Laura Otero Hernandez: Systems Engineering and Escaping the "Document Trap"

Can a lack of systems engineering really cost a program $68 million? Absolutely, according to Laura Otero, Director of Digital Engineering at Leidos. In this episode, Chad Jackson and Laura explore the trenches of digital engineering, where culture wars between document-based and model-based are still being fought every day.   Topics covered: The Unpaid Labor of Change: Why change agents are essential but rarely have the official title or time allocated. The Translator Role: How successful leaders bridge the gap between C-suite vision and engineering execution. MBSE ROI: A case study on how live model reviews led to a “zero-action” PDR and saved weeks of back-and-forth. The $68 Million Mistake: What happens when programs skip systems engineering in Phase 1. Over-Modeling Pitfalls: Why you shouldn’t model COTS parts down to the resistor—or try to model two humans talking in a bunker. AI & MBSE: The future of using AI to generate model templates and accelerate development. If you’re navigating the shift from documents to data, this episode offers practical advice on what works, what fails, and how to survive the transition.