A logic model approach to conceptual design of a scientific/industrial complex.

The development of a large-scale scientific/industrial complex is a difficult undertaking. At the conceptual design stage a number of issues must be carefully resolved for the project to be successful. A few of these questions include: What is the purpose of the complex? What capabilities are needed to express this purpose? How should the facilities that contain these capabilities be arranged and in what order should they be constructed? Which capabilities are most important in fulfilling the complex' mission and therefore what redundancy is needed? Answers to these questions are needed whether the complex under consideration is planned or already exists and is undergoing a major restructuring. In the latter case additional constraints such as the need to maintain production, accommodate new missions and possible requirements to continue to use certain facilities may exist. The sheer size of the complexes under consideration here means that there will be many shareholders with a stake in the decision process and that the potential consequences of a poor decision could be severe. Different design options will exist in terms of scope and possibly in terms of schedule. Shareholders will value these options differently. Therefore a mechanism is needed to takc into account the varying perspectives of the shareholders and to prioritize the options.