Bringing focus to IVHM solution development

Establishing and maintaining a clear and common understanding of a targeted Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) solution which is persistent across the life of a program is a significant challenge. Several factors controvert the maintenance of an enduring vision that is shared over time between the customer, program management and the engineering team obligated to implement the vision. When a vision distorts over time it can result in degradation of the relationship with the customer and lead to budget difficulties and less efficient execution by the development team. This paper discusses an approach to creating a detailed and persistent representation that can be used across program phases to improve conception, management, and execution of an IVHM solution. Discussions on development of the approach include selection of critical diagnostic elements, establishing associated metrics to evaluate achievement, textual versus graphical representation methods, and associated issues. How the approach could be used in each program phase and the anticipated benefits will also be addressed.