SI4022 Systems Architecture for Product Development

Systems architects respond to user needs, define and allocate functionality, decompose the system, and define interfaces. This course presents a synthetic view of system architecture: the allocation of functionality and its projection on organizational functionality; the analysis of complexity and methods of decomposition and re-integration; consideration of downstream processes including manufacturing and operations. Physical systems and software systems are discussed. Heuristic and formal methods will be presented. Students are given research assignments that provide opportunities to further learn how systems architecture principles are applied in a variety of application areas. This course provides an integrative forum for PD21 students to stimulate holistic, global, and innovative thinking, and to enable critical evaluation of current modes of architecture. Prerequisites: None.

Lecture Hours

Lab Hours

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Articulate basic systems architecting methods.
Compare and contrast systems architecting with civil architecting.
Use keys to holistic thinking in scoping and partitioning system architectures.
Understand special concerns pertaining to software systems architectures, information systems architectures, and organizational architectures.
Conduct system modeling activities such as functional decomposition and allocation.
Assess the influences of architectural decisions on downstream lifecycle concerns such as manufacturing, certification, and end use.