In prioritizing technology development for missions, how should the relative values of the missions be assessed and quantified?
• Should mission (= flight project) value be assessed at all? Value is always assigned; current processes do this in a non-traceable, non-auditable way. It has to be done, so that we can improve on today’s process. To do this, focus on functional objectives. The tool should allow for externally prescribed inputs about mission value. There will always be a difference between valuation theory and results versus a final assessment by the decision-maker. In making a final assessment, the decision-maker can augment the evaluation results with other factors external to the analysis. Identifying the decision-analysis process as a tool for mission and technology portfolio selection reduces political sensitivity about the relative position in the launch queue. • Who should do it? Can it be done? There is the problem of different stakeholders. Possible approaches are: (1) Code B assesses relative value of missions (they allocate resources to Enterprises). An example may be to consider the 18 the
