a need for creativity in systems integration

1

The Sixth National Conference INCOSE_IL 2011

Systems Integration Session

Need for Creativity in Systems Integration

Sergey Tozik

Bernard M. Gordon Center for Systems Engineering, Technion

Integration is…

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Unavoidable – there is always an integrator

Starts late, ends very late

Always full of surprises

Sometimes is on the verge of chaos

Frequently “saved by a hero”

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Element 1

Element 2

Element 3

1+2

Product

Integration

Integration

Simple?

There is more…

Business

System

More than just product…

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Product Operators

UsersPart Part

System

System

More than one way to do it…

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Diverse Integration Processes

• Planned (Company Procedures and Standards)• Tailored for specific projects• Ad-hoc (Manage it as it goes)

Diverse organizational structures

• Professional integration teams• Ad-hoc teams lead by professional integrator• Ad-hoc team led by discipline specialist or subsystem engineer

Diverse Engineering Approaches

• Classics: Functional and Structural• By user feature• By specialty discipline

More than just tests…

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Core – Integration Labs, Tests Planning, Performing, Reporting

Logistics (Flow of people, parts and materials)

Management of people & work, status reporting

Information and Knowledge Flow Management

Resources Acquisition, Management and Reporting

More than just technology…

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There is adaptation…

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Level 1: Product Adaptation

• Co-evolution of the product and the stakeholders’ requirements• Evolution of prototypes through integration and tests

Level 2: System Adaptation

• Operators adapt to the system• Operators’ dissatisfaction causes changes in systems

Level 3: Business Adaptation

• Systems are deployed as assets of the acquiring organization• The assets are combined in creative ways to perform missions• New types of missions change the operational processes

Diversity…

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Diverse cultures of engineering

Diversity of people – skills, disciplines, habits

Diversity of design alternatives

Network of mutual influences…

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Parts

System-of-interest

Super-system

Operational Missions

PartsDevelopers

System Integrators

System Operators

Super-system

Integrators Stakeholders

Social Environment

NaturalEnvironment

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System Integration

is Complex Adaptive System

Diversity

AdaptationInterconnectivity

andMutual Influence

Large Scale Crises

UnpredictableRobustn

ess

Flexibility

There are tools…

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Model-based Systems Engineering

• Integrate models (in vitro) not parts (in vivo)• Integrate earlier• Model system users and business processes

Iterative development

• Find and fix problems fast• Cover all three levels of integration

There is still a need for “creative integrator”

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Creative Integrator

Diversity

AdaptationInterconnectivity

andMutual Influence

Diversity

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Use different sources of information

Use different types of tests

Use different styles of reporting

Use different types of modeling

Networking

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Build ad-hoc teams

Mobilize cooperation of users

Mobilize cooperation of developers

Facilitate information exchange

Adaptation

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Adapt reporting to different purposes

Adapt integration approaches

Never stop to learn

Adjust levels of detail and abstraction

Move across levels of integration

Conclusions

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Integration process is complex adaptive system

The human side of integration is generally overlooked

There is a need for creativity in integration

Creative Integrators have to be complex and adaptive

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Beat Complexity With Creativity!

Any answers?