Speakers: Dr. Tina Srivastava, Dr. Tyson R. Browning, Matteo Pietrobelli, Paul Waskett, & Frank Waldman
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Abstract: The disciplines of Program Management and Systems Engineering are inherently intertwined. When there is tension and confusion over the roles of program managers versus systems engineers, programs suffer from deadline overruns and failures. This webinar will discuss tools that help enable effective collaborations between PMs and SEs, such as Product Breakdown Structures/Work Breakdown Structures that help provide a common and consistent view all along the project life cycle from a Project Management point of view as well as from a System Engineering point of view. This webinar will introduce Design Structure Matrices (DSM), including covering what is a DSM and how it can be used. The webinar will conclude with a discussion of whether DSM can be a tool to help empower systems engineers and project managers to more effectively collaborate and mitigate tension between the disciplines.
Section 1 - Empowering Systems Engineers and Project Managers
Tina Srivastava - 10 mins
Section 2 - An Integrative Technique : Synthesizing and analyzing disparate inputs.
Tyson Browning - 10 mins
Section 3 - An Integration Case Study : integrating a Work Breakdown Structure.
John Metcalf - 10 mins
Section 4 - Managing Integration : 20 years experience managing AE&C customers projects.
Paul Waskett - 5 mins
Section 5 - An Integrative Technology : A tool to analyze sequences, clusters, gaps and impacts.
Frank Waldman - 5 mins
Section 6 - Integration Pilot Project? : Would you like to start one with us?
Matteo Pietrobelli - 5 mins
Section 7 - Q&A
Mike Stowe - 40 mins
Bios:
Dr. Tina P. Srivastava is an MIT-trained rocket scientist, entrepreneur, technology expert, author and the inventor of more than 30 patents.
Her book, Innovating in a Secret World: The Future of National Security and Global Leadership, has received many accolades since its release, and Dr. Srivastava also regularly takes the stage at major industry conferences like the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference and Advanced Cyber Security Center (ACSC) Conference. She is also an FAA-certified pilot and an instructor of MIT’s Private Pilot Ground School course. Her lecture on the fundamental knowledge and basic principles of airplane aerodynamics has garnered over 3 million views.
Dr. Srivastava is experienced in designing security technologies and bringing them to market, both in defense and commercial sectors. Dr. Srivastava served as Chief Engineer of electronic warfare programs at Raytheon, where she successfully led a $40 million advanced radio frequency program. She also founded a cybersecurity startup that was acquired by a public company and the global leader in network assurance and security, and is co-founder of Badge Inc., the award-winning privacy company. (See TIME Magazine Best Inventions of the Year: https://time.com/7094836/badge/)
Dr. Srivastava’s numerous awards include the Inaugural David Wright Leadership Award for her contributions to system engineering, as well as the prestigious MIT Legacy Award for making a sustained and outstanding contribution to the MIT community. She is also actively involved with INCOSE (International Council on Systems Engineering), where she served on the Board of Directors for two terms. She co-chairs the PM-SE Integration Working Group.
Dr. Srivastava earned her PhD, SM, and SB, all from MIT.
Dr. Tyson R. Browning is an internationally recognized researcher, educator, and consultant. He is a full Professor of Operations Management in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, where he conducts research on managing complex projects (integrating managerial and engineering perspectives), such as product development, and teaches courses on project management, operations management, risk management, and process improvement in TCU's highly rated MBA program (e.g., The Economist, Princeton Review). A sought-after speaker, Tyson has trained and advised several organizations, including BNSF Railway, General Motors, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Seagate, Siemens, Southern California Edison, and the U.S. Navy. He has also served as an expert witness in legal proceedings.
Prior to joining TCU in 2003, Tyson worked for Lockheed Martin, the Lean Aerospace Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Honeywell Space Systems, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. He earned a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Abilene Christian University before two Master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from MIT.
