The SEIC at INCOSE 2007
Members of the SEIC enjoyed another
INCOSE International Symposium
along with over 1000 other attendees at San Diego, California.
The Symposium was subtitled
Key To Intelligent Enterprises and contributions from the SEIC and its members
are listed below. Click on the titles to download the full paper or presentation. For further information, contact seic@lboro.ac.uk
Teaching SysML Through a Process Led Approach for Systems Engineering: Lessons for the SysML Standard
D. J. Battersby
The systems modelling language, SysML, supports the growing demand for model based systems engineering. This paper describes the design of undergraduate teaching material for SysML based upon an approach which maps the language to systems engineering needs. These needs are high level requirements for a systems engineering language, which are based upon elements of systems engineering lifecycle process standards. This approach is designed to show the capabilities of SysML and UML against the backdrop of a set of simple and logical activities which the students could identify in the context of their studies and industrial experience.
The course material was successful in introducing the students to visual modelling through an initial analysis of UML for systems engineering, followed by the introduction of SysML where this adds value to the UML 2 standard. Lecture material and a practical session were used to emphasise this focus on systems problems, including hardware and human aspects. As these issues were addressed the information presented was assessed against the needs identified in order to show the value of SysML to the students.
The comparison of the standard with the needs identified resulted in a compliance table that explored how well SysML supports systems engineering; this identifies a number of potential weaknesses of the language which can be seen as opportunities for the next iteration of the standard. The key difficulty identified when trying to apply the SysML standard was the lack of a methodology for the application of the language. This methodology would allow the use of SysML by engineers without previous experience of UML though providing a framework for use and education.
Towards an Integrated Model of Enterprise Systems
G. A. Kennedy, C. E. Siemieniuch, M. A. Sinclair
An enterprise system consists of a number of components or building blocks. It is common to use views or models of the enterprise that contain a selection of these components (dependent on the intended usage of the model). The premise is that if these views are considered systems in their own right then the total enterprise system is actually a system-of-systems. Difficulty arises however when the boundaries between the systems overlap - it is therefore necessary to have an integrated model of the total enterprise that can cope with these overlaps and hence interactions between the systems. Within this paper there will be two main areas of work described; firstly the development of models/tools of “soft” enterprise characteristics; and secondly how these characteristics may be included in an integrated model of an enterprise system. Case studies of UK organizations (primarily within the defence industry) were undertaken to provide context to the results.
Overcoming Engineering Challenges of Providing an Effective User Interface to a Large Scale Distributed Synthetic Environment on the US Teragrid: A Systems Engineering Success Story
R. S. Kalawsky, I. R. Holmes
Over recent years large scale distributed synthetic environment enterprises have been evolving in a diverse range of scientific and engineering fields. These computer modelling and simulation systems are increasing in scale and dimension in order to allow scientists and engineers to explore the attributes and emergent properties of a given system design. Within the field of computational science the grid has been developed to facilitate very large scale collaborative simulation enterprises. The grid is similar to DIS/HLA in that it supports interconnectivity but differs in the sense that it supports intercommunication of large super computing resources. An important factor in the rapid adoption of the grid has been its role in enabling access to significant supercomputing resources not usually available at a single institution. However, the major challenge for the grid has been the lack of an effective and ubiquitous interface to the huge computational resource (which can comprise over 6000 CPUs distributed across the globe) at any time and from any location. This paper describes a unique user interface built on systems engineering principles and practices to solve the problem of delivering real-time interaction (from lightweight computing devices such as PDAs to high end computing platforms) with simulations delivering high resolution 3D images. The application of our work is likely to have far reaching benefits for many sectors including: aerospace, medical informatics, engineering design, distributed simulation and modelling.
Defining Military Pilot Training Requirements for 2015+ through the Application of Systems Approaches
J. Cleveley, M. Woodhead
This paper describes the requirements established for a Military Pilot Training System in 2015, and the predicted environment in which such a system would be required to operate. The paper outlines the derivation of these findings by describing the following:
- The systems approach to the problem.
- The tools and techniques employed in developing a Military Pilot Training System (MPTS) model.
- How the MPTS model was used to determine the Military Pilot Training Requirements for present day.
- The key areas of research performed (both for present day and 2015 and beyond) leading to the definition of the environment in which a 2015 military pilot training system would have to operate.
- How the MPTS model was used to determine the Military Pilot Training Requirements for 2015.
- Validation of the MPTS
The document will confirm that there is a continuing market for new and existing military pilot training systems into 2015 and beyond, detailing the specific key factors that must be addressed for such a system to be successful in a 2015 environment.
Integrating the Intelligent Enterprise
K. Dixon, University of Bath; S. Brown, BAE Systems; J. Keirl, Dstl
The need for enterprise intelligence continues to grow in response to increasingly complex and dynamic organizational environments. However, an intelligent enterprise is comprised of more than a collection of intelligent resources. Like an effective team the whole is made greater than the parts by the manner in which they integrate. Enterprise intelligence enables an organization to both fully exploit existing opportunities whilst remaining capable and ready to respond to future change. In this paper we focus on the contribution made to this dynamic stability by the systemic integration of resources. Using a multi-level systems model we develop a framework, drawing on the concept of intellectual capital, to examine data from a case study of a UK government funded research organization. The findings provide an important insight into the interplay between the social and structural aspects of the linkages that integrate resources and the implications this has for creating enterprise intelligence.
System of Systems Engineering for Capability
M G Touchin
In Dec 06, the US DoD published a guide on System of Systems System Engineering as a pilot document to be tried on selected programmes. Through the auspices of INCOSE, the drafting of the guide was strongly supported by Dr Charles Dickerson, Technical Fellow at BAE Systems, Reston, Va, and Abe Meilich from Lockheed Martin. The DoD sponsor department, DUSD (A&T), ran a panel session at the International Symposium to present the guide and experience to date in its use.
Malcolm Touchin, the SEIC’s Technical Manager, was a member of the panel, and presented a broader view of System of Systems Engineering as applied to the engineering of military capability. This recognized that defining a solution to a capability need is an example of a ‘Wicked Problem’ and that an evolutionary approach based heavily on experimentation is required to developing understanding of the capability in question, exploring potential solutions and gaining buy-in from stakeholders to the way in which the need will be satisfied. Integration across all of the UK Defence Lines of Development (equivalent to DOTMLPF in the US), and with the contributing capabilities from both government and industry, is a key issue.
Architecture-Based Drivers for System-of-Systems and Family-of-Systems Cost Estimating
G. Wang, P. Wardle, A. Ankrum, BAE Systems
As the industry undergoes a paradigm shift from a system-based procurement model to a capability-based acquisition model with a focus on integration of legacy systems and interoperability of systems of systems and families of systems, new challenges have emerged for the field of cost estimating. What is the cost of an operational capability in a net centric environment based on enterprise architecture? This paper explores a set of enterprise architecture-based drivers for estimating the life cycle cost or total ownership cost of operational capabilities from integration of complex systems of systems and families of systems. It attempts to extend the traditional systems engineering practices and to address the new challenges from capability-based engineering and interoperability of systems of systems.
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