects. The system must be installed, tested, and operational by next spring in its Baltimore, Maryland warehouse in time for an operational test already coordinated and scheduled for month 11 providing validation two months in advance of "Black Friday" 2017. . If this prototype capability works, OK.COM will purchase 50 PickPOCIT systems for each warehouse, of which there are 50 warehouses around the United States and Canada, in time for the "Black Friday" sales rush in 2018.
PROJECT PLAN SUMMARY
ISI will develop, install, train operators and administrators, and support the demonstration test of the PickPOCIT system.
The PickPOCIT project will consist of:
1. Software refinement in order to implement the SAP AOT software.
2. PickPOCIT installation and test at the OK.COM warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland.
3. System Administrator Training.
4. Providing technical and training support during of an operational test during month 11.
Major Milestone Events for the PickPOCIT project are:
Event Date
Contract Award August 31, 2016
Project Baseline 1 month after award
SEMP (System Engineering Master Plan) 2 months after award
TEMP (Test & Evaluation Master Plan) 3 months after award
PDR (Preliminary Design Review) 4 months after award
CDR (Critical Design Review) 6 months after award
System Integration Tests 7 months after award
Full System Demonstration Tests 8 months after award
System Installation 9 months after award
Operator and System Administrator Training 10 months after award
Support Operational Test 11 months after award
Contract Test Report and all Final Documentation 12 months after award (31 Jul 2017)