SE4950 System of Systems Engineering

Systems of systems (SoS) arise when a number of independently developed systems are integrated to perform tasks of which the independent systems are incapable. This course discusses the special problems of engineering systems of systems. Topics include characteristics of SoS, engineering management of SoS, engineering methodology of SoS, SoS architecture, analysis of SoS, and tools for engineering SoS. This course uses a seminar approach with out-of-classroom reading and in-class discussions of the reading replacing traditional lectures. Case studies are used extensively.

Prerequisite

SE4151

Lecture Hours

4

Lab Hours

0

Course Learning Outcomes

System of Systems Engineering and Integration (SoSE&I) Fundamentals: 

  • Compare and contrast traditional systems engineering with System of Systems Engineering and Integration (SoSE&I).

  • Demonstrate the ability to identify, formulate, and describe how a specific system of systems acquisition defined the system, the system feasibility and approach for integration; achieved interoperability; evaluated design and architectures for their SoS issues with regards to integration; and examined the sensitivities of the system of systems engineering processes to meet the needs of management. 

  • Identify research issues in the SoSE&I domain, explain their significance, and assess the current state in this research area.

  • Identify the SoSE&I lifecycle and highlight the differences between the SoSE&I lifecycle and the traditional SE lifecycle.

  • Identify the roles and responsibilities of the “constituent systems” within the SoS.

  • Identify how the asynchronous “constituent system” development impacts the SoS.

  • Compare and contrast the techniques that can be used to integrate “constituent systems” into the SoS.

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Concepts: 

  • Understand the fundamentals of MBSE and how MBSE can be used in the LSI environment. 

  • Apply knowledge of MBSE to create a model of a system and how it can be used support LSI activities.

  • Apply LSI concepts in a Model-Based Systems Engineering Environment.

  • Apply the SoS architectural principles and practices to a representative SoS problem.

  • Conduct modeling and simulation techniques (i.e., discrete event simulation, Monte Carlo Simulation) to forecast the behavior of the SoS.