OBAMA SHOULD TAKE SYSTEMS APPROACH TO CLEAN ENERGY.
Alex Pavlak in the IEEE Spectrum:
The Obama administration is developing a clean energy system as if it were a science project. The focus is on technology and ideas, not systems and strategic goals. The emphasis is on near term solutions with no effort made to envision what the whole system should look like 40 years from now. There are no phases, no disciplined reviews, no milestones. The hope seems to be that somebody will invent something great, solving all our problems in the blink of an eye.
No sh*t, Sherlock. Now on to systems engineering process:
[A]s with any long-term program, engineers incorporate risks and uncertainties into the engineering development plan. A clear purpose, the strategic goal, is what simplifies classic engineering development plans. Every approach is continuously tested against its ability to achieve the goal. Further, the suite of strategic scenarios is simplified by separating engineering from policy, ignoring legacy system constraints, and basing plans on technology as we know it today, rather than hoping for grand innovations.
Pavlak is marketing for energy development, particularly nuclear power, so his bias is evident in the article. But his thoughts on development process are correct, and should be adopted much more widely in the public policy domain.
They don't really care if any of these programs work, as long as enough money is directed to enrich cronies and buy votes.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think that's true, and insofar as we voters can't constrain Congress' ability to provide pork, it will continue to be true.
ReplyDeleteBut if a miracle occurs ... then process becomes important.
Just sayin' (or rather hopin').