FAQs
STAR (System Trade And Risk)
What is the STAR process?
The STAR process unifies trade studies and risk
management into a single discipline for project teams. The process includes reporting metrics and uses the STAR software to
automate many of the steps. The STAR process focuses the team on continuous improvement of the project plan. Its purpose is
to assist the team in continuously improving the probability of meeting the team's project goals.
Is STAR appropriate for any industry or
application?
Yes. STAR and the STAR process can be used in any industry or business
- for any type of project. It is useful during development, production, installation, and operations and maintenance phases
of any project.
Does STAR handle both trade
studies and risk analyses?
Yes. With STAR, you can study the impact of trade
options on cost and schedule, while at the same time comparing risks between options.
Does STAR work with
all types of project risk?
STAR works with cash flow (cost, revenue) and schedule
risks. Technical and programmatic risks are treated as impacts on cash flow, duration, or both.
If you've already built a
work breakdown structure (WBS) elsewhere, do you have to build it again in STAR?
No.
You can import your WBS from an Access database, a comma delimited file, or from Microsoft Project.
Can STAR work with a schedule developed in Microsoft
Project?
Yes. You can import a schedule from MS Project into STAR. You can also export
either a nominal or a risk adjusted schedule from STAR back to MS Project.
How does STAR estimate project cash flow?
STAR uses a very flexible and powerful tool called the Rule Builder. A rule is a sequence of logical statements
which describe how you want the cost or revenue to be estimated. The statements can include arithmetic, boolean conditions,
fetches from other estimates, and imports from other estimating tools. The sequence of statements can estimate task duration
as well as cash flow. The cash flow associated with a given task is the sum of that resulting from all attached rules.
Can I use project cost estimates from other sources
in a STAR model?
Yes. STAR includes a powerful cost estimating capability in the Rule
Builder. But you can also use costs estimates or actual costs from other sources - team databases, external estimating models,
one of Mainstay's PPAS Risk Management Files, and Mainstay's ParaModel (parametric cost estimating software.)
Can I develop a project schedule in STAR?
Yes. You can develop, edit, view, and print a project schedule in STAR. This enables you to conduct trade studies
and analyses in STAR and later export the results to a project management tool. You can import a project schedule from another
software tool, like MS Project, and use it to start your trade studies and analyses.
Is there a STAR Help Line?
Yes. Current licensed and registered users of STAR can access the 24-hour/7-day-per-week Mainstay Software Help
Desk through telephone, fax, or e-mail.
CLAAS (not currently available)
PPAS (not currently available)
ParaModel (not currently available)
