Abstract
Architecture definition, which is central to system design, is one of the two most used technical processes in the practice of model-based systems engineering. In this article, a fundamental approach to architecture definition is presented and demonstrated. The success of its application to engineering problems depends on a precise but practical definition of the term architecture. In the standard for architecture description, ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011, a definition was adopted that has been subsumed into later standards. In 2018, the working group JTC1/SC7/WG42 on system architecture began a review of the adopted definition, holding sessions late in the year. This article extends and complements a position paper submitted during the meetings, in which Tarski model theory and ISO/IEC 24707:2018 (logic-based languages) were used to better understand relationships between system models and concepts related to architecture. Independent from the working group, it now contributes intuitive fundamental definitions of the terms architecture and system that are used to specify a mathematically based technical process for architecture definition. The engineering utility and benefits to complex system design are demonstrated in a diesel engine emissions reduction case study.
Highlights
ARCHITECTURE is key to the modern practice of engineering but in many ways, a precise practical definition has been elusive if not ineffable
The potential of achieving precise unified definitions by means of a formal approach, and the benefits of so doing have been long recognized in, for example: (i) the foundational work of Bertalanffy [2], which was inclusive of many mathematical expressions of systems concepts; (ii) Wymore’s codification of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) [3], which expressed a programme for systems engineering; and (iii) Rosen [4], who was perhaps the first to recognize the possibility of using Category Theory for systems and scientific problem solving
New intuitive fundamental definitions complemented by mathematical interpretation have been contributed and used to specify a mathematically based technical process for architecture definition that can be applied to the life-cycle specification of a system
Summary
ARCHITECTURE is key to the modern practice of engineering but in many ways, a precise practical definition has been elusive if not ineffable. Understanding architecture in this way is intuitive and useful, it lacks the precision needed for application to engineering problems. The position taken in this paper is the same as the one taken with JTC1/SC7/WG42 in late 2018: a prose definition of a technical term should be complemented by a mathematical interpretation [1]. This is a model theoretic method for assessing validity of definitions that is essential for specifying an architecture definition technical process for engineering and scientific problem solving
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