ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by ensuring that the reader has grasped the concept that supportability assessment is responsible for the identification of the physical resources required to support the system during the development process and that this activity, Functional Supportability Analysis, is normally performed when the product and/or services system is nearing its final stages of completion just before customer deployment. It will introduce the reader to the three-stage processes of physical supportability analysis, which are (1) identification of the complete range of resources required to support the product and/or service system; (2) the optimal support infrastructure and maintenance solution to achieve a balance between performance, support, and cost of ownership; and (3) determination of the minimum quantity of each resource entitized to support the system at a pre-stated usage rate. The chapter will conclude with a step-by-step build of a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) Modeling methodology. This will link the Supportability Characteristic Assessment attributes to the Functional Supportability Analysis attributes. This will allow a development team to better manage the integration of the two processes concurrently verse the current before and after sequential model.
