Abstract/Description/Artist Statement
This research examines mission framing during the early phase of Mission Engineering. Stakeholder interpretations diverge under ambiguity. Interoperability constraints are often not surfaced early. These conditions reduce mission clarity and weaken mission-to-system mapping readiness. The study integrates a participatory design-inspired, artifact-first workflow with RAG-enabled retrieval from a closed corpus to support evidence-grounded reasoning and traceable citations.
Phase 1 uses an online survey to establish baseline patterns in practice (N = 86). Shared understanding is positively associated with mission clarity (r = 0.60, p < 0.001). Phase 2 uses a time-bounded comparative workshop with two conditions. Expert reviewers rate mission statement quality higher for the participatory design condition (mean 3.5) than the traditional condition (mean 2.8). Technical feasibility ratings are similar across conditions. Phase 3 demonstrates RAG-enabled, closed-corpus, retrieval-supported traceability using the Referencer tool. It is reported as a proof-of-concept for evidence-grounded rationale and auditability, and as a pathway to improved mission clarity and mission-to-system mapping. Benchmark-level retrieval and generation metrics are not claimed.
Overall, the findings support early-phase Mission Engineering as a sociotechnical integration process. The dissertation contributes a construct spine and an artifact-based approach to evaluate mission clarity.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Dr. Barry C. Ezell
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Email
bezell@odu.edu
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
Virginia Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC)/Dept. of Engineering Management & Systems Engineering (EMSE)
College/School Affiliation
Batten College of Engineering & Technology
Student Level Group
Graduate/Professional
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Included in
Industrial Technology Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Operational Research Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Systems Engineering Commons
Bridging Mission And Execution: Integrating Participatory Design In Early-Phase Mission Engineering For Stakeholder Alignment And Mission Clarity
This research examines mission framing during the early phase of Mission Engineering. Stakeholder interpretations diverge under ambiguity. Interoperability constraints are often not surfaced early. These conditions reduce mission clarity and weaken mission-to-system mapping readiness. The study integrates a participatory design-inspired, artifact-first workflow with RAG-enabled retrieval from a closed corpus to support evidence-grounded reasoning and traceable citations.
Phase 1 uses an online survey to establish baseline patterns in practice (N = 86). Shared understanding is positively associated with mission clarity (r = 0.60, p < 0.001). Phase 2 uses a time-bounded comparative workshop with two conditions. Expert reviewers rate mission statement quality higher for the participatory design condition (mean 3.5) than the traditional condition (mean 2.8). Technical feasibility ratings are similar across conditions. Phase 3 demonstrates RAG-enabled, closed-corpus, retrieval-supported traceability using the Referencer tool. It is reported as a proof-of-concept for evidence-grounded rationale and auditability, and as a pathway to improved mission clarity and mission-to-system mapping. Benchmark-level retrieval and generation metrics are not claimed.
Overall, the findings support early-phase Mission Engineering as a sociotechnical integration process. The dissertation contributes a construct spine and an artifact-based approach to evaluate mission clarity.