The management structure and operational processes of PDES, Inc. have changed little since inception of the consortium. It is by changing the purpose and scope of the consortium's technical projects that PDES, Inc. has successfully adapted to changes occurring both externally in the business environment and standards community and internally in the mix of member organizations and their priorities.
| Management Structure and Roles The PDES, Inc. management structure is depicted in the chart on the right. All activities of the consortium are approved and overseen by the Executive Board. The General Manager ensures that the Technical Teams perform the activities in accordance with the Board-approved Technical Development Plan/Program Plan. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) provides technical guidance to the Board and General Manager as needed. The Technical Teams are each managed by a Team Leader; the Team Leaders also work as a group in the Systems Integration Board, where they discuss progress and resolve project-related issues. The roles, responsibilities, and some of the management processes of the consortium are described in the following paragraphs. |
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Strategic and Operational Management
The PDES, Inc. Executive Board, comprised of one senior representative from each member organization, provides strategic direction for the consortium. The Board elects individuals from among its members to serve on the Board's Executive Committee where they oversee the Legal, Finance, Contracts, Technical, Membership, and Communications functions of PDES, Inc. The full Board meets twice a year to review progress of PDES, Inc. technical work and participate in planning and other activities important to the consortium's goals and accomplishments; subcommittees meet via teleconference and in person as required to fulfill their responsibilities.
The General Manager (GM) is responsible for development of the Board-approved Technical Development Plan (TDP)/Program Plan, execution of the consortium's technical activities in accordance with the Plan, and ensuring the timeliness and quality of the consortium's technical efforts. Also, the GM oversees a small staff that performs day-to-day activities to support the consortium. The Operations Manager (OM) supports the GM by tracking costs and members' contribution of resource hours, coordinating or leading program planning and schedule tracking activities, leading development of the consortium's contract deliverables, and facilitating completion of other work as appropriate. The OM also oversees and coordinates the work of other professionals who provide financial, contracts, audit, administrative, Web publishing, and technical computer services to PDES, Inc.
Technical Management and Technical Teams
The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), made up of senior technical managers from each of the member organizations, serves as advisor to the Executive Board and GM. The TAC meets three times per year to evaluate accomplishments, progress, and plans of the technical teams, provide guidance in identifying and resolving technical issues that arise during the consortium's work activities, and, as needed, make recommendations about the consortium's technical priorities and choices.
The Systems Integration Board (SIB), a key technical group in PDES, Inc., is the forum for monitoring progress across the technical teams, coordinating interrelated tasks, and making trade-off decisions about short-term project activities, priorities, and schedule. Its members regularly address the consortium's Issues Log and Resource Matrix, in both cases working to resolve any problems. The SIB's members are the GM, the Team Leaders, and the OM. They meet weekly via teleconference, and they meet in person at least twice each year.
Team Leaders (TLs) provide direct management of PDES, Inc. technical activities. They lead definition of their teams' work efforts, goals, and schedules, and they coordinate their teams' work efforts throughout the phase of work. TLs ensure that the teams perform their work in accordance with the goals, schedule, and deliverables defined in the Program Plan, and they arrange for team members to participate in group working sessions and provide presentations and demonstrations for PDES, Inc. meetings and other professional venues.
As members of the SIB, the TLs participate in weekly teleconferences to discuss progress and issues associated with the teams' work and share knowledge/provide advice based on their own rich experience and the unique resources of their organizations.
The Technical Teams are composed of skilled individuals contributed by the PDES, Inc. member organizations and, in some cases, by subcontractors and certain other resources that work closely with PDES, Inc. Each technical team meets regularly via teleconference (e.g., weekly) and also in person at PDES, Inc. meetings (e.g., the Technical Team Offsite Meetings held twice each year). Some technical teams have multiple projects—for example, the Pilot Projects team has several pilot efforts, each with a Project Leader overseeing the pilot's work in a specific operational area.
Teaming Methodology
There are a number of ways that the PDES, Inc. managers, the Team Leaders, Board members, and TAC members monitor and remain closely involved in the plans and technical progress of the consortium.
This graphic summarizes the regularly scheduled activities used to coordinate the consortium's day-to-day activities and ensure management participation in making its major decisions.
Weekly:
Technical Team Conference CallsBi-Weekly:
System Integration Board (SIB) Conference CallsTwice a Year:
CAx Implementor Forum
Executive Board Meetings
Implementors' Roundtable
System Integration Board (SIB) Meetings
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
Technical Team Offsite Meetings
The frequency and purpose of the Executive Board, TAC, SIB, and Technical Team meetings and calls were referenced above in the descriptions of each group. Each meeting follows an agenda that includes briefings on technical progress and issues, discussion of topics appropriate for analysis or resolution by the group, and participation in presentations or workshops designed to broaden knowledge or heighten awareness of the group's members.
The Technical Team Offsite Meeting ("the Offsite"), held twice a year, is a particularly important event for facilitating and demonstrating technical progress. Each Offsite lasts approximately five days, devoting about one-third of the time to general sessions (with topics relating to the entire group, such as teams' technical progress and issues, technical workshops, and informative presentations) and the remainder to technical team working sessions. Working sessions include both Technical Team meetings and special meetings where individuals with particular expertise meet with teams and/or individuals in need of their counsel. Cross-team gatherings are held as appropriate to discuss topics of common interest. Offsites also include meetings of the CAx Implementor Forum and the Implementors' Roundtable. The CAx Implementor Forum brings together STEP vendors and PDES, Inc. members to conduct technical and business exchanges relevant to support needs of the PDES, Inc. pilot projects and deployment activities; the Implementors' Roundtable brings together PDES, Inc. members and key software vendors to discuss important STEP implementation issues.
Meetings important to achieving PDES, Inc. goals also occur in other settings where the goals or needs of the consortium might be addressed directly or indirectly. PDES, Inc. members at all levels are often speakers or attendees at meetings of industry associations, professional associations, and standards bodies. While there, they often meet to discuss PDES, Inc.-related efforts, issues important to their employers' use of STEP, and ways to advance the acceptance of STEP and STEP-related standards.
