During a critical evaluation of the FAA by Congress, TRW was instrumental in helping the FAA create a National Airspace System (NAS) Architecture that address the concerns of all involved. As part of this effort, two types of databases were created: engineering and cost. The engineering databases held information about the systems. Each version of the database comprised a different systems configuration in an effort find the most appropriate. The cost databases mirrored the engineering databases with the applicable costs for the configuration. Together, they were able to show how much each systems configuration would cost over time and thus enable decision-makers to make informed decisions regarding the future of the NAS Architecture.
My role was to manage the design, development, testing, implementation, and population of the cost database. Management included making key database architecture decisions as well as coordinating the efforts of five programmers, cost analysts, engineers, data entry administrator, and the FAA Architecture Core Team. The new database was built and implemented with four weeks of starting the effort. The database design allowed for each version of the architecture to be implemently quickly and efficiently. This was critical to this task.
In addition to the initial implementation of the cost database, I coordinated the development of the Architecture graphic illustrations and database maintenance efforts. This included hands-on development and data management.
As of, April 2009, it appears (as seen in these recent images) that the strategies of the NAS Architecture Team in 1995-1997 are still being used. The technology has been updated but it is nice to see that the efforts of the TRW staff were valued.
