ANDES, the high-resolution spectrograph for the ELT: project management for the preliminary design phase

The ESO/ELT ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph) project successfully completed the system architecture review and is currently finalizing its preliminary design phase. ANDES is the high-resolution spectrograph for the ELT (ESO Extremely Large Telescope) capable of reaching a resolution of R~100,000 simultaneously, in a wavelength range between 0.35-2.4 µm (goals included), characterized by high-precision and extreme calibration accuracy suitable to address a variety of flagship scientific cases across a wide range of astronomical domains. To fulfill the required specifications the proposed design adopts a modular approach where the instrument is split in four individual spectrographs, each fiber-fed, and thermally and vacuum stabilized. A dedicated front-end which hosts a single conjugated adaptive optics module, collects either the light from the telescope or from a calibration unit feeding in turn the individual spectrographs. To master the described complexity the same modularity is reflected also at the project management level: each of the 9 subsystems (counting also the software as a standalone subsystem) is under direct responsibility of different teams coordinated by the ANDES project office. The high distribution and the large community involvement, consisting of 24 institutes from 13 countries, represent certainly a challenge from the project management point of view. In this paper we present the project management approach we envisaged to master successfully all the ANDES project phases from the finalization of the preliminary design up to commissioning on-sky; in particular we will describe in detail the risk management and PA/QA activities we have foreseen to assure appropriate risk mitigation and an overall high-quality standard required for the ANDES project.