Ivy Hooks
CEO
Ivy is an internationally recognized requirement expert and author. She has published numerous papers and spoken to diverse audiences worldwide on the subjects of requirements engineering and requirement management.
Ivy was a founder of the Requirements Experts and former CEO/President. Ivy now serves as Senior Instructor/Consultant. Her experience is in both large and small programs, government and commercial enterprises, and in systems, hardware, and software.
Prior to founding RE, Ivy was President of Bruce G. Jackson & Associates (1985 -1993) where Ivy's work included consulting with major aerospace contractors that were bidding on NASA contracts. Having identified that NASA requirements were not at the quality she remembered from her NASA career, she became involved in the development of tools and training to improve requirement processes across NASA and other government agencies. This led to working with government contractors and ultimately to the spinoff of RE to focus on requirement best practices.
Ivy's 20-year plus NASA career included being a member of the original Space Shuttle design team and a number of management jobs related to the Space Shuttle, including Separation System Integration Manager and Manager of Flight Software Verification. She also served on the staff of the Johnson Space Center Director and the Director of Engineering.
Ivy is a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and a charter member of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). Ivy was the leader of the Texas Section of SWE when it morphed into three sections and is currently a member of the Southwest Texas Section . Ivy was a founder of the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of INCOSE and is currently supporting the formation of the Alamo Chapter.
Ivy has provided seminars and speeches for non-profit organizations including INCOSE, SWE, Project Management Institute (PMI), International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA) and the Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN). Ivy is a member of the Continuing Education Faculty at Villanova University, Villanova, PA.
Ivy is the recipient of a number of awards, including the NASA Outstanding Public Speaker Award, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and the Arthur S. Flemming Award for Outstanding Young Civil Servant. Ivy holds bachelor and master of science degrees in mathematics from the University of Houston.
Publications by Ivy
Customer-Centered Products: Creating Successful Products through Smart Requirements Management, Ivy Hooks and Kristin Farry, ISBN 0-814-40568-1, AMACOM, 2000.
"Why Johnny Can't Write Requirements", Ivy Hooks, AIAA Space Programs and Technology Conference, Huntsville, AL, 1990.
"Space and Life Sciences White Paper Describing the Essential Components and Processes Involved in Developing Life Sciences Requirements", Ivy Hooks, prepared for NASA Johnson Space Center, 1991.
"Requirements Management: A Case Study – NASA's Assured Crew Return Vehicle", Ivy Hooks, Dennis Stone, Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium of the National Council of Systems Engineering, Seattle, WA, 1992.
"What is a Requirement?", Richard Harwell, Erik W. Alaksen, Ivy Hooks, Roy Mengot, Ken Ptack, National Council on Systems Engineering, Arlington, VA, 1993.
"SAFER – A Case Study", Ivy Hooks, prepared for NASA Johnson Space Center, 1994.
"Don't Start the Building without the Blueprint: Defining the Scope of a Project", Ivy Hooks, PMNetWork, Vol. VIII, No. 4, April, 1994.
"Guide for Managing and Writing Requirements", Ivy Hooks, 1994.
‘Writing Good Requirements", Ivy Hooks, proceedings of the 4th Annual International Symposium of the National Council on Systems Engineering, Vol. II, San Jose, CA, 1994.
"Managing Requirements", Ivy Hooks, Issues in NASA Program and Project Management, NASA SP- 6101(08), 1995.
"SAFER – A Case Study. The Lessons Learned on a Flight Test Project", C. W. Hess and Ivy Hooks, Proceedings of the 5th Annual International Symposium of the National Council on Systems Engineering, Vol. II, St. Louis, MO, 1995.
"Transitioning the SAFER Maneuvering Unit from Flight Test to Production", Ivy Hooks, Proceedings of the 6th Annual International Symposium of the National Council on Systems Engineering, Boston, MA, 1996.
"A Case for Priority – Classifying Requirements", Ivy Hooks and Larry Fellows, Proceedings of the 8th Annual International Symposium of the National Council on Systems Engineering, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1998.
"Requirements Engineering: Is it 'Mission Impossible'?", Ivy Hooks, Requirements Engineering, 5: 194- 197, Springer-Verlag London Limited, 2000.