Lessons from ASTRON’s instrumentation projects: developing a practical approach to project management and systems engineering

ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, oversees the full lifecycle of radio astronomy instrumentation from design and construction to operations and maintenance. In some cases, ASTRON realises entirely new instruments such as the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope or the LOw Frequency ARray, LOFAR, in others it drives innovative modifications to existing infrastructure such as APERTIF and the various LOFAR upgrades. While the high scientific quality of the instrumentation delivered remains top priority, completing projects within budget and on time have become increasingly important success factors over the years. Navigating this complex playing field not only requires engineering and technical excellence but also strong support from the disciplines of project management and systems engineering. In recent years, ASTRON has embarked on a journey to further professionalise its instrument development process. Daring to experiment with novel approaches, learning from them and implementing the lessons learnt in practice play a pivotal role herein. By now, these efforts have led to a wide range of improvements, including the introduction of practical systems engineering methods with a preference for modelling over documentation, an iterative approach to development building upon a minimum viable product and increasingly complex prototypes, an agile approach to planning and teamwork, close involvement of stakeholders in the development process and continuous professional development of the systems engineers and project managers. These improvements have now translated into a more professional way of project execution, better teamwork, increased stakeholder satisfaction and more transparency in project progress and costs.