1.5.0 DARPA and NSF Advances in Systems Engineering: META and Value‐Driven Design

Abstract

AbstractINCOSE's objective to be the preeminent authority on systems engineering is being challenged by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) META program and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Value‐Driven Design (VDD) initiative.The goal of the DARPA META program is to dramatically shorten by a factor of five the design, integration, and verification timeline for defense systems. DARPA hypothesizes that a major cause of failed and challenged defense programs is the failure to update the systems engineering, integration and test process that has its roots in the defense programs of the 1960s. The progression from MIL‐STD‐499 to current EIA, IEEE and ISO systems engineering standards are evolutionary steps that are insufficient because of the complexity of current systems. DARPAs approach through META is to innovate model‐based composition to better manage complexity by proving correct‐by‐construction models using a proof of principle demonstration of a complex air or ground vehicle. META is the upfront portion of the Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) portfolio.The hypothesis of the NSF VDD Initiative is that the systems engineering approach to flow‐down and allocation of requirements results in systems that do not meet their system level requirements. The underlying cause is the nature of the human condition regarding risk taking and risk aversion. The VDD initiative is tapping into relevant fields in the social sciences and the use of objective functions in order to reinvigorate research into systems engineering and engineering design.