A systems and concurrent engineering framework for the integrated development of space products

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework for the integrated development of space products. The framework is called ‘total view framework’ because it provides the total set of product, process and organisation elements and their interactions from the outset in the development process. It uses systems engineering (SE) and concurrent engineering (CE) in an integrated manner, as part of the same framework. The framework extends the application of the SE process to life cycle processes and their performing organisations and applies CE at all levels of the hierarchical product breakdown structure. The ‘total view framework’ is supported by a method, called ‘concurrent structured analysis method’, that consists of the three analysis processes: requirements, functional and physical. These processes mirror the bulk of the SE process and are applied concurrently to product, process and organisations. The outputs of the method are requirements, functional attributes, physical attributes and the interactions among them. These outputs are then analysed using a clustering algorithm and a complexity metric based on cohesion and coupling shows the clustering effects.