Valuation of Design Adaptability in Aerospace Systems

As more information is brought into early stages of§the design, more pressure is put on engineers to §produce a reliable, high quality, and financially §sustainable product. Unfortunately, requirements §established at the beginning of a new project, and§their environment, continue to change in some §unpredictable ways. Robust Design Simulation is a §method that addresses the risk of a new design§falling out of value at early stages of production. §Under certain conditions, this method fails to§account for the intrinsic value embedded in the §system when certain design features are activated. §This book introduces the concepts of adaptability §and real options to manage risk foreseen in the face §of uncertainty at early design stages. The results §presented in the study contained herein show the §benefits of real options analysis during the design §process of aerospace systems. These include: a §better management of design features over time, a §better view of uncertainty around future technology§economics, a good understanding of adaptability §value over time, and a consistent risk reduction§with respect to alternatives in which flexibility§was not embedded.