Developing solid Product Assurance Plans for bids and project start-ups — when the team has weeks, not months
Project details
Customer: Various Customers
Branch: Space
Service Period: since 2016
The challenge
Across many space companies, the same pattern appears repeatedly: a bid is being prepared or a new project is about to start, and the Product Assurance Plan must withstand scrutiny from ESA, a prime contractor or an end customer — within a very limited timeframe.
Generic templates rarely survive detailed review. Full ECSS implementation is often disproportionate at this stage. What is needed is a tailored Product Assurance Plan with genuine tailoring depth — delivered within weeks, not months.
Cooperation
In each engagement, we developed the same type of asset, tailored to the customer’s specific situation: a Product Assurance Plan aligned with the project’s actual configuration, technology maturity and customer expectations.
Tailoring decisions were documented in a way that could withstand questions from ESA, prime contractors and end customers alike.
The engagement concluded with a structured hand-over, enabling the customer’s team to take ownership of the plan from day one rather than depending on the consultant who created it.
What we have achieved
Outcomes that remained after the engagement:
A tailored Product Assurance Plan
Each plan reflected the customer’s actual situation, including existing processes, product maturity and customer expectations — ready for a bid or immediate project execution.
Documented tailoring decisions
Tailoring decisions were recorded transparently and could be defended by the customer without requiring external support.
A Product Assurance asset that creates value
The result was a realistic Product Assurance Plan that inspired confidence in customers and stakeholders while remaining capable of evolving with the project.