anges to the International Space Station architecture or control software. But for MD Robotics, the challenge was more meaningful. “Canada has been very successful with a small budget, very smartly applied to specific high-tech niches like space robotics,” says Mag Iskander, vice president and general manager, MD Robotics. “As for our future, we need to look for new niches and excel in them.”

In past efforts, the aerospace company produced the Canadarm robot (on the U.S. Space Shuttle) and the Canadarm 2 (launched April 2001 on the International Space Station), but the SPDM is a radically new one-off design. Management decided the unique effort would allow MD Robotics to create a new approach to project management and engineering development. Best practices would enable the company to move with confidence into bidding new “faster, better, cheaper” projects with a firm, fixed price – a first for any company developing “never-before” technology.

“We attempted to reinvent ourselves as a company,” says Adrian Abramovici, director of programs, MD Robotics. “We used this project to implement change management in our organization – and improve the way we traditionally approached processes and tools.”

Executive Suite

Before “official” work even began, the MD Robotics and CSA negotiating teams performed a significant part of the scope definition and planning. Cost account agreements included work description, budget to accomplish the work, necessary inputs (internal- or customer-furnished equipment) and outputs (deliverables). All of the descriptions corresponded to the work effort defined in the contractual statement of work (SOW) and its budget, excluding the management reserve and risk allowance.

In addition to the SPDM itself, MD R

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