System Life Cycle Trajectories: Tracking Innovation Paths Using System DNA

Abstract

AbstractSystems change configuration across life cycles. Systems in development change in‐progress developmental configurations. Evolving product lines and competing product models change configurations, over lives of product lines. Understanding system trajectories (paths of changing configurations) is important to understanding installation history, developmental progress, and competitive evolution.What to track? For living systems, physical form (phenotype) was the initial focus, but the study of genetic information (genotype) became vital. MBSE, Configuration Management (CM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Model Management (MM) disciplines and tools partially address engineered system needs. However, cyberwar, epidemics, and other threats raise pressure to accelerate rates and efficacy of system evolution, enhancing agility.This paper, part II of an IS2015 case for stronger MBSE semantics, applies “system DNA” trajectories, extends work reported by a System Sciences Working Group project at IW2014, and supports the IW2015 MBSE Workshop session on Agile Systems and the INCOSE Agile Systems Engineering Project.