Figure 3-2 Telerobotics Program Management Structure
The Telerobotics Program management structure is illustrated in Figure 3-2. The Telerobotics Program Manager reports functionally to the Director of the Spacecraft Systems Division.
Figure 3-2 Telerobotics Program Management Structure
The Telerobotics Program Manager is responsible for program direction, planning, monitoring, reporting, funding allocation, and program advocacy. He also serves as chairman of the Telerobotics Intercenter Working Group.
The role of Telerobotics Project Manager is filled by the designated representative from the program lead center. In this role, he reports to the program manager, and is the key technical advisor to the program. He also serves as technical co-chairman of the Telerobotics Intercenter Working Group. He is responsible for the planning, logistics, agenda, minutes, and action items for the TRIWG meetings. The project manager has a responsibility to the overall Telerobotics Program and to all of the participating centers. The project manager is also responsible for the telerobotics quarterly report described below.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been identified as the current lead center for the Telerobotics Program. The lead center is responsible for maintaining information exchanges with the Telerobotics Program Manager on funding, reporting, and reviews. The lead center is also responsible for coordinating with the TRIWG on the timely development of the advanced telerobotics technologies and applications demonstrations undertaken by the program participants.
Each center participating in the Telerobotics Program may have tasks in different branches, divisions, and/or directorates. However, each center has only one designated representative to the Telerobotics Program. He is responsible for providing information back to the centers and from the centers to headquarters, and represents his center in meetings of the TRIWG. The center representative is responsible for defining and monitoring the Level 2 schedules at their respective centers, and provides the detailed management, technical, cost, and schedule status required to fulfill the review and reporting requirements described below. As appropriate, the list of center participants in the Telerobotics Program and their respective responsibilities will be revised by the program manager as the program profile, user needs, and technical capabilities evolve over the life of the program.
As noted above, each center has one designated representative to the Telerobotics Program. That representative is also a member of the Telerobotics Intercenter Working Group.
The Telerobotics Intercenter Working Group consists of one representative from each participating center, and meets four times a year to provide technical advice to the Telerobotics Program Manager. Current membership of the TRIWG is shown in Figure 3-3. The TRIWG performs detailed technical reviews of the ongoing technology and application tasks, and provides feedback to the responsible individuals for that task. In this way the TRIWG is a primary telerobotics technology transfer agent among the NASA Centers. The first TRIWG meeting of each calendar year (typically in February) focuses on planning for the next fiscal year.
Figure 3-3 Telerobotics Intercenter Working Group Membership
In addition to the participating center representatives, attendance at TRIWG meetings frequently includes invited representatives of user codes at NASA Headquarters, such as the Office of Space Communications, the Office of Space Science, and the Office of Space Flight. Each center can also send additional people to the open sessions of TRIWG meetings, but only the designated representative participates in executive sessions. The designated TRIWG representative is responsible for providing information back to the centers and from the centers to NASA Headquarters.
Communications between TRIWG members during the periods between meetings is frequently carried out on electronic mail across the Internet. To facilitate this communication, an electronic mail group address called "triwgbig@telerobotics.jpl.nasa.gov" has been established which can be used to send messages to all members of the working group. It includes not only the voting members, but the names of all those who frequently attend working group meetings.
Figure 3-4 TRIWG Cycle
As has been the custom in the OSAT program, the Telerobotics Program Manager conducts annual program reviews at each center at the end of each fiscal year. These reviews are part of the annual review at each center. Specific tasks may be additionally reviewed at the TRIWG quarterly meetings. Special interim reviews are conducted at the discretion of the program manager to focus on tasks or issues which are considered special priorities or are of exceptional importance to the success of the program.
The reporting requirements are identified below. Since the activities associated with this program are being conducted across several NASA field centers, there may be additional reporting requirements to center or NASA Headquarters management which are not addressed here.
Quarterly reports are to be submitted by the Telerobotics Project Manager to the Telerobotics Program Manager at the end of each fiscal quarter (the NASA fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, thus the end of the first fiscal quarter for each year is December 31). These reports shall include information covering:
technical and programmatic summary / highlights
significant accomplishments, including last quarter's progress against milestones
issues and concerns
costs summary and financial status
Level 1 milestone schedule
next quarter's key activities
The focus of the quarterly report is to be on Level 1 Milestones. For each of the current Level 1 Milestones, the relevant Level 2 Milestone progress is addressed. Any changes (especially delays) in Level 2 milestones must be addressed in the quarterly report. To permit the compilation of these reports, the designated representative from each participating center will submit the appropriate input to the Telerobotics Project Manager no later than two weeks before the end of the fiscal quarter. The project manager is then responsible for the integration and dissemination of the report. Nominal dissemination of the quarterly reports will be accomplished through the posting of electronic versions of the report documents on the NASA Telerobotics area of the World Wide Web. The Telerobotics Program Manager utilizes these reports to advocate the program to NASA upper management.
Special interim reports may be requested at the discretion of the Telerobotics Program Manager to focus on tasks or issues which are considered special priorities or are of exceptional importance to the success of the program.
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