Automatic performance budget: towards a risk reduction

In this paper, we discuss the performance matrix of the SST-GATE telescope developed to allow us to partition and allocate the important characteristics to the various subsystems as well as to describe the process in order to verify that the current design will deliver the required performance. Due to the integrated nature of the telescope, a large number of parameters have to be controlled and effective calculation tools must be developed such as an automatic performance budget. Its main advantages consist in alleviating the work of the system engineer when changes occur in the design, in avoiding errors during any re-allocation process and recalculate automatically the scientific performance of the instrument. We explain in this paper the method to convert the ensquared energy (EE) and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) required by the science cases into the “as designed” instrument. To ensure successful design, integration and verification of the next generation instruments, it is of the utmost importance to have methods to control and manage the instrument’s critical performance characteristics at its very early design steps to limit technical and cost risks in the project development. Such a performance budget is a tool towards this goal.