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Systems engineering and project management are two core engineering management processes supported by core quantitative disciplines within engineering management problems. Traditional approaches to systems engineering focus on a single system being engineered and managed (i.e., project managed), while challenges addressing composition of systems of systems and the reuse of systems for new solutions require a strategic management approach that promote a process flow in which the outputs of one project (e.g., deliverables, knowledge, work documents) are captured for the benefit of other projects within and outside the project-based organization. Two other core processes of engineering management are therefore critical to be incorporated into this process flow: knowledge management and strategic management. Consequently, when applying complex simulation system or federations of simulation systems for experimentation, knowledge management and strategic management are needed. The NATO Code of Best Practice (COBP) for Command and Control Assessment is dealing with similar challenges. Within a project in support of PEO Soldier, Old Dominion University and the United States Military Academy developed new system engineering processes in support of system selection and orchestration that allow merging the knowledge and strategic management ideas with NATO's recommended best practices.

Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is a weapon of choice and is likely to remain a major component of the Global War on Terrorism. It is critical that gaps in knowledge transfer are quickly addressed in order to more effectively equip personnel to counter IED (C-IED) threat. Therefore, the military must analyze the current Knowledge Management (KM) programs in C-IED arena in order to maximize transfer of knowledge derived from experience and skill to staffs and finally to commanders. This study investigates the factors that influence effective use of KM in C-IED operations in the military. The study suggests that effective KM program is determined by the interaction of three organizational capabilities: knowledge infrastructure, knowledge process, and leadership orientation. A self-administrated survey was conducted on 300 NATO staff officers who have served in C-IED environments. A structural equation modeling technique was used to test a set of hypotheses using 118 completed responses collected from the survey. The results suggest that out of the 11 constructs within the model; two are rated as àttribute needs immediate attention (i.e. Culture and Traditional Leadership), eight are rated as àttribute needs further enhancement (i.e. Overall Organizational Capability, Knowledge Process, Knowledge Infrastructure, Acquisition, Transfer, Application, Structure and Transformational Leadership) and one is rated as àttribute runs satisfactorily (i.e. Technology). The results of this research have particular value to engineering management researchers and practitioners operating in military domains because it proposes, empirically tests and justifies a conceptual model that explains KM in C-IED operations in the military.

This study contributes to the literature by integrating agility in knowledge management (KM) operations, especially in military environments via major findings of (a) introducing a new approach to KM with integration of 'agility'; (b) articulating the application of an enhanced process of Agile Knowledge Management (AKM) across the military. The purpose of the study is to explore the conceptual background of agility in KM, re-conceptualize it and extend it to military applications with a special focus on counterinsurgency (COIN). An initial qualitative exploration of agility in KM was performed. Three different concepts and their interrelationships were analyzed: (a) KM, (b) agility in operations, and (c) military organizations in the COIN environment. Findings from this initial qualitative analysis were used to inductively redefine, re-conceptualize, and extend the concept of AKM, as well as, to compare and adapt the AKM concept to the military environment of COIN. An additional qualitative analysis was performed to validate the extended concept of AKM. While this study is mainly focused on AKM in a dynamic multinational and joint military environment of COIN, conclusions may be applicable in a broader context. The results of this research can be used by engineering managers and KM practitioners and academics with particular focus on the military environment as foundation for (a) further research and development in AKM (b) developing customized AKM education programs and (c) extending the concept of AKM and its application to other environments.

With the growing number of adult and military veterans entering higher education, it is important to understand and incorporate the basics of andragogy in curriculum, course development, and the learning environment to facilitate learning and degree completion. Researchers in this S-STEM project funded by the NSF share observations of a student-faculty partnership that resulted from the development of a formal learning community. A series of targeted seminars were conducted that appear to have increased adult and military veteran engineering and technology students' levels of connectedness and self-efficacy. Results of this pilot study are shared as an evidence-based practice to enhance adult and military veteran students' learning and degree completion.