Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VI

The objective of the conference is providing a forum for the highly interconnected fields of project management, systems engineering, and system modeling. We call for papers on programmatic and technical management techniques and tools, as well as on results and achievements of the applications of these tools in real life projects and challenges. 

Managing science projects - like the development and construction of astronomical telescopes and instrumentation - is particularly challenging, as it requires delicate balancing of efficient project management, proper interpretation of and response to science priorities. The deployed management framework and techniques may depend on the size of the project, but the underlying target remains the same: within budget, the timely delivery of a product that meets the expectations of the respective science community. 

Throughout this distributed process, systems engineering maintains tools – models – that enable it to focus on the behavior and performance of the entire system as it unfolds through the integration of its parts. Models are essential to validate performance allocations and propagate use cases through complex designs, either at the subsystem or the complete system level. Modeling is also vital for predicting and verifying the performance of the design being developed, and increasingly as an essential means – in fact the only practical means in some cases – of verifying the performance of the as-built system. Simulation results are critical parts of developing system integration and test plans, as well as in understanding unexpected behavior during implementation and commissioning. 

Papers are invited covering any aspect of these fields relevant to astronomical technology projects ranging from small to large, collaborative or international endeavors, operating in the optical, IR, and radio frequency bands. Contributions are welcome about ground- and space-based astronomy facilities, instrumentation, interferometry, and adaptive optics projects.