A robust system maturity model for complex systems utilizing system readiness level and Petri nets

Abstract

System development can be plagued with excessive cost and schedule delay. During the system development lifecycle process, the development team makes difficult decisions concerning where to allocate project resources. As systems become more complex, and budgets are more constrained, understanding how to make these decisions becomes more problematic. To assist in the system development lifecycle process, this research introduces a new system maturity model called Petri net system readiness level (PNSRL). PNSRL integrates the fundamentals of System Readiness Level (SRL) and Petri nets (PNs) to create a more robust system view that can be used to analyze and score the readiness of system-of-system architectures. Integrations between technologies are expanded using PN transitions, to offer integration relationships. System workflow can be visualized with PNSRL, which can lead to system model validation utilizing PN tokens. PNSRL expands SRL mathematical equations by including PN capacities, which are used to weight each sub-system’s importance based on the number of interconnections associated. This article will illustrate how to use the PNSRL model by creating a functional system view for system readiness calculations. PNSRL is graphically and mathematically compared to the latest SRL model, Incidence Matrix System Readiness Level (IMSRL), to show how PNSRL represents all system components when calculating system readiness and produces a more accurate readiness value. Guidelines for PNSRL token and capacity allocation are offered, to assist in the system validation process using reachability graphs. Project managers and systems engineers can use this model to accurately depict their system and more precisely calculate technology maturity through the system development lifecycle. This model can aid in the system resource allocation decision process and allows further understanding of how the system’s key components operate.