AgileTecture™: A Methodology and Toolkit for Agile Design and Dynamic Reconfiguration of C4ISR Architectures

As C4ISR systems continue to grow in size and complexity, the associated systems engineering efforts of architecting, design, integration, and adaptation becomes increasingly more difficult and costly. This is not surprising because the engineering of a C4ISR system is predominantly a manual process at present and, consequently, error-prone. COTS architecture design tools do not possess the requisite semantics and capabilities to support large-scale system of systems architecture development efforts that involve multiple geographically distributed teams of individuals with different specialties and perspectives on architecture-related issues. In Phase I of this effort, we researched best practices in architecture development as well as architectural issues in tactical task organization. We identified gaps in commercial tools relative to DoDAF requirements as well as challenges to developing an integrated approach. We developed the system concept and technical architecture for a C4ISR toolkit/design support system that overcomes key limitations in existing tools. In Phase II, we will refine the design of this support system based on lessons learned in Phase I, and then implement and transition this support system to defense, aerospace, and academic environments for evaluation and continued evolution.