Challenges in Developing Systems
Acceptance to the user
Lecture 6: Understanding System Life Cycle
K S Rajan IIIT, Hyderabad
Timing is RIGHT? System feasibility and ROI Does the proposed system have OPERATIONALLY UTILITY to the User relative to their organizational missions and objectives? Is the proposed system OPERATIONALLY SUITABLE for all stakeholders relative to its intended application? Is the proposed system OPERATIONALLY AVAILABLE when tasked to perform missions? Is the system OPERATIONALLY EFFECTIVE, in terms of cost and technical performance, for its intended mission applications and objectives?
Measures of a System
Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) Measures of Performance (MOP) Measures of Suitability (MOS)
Subjective user criteria
System Verification and Validation
Engineering of the system
Conversion of users vision to an operable system
Operational Effectiveness
Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) metric
System integrity
Confidence in the performance of the system
Operational Suitability System Effectiveness
suitability, dependability, (reliability, availability, maintainability), and capability
Reproducibility of the system
Cost Effectiveness
Guiding Principles
Principle 1 System acceptability is determined user satisfaction; user satisfaction is determined by five User criteria: 1. Provide valuemeaning operational utility. 2. Fit within the users system and mission applications meaning operational suitability. 3. Be available to conduct missionsmeaning operational availability. 4. Accomplish performance objectivesmeaning operational effectiveness. 5. Be affordablemeaning cost effectiveness. Principle 6.2 Despite the most technically innovative and elegant SE design solutions, Users perceptions of a system, product, or service constitute reality.
Stages in a Systems Life
conceptualized, planned, organized, scheduled, estimated, procured, deployed, operated & supported, and disposed
System Life Cycle
System Definition Phase
1) mission opportunities, 2) threats, or 3) projected system capability and performance gaps or deficiencies.
System System System System System
Procurement Phase Development Phase Production Phase Operations and Support (O&S) Phase Disposal Phase
System Definition
1) mission opportunities, 2) threats, or 3) projected system capability and performance gaps or deficiencies.
System Procurement Phase
1. Qualifying capable system, product, or service vendors. 2. Soliciting proposals from qualified vendors (offerors). 3. Selecting a preferred vendor (offeror). 4. Contracting with the vendor to develop the system, product, or service.
System development Phase
1. System Engineering Design 2. Component Procurement and Development 3. System Integration, Test, and Evaluation (SITE) 4. Authenticate System Baselines 5. Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) Each stage has an Entry and Exit criteria Developmental Configuration System Verification test System Performance test
System Operations and Support (O&S) Phase
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) Full Operational Capability (FOC) operational service life Disposal
Multi-level Life Cycles
Importance of a System Life Cycle to an SE
1. LOB the User is engaged in. 2. Opportunities, problems, or issues the User is chartered to address as part of its LOB. opportunity space; specific targets as targets of opportunity (TOO). 3. Missions the User performs to support the LOB. solution space. 4. Capabilities are required to support solution space missions now and in the future. 5. Existing systems, products, or services the User employs to provide those capabilities. 6. Deficiencies or opportunities - exist in the current system, product, or service and how you and your organization can cost effectively eliminate those deficiencies with new technologies, systems, products, or services.
SEs role as a problem solver-solution developer becomes crucial.
The challenge is how do SEs work with Users and Acquirers to: 1. Collaboratively identify and partition the opportunity space into one or more solution spaces, 2. Technically bound and specify the solution space in terms of capability and performance requirements that are legally sufficient to procure systems, products, and services, 3. Verify that the new system complies with those requirements, 4. Validate that the system developed satisfies the Users original operational needs?
