Effective Project Management of Small Satellite Projects from the System Engineer's Point of View, An Example of the Small Satellite Flying Laptop Project

Abstract

The number of the small satellite projects is recently dramatically increasing and there are great demands for effective project management methods for them. The goal of this paper is to propose effective project management methods for small satellite projects, which are obtained through the real-life experience of the small satellite Flying Laptop project. The project management methods implemented in this project maximize the advantages of rapid and cost-effective small satellite approaches. The management of the project is based on project breakdown structures, which are derived from a combination of several existing standards and empirical methods. These management methods use a product tree as the backbone of the management architecture. The project management activities, such as the establishment of a work breakdown structure, drawing and documentation management structures, time scheduling, and cost management is described with real-life examples. Applications of project management tools, including open source software, which play important roles in cost-effective small satellite approaches, are also summarized and examples of them are illustrated. Finally, further possibilities of effective project management with up-coming new management tools are discussed.