1. Model-Based System Integration (MBSI) An Instructional Approach
Dr. Paul Montgomery
Associate Professor of Systems Engineering
Naval Postgraduate School
May 15, 2012
SE Processes and tools
SI is often engaged at end of development cycle
T&E often viewed as separate community from SI
Failures/risks result
MBSE trying to keep up
BUT…
I&Q success improved with early involvement (beginning at design)
Prevents “dumb” design decisions that frustrate I&Q
Ensures early acceptance agreements
Don’t integrate system until model is integrated
How can SE education reinforce?
SO…
Three I&Q instructional approaches
I&Q is hard to “teach” …must be experienced
But time is usually too short for the experience
Subsystem – LSI model can work
Need a design environment and qualification environment
But…still not enough time for success
Still needed for I&Q success – a system modeling environment

2. Perspectives Calibration
Developmental SE
SI – Different perspective from SEs
DoD – Developing complex systems
Academia – SE professor
MBSE – Evolving and maturing
MBSI – An idea (MBSE from SI’s perspective)

3. BLUF Integration Modeling Instruction Integration begins at design
Don’t try to integrate the system until you successfully integrate the system model
Instruction
Integration must be experienced, not merely studied

4. Essential Concepts of I&Q1
Integration = ensuring the system comes together
Interfaces (connectivity and flow)
Interactions (also interoperability)
Qualification = ensuring the system is acceptable to the customer (aka ‘acceptance’)
Building the system correctly (aka ‘verification’)
Building the correct system (aka ‘validation’)
1 I&Q = Integration and Qualification

5. What’s the Problem? Many system developments fail at
integration & qualification (I&Q)
… and fail badly
Added cost, schedule, and needed redesign 1
Hershey Foods Corp. PROJECT: IBM-led installation and integration of SAP, Manugistics Group Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc. software…Hershey sales fell 12% in the quarter after the system went live — down $150.5 million compared with the year before
Norfolk Southern Corp. PROJECT: Systems integration with merger target Consolidated Rail Corp…Norfolk Southern lost more than $113 million in business during its 1998/1999 railroad merger with Conrail. Custom logistics software wasn’t tested properly and a dispatcher mistakenly fed bogus test data into the system
Tri Valley Growers PROJECT: Oracle Corp. ERP and application integration…Tri Valley bought at least $6 million worth of ERP software and services from Oracle in None of the software worked as promised; some of it couldn’t even be installed on Tri Valley’s DEC Alpha hardware, the co-op claimed in a $20 million lawsuit filed in February.
From: “Top 10 Corporate Information Technology Failures”

6. Where are we (DoD) Going? - DoD and SoS/LSI (Gansler)
SoS acquisition and engineering is the norm in DoD
SoS design, integration and qualification (I&Q) is highly complex
DoD engineering workforce not well aligned to LSI responsibilities
Government oversight of LSI has been complicated with contractual ambiguities
Delineation of “inherently governmental functions” for LSI needs more clarity
Private LSIs have inherent conflicts of interests without specific controls
SoS integration requires a strong, centralized LSI

7. If SE is Well Defined, Why is I&Q a Challenge?
What’s wrong with this picture?
Integration & Qualification
Definition & Decomposition
ID Needs
Define Concept
Preliminary Design
Detailed Design
Component I&T
System I&T
Production / Mfg
Deployment O&M
Verification & Validation
Component Build

8. Integration begins at design
MBSI
Integration begins at design

9. What is a System Model? CORE Model
Functional Decomposition (Hierarchy)
Functional Flow Model (FFBD)
Functional Process Model (IDEF0)
Behavior Diagram (Sequence)
CORE Model
Generic Physical Block Diagram
Interface Diagram (N2)

10. MBSI – The SI’s MBSE Perspective
Design Environment
Integration Environment
Qualification Environment
Modeling Environment
MBSE?

11. SE Activities Should Produce System Definition/Model
Operational Model
Interface Model
Physical Model
Functional Model
Behavioral Model

12. System Model Underpins I&Q Activities

13. Don’t try to integrate the system until you integrate the model
System Modeling
Don’t try to integrate the system until you integrate the model

14. Progressive Integration
Different teams in diverse locations

15. Integration and Qualification Considerations from Functional Analysis
Complex flows/connectivity may indicate complex interactions and bears special attention for integration and qualification focus (or possible redesign)

16. Integration and Qualification Considerations from Behavior Analysis
High behavioral interaction activity bears special attention for integration and qualification focus (or possible redesign)

17. Integration and Qualification Considerations from N2 Analysis
Function 1
Large number of interface content (complex interactions) can warrant special integration and qualification focus (or possible redesign)
Function 2
Function 3
Function 4
Function 5

18. Integration must be experienced, not merely taught
I&Q Instructional Methods
Integration must be experienced, not merely taught

19. Popular Approaches to Teaching I&Q
Shortfalls:
Non-tangible experience
Hard to develop I&Q instincts
Disjointed learning experience
Process
Approach
SE Fundamentals
SE Integration
Test and Eval
Shortfalls:
Cannot design components
Interfaces are fixed
Interface design may be hidden
Approach
“Toys”
Concept
System Model
System model is essential for project success
Shortfalls:
Not enough time
Not enough student skills
Set up for failure
Qualify
Design
Integrate
End-to-End
Approach
Build

20. MBSI Instructional Example
A Project

21. Overview of Class Project
SOH Submarine Detection using Fire Scout
(STRAIT SCOUT)

22. Customer Problem Statement
In the Persian Gulf, we do not have a reliable system to detect submarines that egress and ingress through the SOH by hiding in tanker wakes.
Research Questions
Can a combination of BAMS and one FireScout be used to provide a high Pd of the submarine behavior above?
What is shipping traffic density vs. Pd performance of such a system?
What are some FireScout search strategies for such a system deployment?

