The NASA Program Management Tool: A New Vision in Business Intelligence

Abstract

Abstract1 -This paper describes a novel approach to business intelligence and program management for large technology enterprises like the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Two key distinctions of the approach are that 1) standard business documents are the user interface, and 2) a "schema-less" XML 2 database enables flexible integration of technology information for use by both humans and machines in a highly dynamic environment. The implementation utilizes patent-pending NASA software called the NASA Program Management Tool (PMT) and its underlying "schema-less" XML database called Netmark. Initial benefits of PMT include elimination of discrepancies between business documents that use the same information and "paperwork reduction" for program and project management in the form of reducing the effort required to understand standard reporting requirements and to comply with those reporting requirements. We project that the underlying approach to business intelligence will enable significant benefits in the timeliness, integrity and depth of business information available to decision makers on all organizational levels.

Integrating engineering data systems for NASA spaceflight projects

“…Automated data aggregation on demand eliminates these discrepancies, allowing decisions to be made on the authoritative data rather than an incorrect copy of the data. Discrepancy rates observed in this DAggr effort are comparable with another study where 40% discrepancy rates were observed [1].…”