Optimal Selection of Organizational Structuring for Complex Systems Development and Acquisitions

Abstract

Research suggests that product designs tend to reflect the structure of the organization in which they are conceived (i.e., Conway's Law). Prior works on this topic, especially in the context of acquisitions, have been largely descriptive without prescribing tangible ways to reduce the inefficiencies resulting from possible misalignments between a product's structure and the structure of the organization that builds the product. We present a mathematical modeling framework that enables the optimal selection of an organization's structure (here, the different ways that various types of program managers are allocated) and its product structure (here, a modular, complex system structure). We leverage quantitative and qualitative methods from areas of organizational sciences, systems engineering, and operations research in a unified manner. We demonstrate application to a defense acquisition concept problem that seeks to maximize overall performance of a complex system (the product) being developed, while minimizing risks associated with mismatches between program manager competencies and system development (the organizational structure).