Tyson's research results have been published in journals such as California Management Review, Decision Sciences, Information Systems Research, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Journal of Operations Management, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, MIT Sloan Management Review, Production & Operations Management, Project Management Journal, and Systems Engineering, among others. He co-authored the book Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications and has given over 300 academic and industry workshops, keynote speeches, and other presentations in 23 countries. He is included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists List by Stanford University.
Having previously served as a Department or Associate Editor for three of the above journals, Tyson was the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Operations Management from 2018-2023. He is a member of several professional societies, within which he has also served in various roles: Academy of Management (AoM), Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), European Operations Management Association (EurOMA), Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), and Project Management Institute (PMI).
Matteo Pietrobelli is a visionary leader across structural, civil, and systems engineering disciplines, Matteo Pietrobelli has delivered multibillion-dollar projects worldwide—from high-speed railways and marine infrastructure to hyperloop transportation systems and award-winning bridges. His expertise lies in merging traditional engineering rigor with cutting-edge technologies, including 3D-printed concrete structures, IoT-driven vertical farming, and digital twins for smart, climate-resilient cities.
As an INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), Professional Engineer in multiple jurisdictions and geographies (PE, Peng, Ing) and OMG-Certified Systems Modeling Professional (OCSMP), Matteo excels at harmonizing Program Management, Product Design and Systems Engineering to optimize complex projects. He pioneered the implementation of Product Breakdown Structures (PBS), Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), and Design Structure Matrices (DSM) to align multidisciplinary teams and resolve technical interdependencies within the AEC industry. This approach is exemplified in his development of the IoT-based Structural Health Monitoring System for New York's Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, where advanced sensors, machine learning algorithms and synchronized postprocessed data enable predictive maintenance and enhanced asset longevity.
Prior to Hirani Engineering, Matteo served as CTO & Chief Engineer of OCEANIX, where he spearheaded the design of next-generation floating infrastructures integrated with digital twins for enhanced climate resilience. His leadership roles within multiple organization and associations showcase his commitment to innovation and data-driven decision-making in complex project environments.
Matteo holds advanced diplomas and degrees from Roma Tre University (BS and MS in Structural Engineering for Natural Hazard Mitigation), Manhattan College (MS in Structural Engineering), Harrisburg University (MS Project and Product Management), Johns Hopkins (MS Systems Engineering), Caltech, MIT, and EPFL (Smart Cities). His global perspective is enhanced by fluency in multiple languages such as English, French, and Italian, Spanish, Russian and Chinese. Throughout his career spanning four continents, Matteo has consistently demonstrated how the integration of exponential technologies, systems theory and innovative products can help propel the development of solutions to complex problems.
Paul Waskett is a Mechanical Engineer by training. He is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Association of Project Management. He earned his doctorate in 1999 on the back of a development project which deployed DSM techniques to the engineering phase of complex construction projects. Paul has worked in central government in the UK, supporting innovation in the construction industry. Paul is one of the founding Directors of Adept Management, which he set up in 2002 with a group of like-minded individuals who shared a vision for the way complex engineering projects could be managed and controlled. Since then, they have deployed their own DSM-based project management tools to plan and control hundreds of construction, infrastructure, IT and defense projects, including some of the largest projects in Europe, the US and the Middle East. Paul continues to battle against those resistant to change, and still enjoys that battle after all these years.
Frank Waldman is currently President of CodeClinic LLC, the parent company of Lattix which provides tools for applying Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) and Multi-Domain Matrix (MDM) analysis to complex systems. Frank co-founded Lattix in 2003, which is now a global leader in system and software architecture analysis with over 1200 customers in 30 countries. He has numerous patents in the application of DSM to software systems analysis and has presented at technical conferences on the application of DSM in software and systems engineering. Frank was the Principal Investigator in a 2023 USAF SBIR Phase II project which developed new capabilities to match SysML models to legacy implementations for their MBSE initiatives. He holds BA and MS degrees from MIT in Mechanical Engineering.
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