System-of-Systems Quality Attribute-Based Architectural Alternatives

Abstract

Building on a previously published research into a system-of-systems (SoS) quality attribute (QAt) balancing approach, this article extends the identification of desired characteristics for a selected as-is SoS architecture into defined design configurations as candidate architectures. We propose a process framework for the identification of the desired characteristics as QAts of interest to be balanced against selected performance measures. We show the extension of QAts to operational activities to be accounted for within the architecture and design techniques for employment against an as-is SoS architecture. We show how the operational activities and design techniques can be mapped to metrics used to compare alternative design configurations. These design configurations are then quantified in terms of the metrics for later comparison. We illustrate the framework using a generic DoD satellite communications (SATCOM) case study. Although our focus here is on a SATCOM example with a selected sub-et of attributes, the framework can be extended to address multiple similar issues across a multidomain space.