scope:

Description of Driving Event:

The Project's contractor used an "Integrated Product Development" (IPD) process to very successfully design and develop their deliverables. The IPDs, which used collocated, small and select teams to implement the processes, were able to perform rapid prototype development and solve problems before they impacted the schedule and resulted in rework. The IPD design and development processes included participation by specialists and experts covering the full life-cycle of their deliverables including: design and engineering, maintenance, flight operations, software development and software/hardware integration.

However, while the IPD process worked well in the design and manufacturing of the test vehicles, there was not a clear transition into the flight test phase.