Using Design Structure Matrices (DSMs) to Derive System Architectures

Abstract

AbstractDesign Structure Matrices (DSMs) have been used to find the optimal sequence for process tasks and for defining optimum team structures for many years. This paper proposes a novel approach of performing functional based DSMs. This approach aligns closely with several Architecture Development Methods (ADMs) and serves as a great way to both manually perform and to teach the architectural derivation of a system. An advantage of using the functional DSM method is that system modularity can easily be identified, which aligns with the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) modular design tenets. This paper will demonstrate how the functional DSM method can be used to define the architecture of a Software Defined Radio (SDR) based system, for both a large and small platform. Further, it will be demonstrated how the DSM findings can also be combined with the MOSA Key Open Subsystem (KOSS) tool to further enhance modularity and ensure low cost growth and capability insertion over the entire system lifecycle. The author's intent is to not imply that the detailed DSM approach replaces model based architecting. On the contrary, there are model based architectural derivation methodologies (e.g. Arcadia Capella) that have rich artifacts to support all steps of the architecture derivation process. However, this approach provides a means to synthesize a robust modular architecture without model based techniques and allows practitioners to gain a better understand the architectural development elements before a pure modeling approach is used.