120
Engineering Systems Integration
systems already in operations.* These improvements increase the effective
ness and efficiency of integration, provide for more suitable capability for the
users, improve the performances of the overall system and particularly for
certain functions, and help the users make better decisions because of the
delivered service or product.
Tasks of Systems Integration
The major (top-level) tasks of systems integration are (1) characterizing and
providing the requisite objects in the form of products or services, and
(2) defining the interactions and integrations that are conducive to providing
operational effectiveness (e.g., process integration, functional integration,
physical integration, and behavioral integration). These tasks are carried out
in a step-wise fashion.
Systems integration combines an engineering approach to building a
proto-product or proto-service from disparate objects with a systems engi
neering approach to thinking in systems about the product or service. There
are 12 basic steps for carrying out integration. These steps are listed as
sequential, but in fact they required both iterative and recursive ordering
and thinking.
The 12 steps of integration for new product development cover the general
planning and scheduling of events as well as the specifics of the events
(including objects, interactions between objects, and processes).
1. Integration planning
a. Identify the key events that demonstrate subsystem and system
functionalities.
b. Coordinate the team’s work and activity flows to accommodate
the key events.
* The topic of upgrades and integration is beyond the scope of this book. However, a brief
discussion is warranted to point out the key issues from an integrator’s perspective.
Integration for upgrades or changes is neither bottom-up nor top-down, but rather at the
level of interactions between objects. The information needed resides in design and architec
ture of the existing system, the operational concept, the key requirements, and the expected
results from the upgrade or change. An analysis of the physical, functional, and behavioral
baseline (existing product or service) is completed to identify and evaluate the impacts of an
upgrade of change in terms of the systems operations, the user interactions, the user environ
ment (including procedures, social, and economic issues). Scenarios should be developed to
posit the range of actions possible, the conditions under which those actions become causal
to systems operations, and when the futurity of events warrant a further investigation and
evaluation. The investigation would include the kinds, types, and frequencies of decisions
that are made due to the upgraded or changed system, or due to the anticipation of the
upgraded or changed system.
Engineering Systems Integration
systems already in operations.* These improvements increase the effective
ness and efficiency of integration, provide for more suitable capability for the
users, improve the performances of the overall system and particularly for
certain functions, and help the users make better decisions because of the
delivered service or product.
Tasks of Systems Integration
The major (top-level) tasks of systems integration are (1) characterizing and
providing the requisite objects in the form of products or services, and
(2) defining the interactions and integrations that are conducive to providing
operational effectiveness (e.g., process integration, functional integration,
physical integration, and behavioral integration). These tasks are carried out
in a step-wise fashion.
Systems integration combines an engineering approach to building a
proto-product or proto-service from disparate objects with a systems engi
neering approach to thinking in systems about the product or service. There
are 12 basic steps for carrying out integration. These steps are listed as
sequential, but in fact they required both iterative and recursive ordering
and thinking.
The 12 steps of integration for new product development cover the general
planning and scheduling of events as well as the specifics of the events
(including objects, interactions between objects, and processes).
1. Integration planning
a. Identify the key events that demonstrate subsystem and system
functionalities.
b. Coordinate the team’s work and activity flows to accommodate
the key events.
* The topic of upgrades and integration is beyond the scope of this book. However, a brief
discussion is warranted to point out the key issues from an integrator’s perspective.
Integration for upgrades or changes is neither bottom-up nor top-down, but rather at the
level of interactions between objects. The information needed resides in design and architec
ture of the existing system, the operational concept, the key requirements, and the expected
results from the upgrade or change. An analysis of the physical, functional, and behavioral
baseline (existing product or service) is completed to identify and evaluate the impacts of an
upgrade of change in terms of the systems operations, the user interactions, the user environ
ment (including procedures, social, and economic issues). Scenarios should be developed to
posit the range of actions possible, the conditions under which those actions become causal
to systems operations, and when the futurity of events warrant a further investigation and
evaluation. The investigation would include the kinds, types, and frequencies of decisions
that are made due to the upgraded or changed system, or due to the anticipation of the
upgraded or changed system.