Information System management in New Space production: Adapting a low volume-high quality production’sinformation management system

Abstract

With the emergence of New Space, the space business environment has become more dynamic, more rapidly changing and involves more risk taking for space goods manufacturers. For the space manufacturers to survive in this new environment and gain competitive advantages, they must meet the requirements of New Space production: Lower costs, lower lead times, higher production flexibility, and higher responsiveness to the changing business environment. One important aspect that facilitates these requirements, is how the information is managed in the organization. To find what aspects to consider in information management from a New Space point of view, a literature study was combined with a case study. The results showed that there are 7 aspects of information quality more important than other to considerate in an IS in a New Space organization. Those 7 aspects were Accuracy, Communication & Cooperation, Timeliness, Completeness, Amount of Information, Accessibility & Findability, and Consistency. The results also showed that the implementation of these aspects into the IS could be done via Standardization and improved Data transfer. Customization of the IS was also suggested to be beneficial if done right. The findings resulted in a list of suggested implementations the case company, or other companies in the same situation, should consider. These suggestions embodied the findings of this research. If the 7 aspects are considered, and if they are implemented through standardization and improved data transfer, companies in the New Space sector will have a much higher chance of reducing costs, lower lead times, raise their production flexibility, and raise their business responsiveness, and by this be competitive on the New Space market.