A functional modularization approach for architecting defense open systems: In support of strategic open architecture reuse

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DoD) mandates the use of a modular open system approach (OSA) to acquisition. This approach seeks to develop and use appropriate technical standards, architecting principles, and business approaches to optimize total system performance and minimize total ownership costs. This approach also emphasizes modular designs for system components in order to strategically promote reuse across multiple platforms and domains. While the benefits of open systems are well understood across the DoD, there are still challenges in implementing an OSA. Among these is a lack of a clearly defined functional modularization method suitable for open systems. The goal of this research is to aid system architects in adopting an open approach by developing a methodology to identify candidate components that can form the basis of modular architectures. This will support the development of strategic OSA reuse plans through identifying common functional components that support stakeholder objectives in terms of strategic design attributes such as flexibility, extensibility, scalability, and reconfigurability. Specifically, the research will explore the manner in which existing design concepts and tools for defining modular components can be applied to this specific problem domain.