Broad utility : architecting flexible and robust systems for a complex operational environment

Abstract

The current and future Operational Environment (OE) for the Unites States (US) military is becoming increasingly complex. This complexity requires Systems Engineers and Architects to develop new approaches for evaluating the variability inherent in the OEs of today and tomorrow. In response to this growing capability gap, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has established the Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS) program. A core tenant of ERS is Broad Utility-that is, the ability of a system to, "perform effectively in a wide range of operations across multiple futures despite experiencing disruptions". [1, p. 872] The goal of this research is to provide system designers with an approach for architecting systems developed under this program for Broad Utility, as well as systems developed outside of this program, in which stakeholders desire the solution to exhibit similar properties. Specifically, through the utilization of Systems Engineering methods and tools, this research accomplishes four objectives: (1) Develops an integrated, holistic model of the Operational Environment-the Operational Environment Exchange Network (OEEN); (2) Validates Flexibility and Robustness as key Ilities of Broad Utility for technical systems; (3) Proposes a set of Architectural Decisions for achieving Broad Utility; and (4) Provides an example of how to apply the Broad Utility Architectural Decisions to a system design problem for the US Army. The proposed Architectural Decisions link the variables of the Operational Environment exogenous to the technical system to the Ilities of Flexibility and Robustness. By accomplishing these research objectives, the resulting design considerations should enable system designers to increase the likelihood that the resulting system exhibits Broad Utility and is more readily able to remain effective, despite physical, social, or technological changes in its external environment.