Architecture Model for Decision Makers to Better Understand Complex Systems

ABSTRACT: While developing any complex system, there are invariably tradeoffs among requirements; system performance, system architecture, cost, schedule, risk, standard compliance, and other factors that decision-makers need to address. A team of experienced system engineers can be leveraged to understand and explain many of these tradeoffs using standard system engineering tools available today. However, understanding second, third or tertiary affects is much more complex and addressed today primarily by system engineering experts performing custom analysis on the system under design. These experts leverage their detailed knowledge of the system, similarity to past systems and past tradeoffs and their broad understanding of engineering/physics principles. Unfortunately these experts are not available on all projects and may not be accessible to answer tradeoff questions at the decision makers discretion. We propose a solution called the Complex System Trade Study Tool (CS-TST), that will allow decision makers in the Space and Missile System Center (SMC), Intelligence Reconnaissance Surveillance (ISR) the capability to understand complex system tradeoffs in a timely manner, without requiring direct access to the domain experts. The CS-TST will leverage domain knowledge captured from engineering experts specializing in SMC/ISR's infrared systems and new software tools developed using Discovery Machine's Modeler technology. BENEFIT: Understanding complex systems earlier in the design process is valuable in nearly all domains. Markets from medical devices to satellite systems can benefit from better ways to assess effects of changes. Particularly those effects that happen at the secondary or tertiary level.