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Browsing by Author "Borky, Mike, committee member"

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    Integrating MBSAP with continuous improvement for developing resilient healthcare systems
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Speece, Jill E., author; Eftekhari Shahroudi, Kamran, advisor; Herber, Dan, committee member; Borky, Mike, committee member; Vijayasarathy, Leo, committee member
    The high cost of healthcare is a well-known topic. Utilizing systems engineering methods to address the problem is less well-known in the healthcare industry. There are many variables that impact the cost of healthcare, and this dissertation proposes a solution for the systemic problem of same day missed appointments. Healthcare systems have had success using Continuous Improvement (CI) tools and methods to change and improve processes, but the use of CI tools alone has not yet produced a sustained solution for same day missed appointments. Robust healthcare systems are driven by the architecture. Through utilization of the Model-Based Systems Architecture Process (MBSAP), an architecture was developed to automate utilization management and ultimately reduce the impact of same day missed appointments. During the needs analysis phase of system development, the history of the problem at an outpatient imaging center was studied and initial experiments for system feasibility were performed. It was found that elements of the architecture are feasible but needed to be more fully developed before implementation. Benchmarking against other service-oriented industries provided additional context for the problem and a set of alternatives for subsystems within the architecture. These two efforts also resulted in the overarching system objective to create a solution that does not rely on changing patient behavior. Since the outpatient imaging center is a sociotechnical system, four social dimensions – the customer dimension, the planning dimension, the operations dimension, and the technical dimension – were defined and analyzed to find the right balance between alternative architectures for the diverse set of stakeholders needs. A subdomain that included the creation of a master dataset, a visual dashboard, and a predictive model was fully developed by integrating CI methodologies with MBSAP. The proposed architecture includes automating the integration of the results of the predictive model with existing systems, but this piece of the architecture is still under development. In manually simulating how the results would change internal workflows to provide proactive targeted interventions, a 17% improvement ($260k) in the annual cost (~$1.5M) of same day missed appointments for the outpatient imaging center was realized. MBSAP has been invaluable in adding systemic and systematic rigor to the complex real-world problem of same day missed appointments in an outpatient imaging center. The resulting systems architecture ensures that the needs of all stakeholders are met while anticipating potential unintended consequences.
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    Linking system cost model to system optimization using a cost sensitivity algorithm
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Polidi, Danny Israel, author; Chandrasekar, V., advisor; Borky, Mike, committee member; Bradley, Thomas, committee member; Popat, Ketul, committee member
    Lack of adequate cost analysis tools early in the design life cycle of a system contributes to non-optimal system design choices both in performance and cost. Modern software packages exist that perform complex physics-based simulations. Physics based simulations alone typically do not consider cost as a factor or input variable. Modern software packages exist which calculate cost and can aid in determining the cost sensitivity to a chosen design solution. It should be possible to combine the system sensitivity to cost with the system sensitivity to performance. Methods and algorithms are needed to determine which components in a system would most significantly contribute towards the impact to the overall cost and which design alternatives provide the best value to the system. These methods and algorithms are needed during concept development to aid in system scoping and cost estimation. In the bidding phase of a system design, most of the time is typically spent determining cost. System design trades are either seldomly done or abbreviated. This has not been preferable because the system design becomes locked into place long before significant trades have been performed. And the solution may not be optimal for either cost or performance. This paper reviews the research performed and includes work in creating a cost model based on a set of questions & answers to drive system design, electronic design work applicable to the specific subsystem element FLO (Frequency Locked Oscillator), development of a standardized modular diagram and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for a RADAR System applied to military aerospace applications in the aerospace industry, and the development of a cost sensitivity algorithm. The goal of the research and cost sensitivity algorithm was to allow the system designer the ability to optimize for both cost and performance early in the system design cycle.
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    MBSAP application to UAV-based wildfire detection and communication
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Crawford, Setrige W., author; Eftekhari Shahroudi, Kamran, advisor; Borky, Mike, committee member; Kreidenweis-Dandy, Sonia, committee member; Bradley, Thomas, committee member; Herber, Daniel, committee member
    By applying the concepts of the Model Based Systems Architecture Process [90] we were able to link stakeholder needs and operational scenarios (Use Cases) to the preliminary design validation of an autonomous hybrid electric/ gas turbine UAV (H-UAV) intended for wildfire detection and communication. The salient stakeholder requirements were captured, operational scenarios identified, trade study was completed, competing architectures were interlinked to a design exploration (DSE) and preliminary airframe sizing, where a user could probe the bounds of design variables in a probabilistic manner to reveal all necessary sensitives and confirm system behaviors were consistent with stakeholder requirements (spiral verification and validation). This thesis takes the reader through this method and the development of each viewpoint, using Cameo Systems Modeler, starting with the Operational Viewpoint, then refinement to the Logical viewpoint and finally development of the Physical Viewpoint. Emphasized, is the use of a coupled architecture model (digital twin – virtual prototype) to confirm system behaviors against requirements and to graphically display system sensitivities. The deeper details of the DSE method and the trade study were previously published [119]. This paper focuses more on the MBSAP approach, the MBSE artifacts and reflects on the benefits of an interlinked model.[7] The method developed affords the researcher a set of tools to efficiently converge on an affordable system solution which meets stakeholder needs and operational requirements for a locally owned and operated wildfire detection and communication system. Further, the MBSAP method is systems agnostic in that. the approach, yields equally effective results whether applied to more software intensive systems, or more mechanical aerospace system (H-UAV) instantiations.