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A multicontractor/government systems engineering team analyzed a government organization in order to develop recommendations to re‐engineer its activities and improve its processes in terms of both efficiency and quality. The organization was NASA/Goddard's Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate (MO&DSD), which 24 hours/day, 7 days/week supplies services including data capture, data processing, operations, and communications between orbiting spacecraft and ground based investigating teams. The service operations and the underlying organizational processes were analyzed using a systems engineering approach assisted by tools consisting of a Total Quality (process) Model (TQM) instituted by AlliedSignal Corp. and the Viable Systems Model (VSM) which has its genesis in management cybernetics. Aspects of both the TQM and VSM are discussed and compared along with their application in analyzing the processes of MO&DSD. Both analyses resulted in numerous recommendations to improve MO&DSD's activities including administrative, personnel, and operational procedures. The similarities and differences in the recommendations are compared along with a discussion of the use of these two analytical techniques.

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