System dynamics and agent-based simulations for workforce climate

Abstract

Many factors currently influence the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) workforce, including the drive for return to flight, a stated Shuttle Program end date of 2010, and the Vision for Space Exploration which calls for the development of a new launch vehicle. Additionally, external factors such as cost of living in Central Florida, availability of skilled technical hires, and unemployment rate affect the overall workforce climate. Managing human capital in a manner consistent with safety and mission success, and to strategically position the center to execute its future mission, it is necessary to understand how these different influencing factors work together to produce an overall workforce climate. We have been using System Dynamics models to capture some of these factors. These models are also the starting point of agent-based models which can capture particular features not possible with the original system dynamics models. This paper introduces our simulation modeling efforts.