The role of metrics and measurements in a software intensive total quality management environment

Paramax Space Systems began its mission as a member of the Rockwell Space Operations Company (RSOC) team which was the successful bidder on a massive operations consolidation contract for the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) at JSC. The contract awarded to the team was the Space Transportation System Operations Contract (STSOC). Our initial challenge was to accept responsibility for a very large, highly complex and fragmented collection of software from eleven different contractors and transform it into a coherent, operational baseline. Concurrently, we had to integrate a diverse group of people from eleven different companies into a single, cohesive team. Paramax executives recognized the absolute necessity to develop a business culture based on the concept of employee involvement to execute and improve the complex process of our new environment. Our executives clearly understood that management needed to set the example and lead the way to quality improvement. The total quality management policy and the metrics used in this endeavor are presented.