23. Primary System Assets BAMS Fire Scout
- Persistent surveillance over AOR with surface search Radar
Fire Scout
Speed = 0 – 90kts
FireScout Sensor = LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
Scanning
Sub – inch resolution

24. Top-Level STRAIT SCOUT Architecture Concept
BAMS 1
FireScout 5 6 3 6
Red Team
Sensor C2 1 4 7 8 8
Test Parameters (Parameters, Scenarios, Results)
1 – Ships and sub position data
2 – N/A
3 – Surface track data
4 – Sensor data
5 – Flight path commands
6 - Position data
7 – Environment parameters
8 – Test results

25. Team Roles & Responsibilities
LSI
Primary stakeholder negotiations
Top-level architecture
Taxonomy and structure
External systems interfaces
Intra-subsystem interfaces
Functional naming conventions
Conop
Integration and qualification strategy
Integration strategy
Acceptance goals, objectives, and agreements
Leadership
Subsystem teams
Subsystem derived requirements
Subsystem Design
Functional, interfaces, and generic physical
Subsystem integration and qualification
Instructor = Primary customer/stakeholder

26. SE Design Define the problem Develop functional architecture
Develop physical architecture
Develop operational architecture
Develop interface architecture
Define integration, test, V&V strategy

27. Simulation Concept Tanker track and direction FireScout
sensor scan field
Wake (with sub)
Detection?
time
time = t
Wake (no sub)
time = tn

28. Project I&Q Environment
Excel™
VBA
“Dictator”
Subsystem A
Advantages:
Readily available “Office” tools
Concept-to-design
Interface visibility
Team integration = subsystem integration
LSI integration = system integration
Disadvantages:
VBA is not innate SE skill
Too much to do in time alloted
Integration can still be undisciplined
VBA
Excel™
Excel™
Subsystem B
VBA
Excel™
System
Subsystem C
VBA
Subsystem Teams
LSI
Team

29. MBSI Environment “I&Q” “Design” Implementation Functional Modeling
Conop
Needs
Mission
Constraints
Assumptions
Goals
Objectives
Functional Modeling
Physical Modeling
Cell formulas and VBA
Sheets and cells
Interface
Modeling
modeling
Qualification
Modeling
Behavioral
Modeling

30. Primary Class Project Phases
System design
Model integration (CORE1)
System development (code)
Subsystem & System integration
System verification (test)
System validation (demonstrate)
System acceptance (grade)
1 CORE 8 (University) Service pack 3

31. MBSI Instructional Example
The si perspective

32. SI Challenge Questions
Do you understand your problem and what your subsystem needs to do?
Do you understand enough about your subsystem behaviors to define functions?
How many functions are in your subsystem?
Are the functions “modular” and simple?
How many interactions do you expect?
How many external interfaces do you need to define?
How many internal interfaces do you need to define?
Have you thought of which functions need to be integrated first?
What are the integration and qualification risks that are starting to emerge?

33. Simplified Strait Scout Sequence Diagram?
LSI
Red
BAMS C2 FS
Sensor
Setup / Run
loop
Locations
Target Data
Flight Cmds
Fly/ Location
Sub detected
Record
Terminate

34. Strait Scout Functional Context Systems
Control flow is linear?

35. N2
Interface complexity?

36. IDEF
Many interfaces?
Many interfaces?

37. Sequence
Triggers? Responses?

38. Student Discoveries Early requirements clarification is important
Early architecture design imperative (especially functional and interface)
Rushing to development prior to model definition wastes time and effort
Early model integration drives out:
Functional gaps and overlaps
Interface inconsistencies and discontinuities
System behavior misunderstandings
Inter and intra-system interface problems
SI involvement in design can reduce risk during I&Q
Project would have failed without MBSE/MBSI methods

39. MBSI – An Instructional Approach
Lessons learned

40. Value of MBSI Successful I&Q requires: MBSE tools not yet MBSI tools
Strong LSI / SI
Detailed system definition (particularly interfaces and functional interactions)
Early taxonomy and structure definition
Early SI influence with I&Q success perspective
Modeling in order to discipline design efforts
Model integration prior to system integration to reduce I&Q risks
Diverse and integrated SE/SI support system (i.e. tool sets, etc.)
MBSE tools not yet MBSI tools
“Teach” I&Q using MBSI applied to experiential project

41. References
Handbook of Systems Engineering and Management, Sage and Rouse (ed.), Wiley and Sons, 1999, Chapter 14
Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems, Ver 1.0, Aug 2008, Director, Systems and Software Engineering, DUSD (Acq and Tech), OSD (AT&L)
The Role of the Lead System Integrator, Gansler, et.al., NPS-AM , Jan 2009
Top 10 Corporate Information Technology Failures,