Systems Engineering of Software-Enabled Systems

Richard E. Fairley

• Publisher: Wiley-IEEE Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781119535034
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A comprehensive review of the life cycle processes, methods, and techniques used to develop and modify software-enabled systems

Systems Engineering of Software-Enabled Systems offers an authoritative review of the most current methods and techniques that can improve the links between systems engineering and software engineering. The author—a noted expert on the topic—offers an introduction to systems engineering and software engineering and presents the issues caused by the differences between the two during development process. The book reviews the traditional approaches used by systems engineers and software engineers and explores how they differ.

The book presents an approach to developing software-enabled systems that integrates the incremental approach used by systems engineers and the iterative approach used by software engineers. This unique approach is based on developing system capabilities that will provide the features, behaviors, and quality attributes needed by stakeholders, based on model-based system architecture. In addition, the author covers the management activities that a systems engineer or software engineer must engage in to manage and lead the technical work to be done. This important book:

• Offers an approach to improving the process of working with systems engineers and software engineers
• Contains information on the planning and estimating, measuring and controlling, managing risk, and organizing and leading systems engineering teams
• Includes a discussion of the key points of each chapter and exercises for review
• Suggests numerous references that provide additional readings for development of software-enabled physical systems
• Provides two case studies as running examples throughout the text

Written for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and practitioners, Systems Engineering of Software-Enabled Systems offers a comprehensive resource to the traditional and current techniques that can improve the links between systems engineering and software engineering.

Part I
Systems Engineering and Software Engineering

This text is presented in three parts. Part I includes Chapters 1-3. Chapter 1 provides an introduction and overview of systems engineering and software engineering. Chapter 2 presents attributes of the professional disciplines of systems engineering and software engineering. Chapter 3 includes issues that can facilitate and inhibit successful execution of software‐enabled system development projects.

1
Introduction and Overview

1.1 Introduction

This book is about the life cycle processes, methods, and techniques used by systems engineers, software engineers, and other engineers to develop and modify software‐enabled physical systems. Software‐enabled systems (SESs) are sometimes termed “software‐intensive,” “cyber‐physical,” “embedded,” or “Internet of Things (IOT).” The term “software‐enabled system” is used throughout this text to denote these and other kinds of systems for which software provides functionality, behavior, quality attributes, interfaces among system elements, and connections to entities in external environments.

An SES includes physical elements and software elements. The physical elements may be naturally occurring (e.g. wind, water, sun), may have been purposefully engineered by humans (e.g. solar and wind farms, hydroelectric dams), or may include a combination of naturally occurring and engineered elements. A hydroelectric system for example includes flowing water, the physical structure of the dam, and turbine/generator machines; all are sensed and controlled by software in digital devices. A dam or a flowing river provides the operational environment. The natural force of gravity provides the energy that rotates the turbine/generator machines. A case study of the Northwest hydroelectric system in the United States is presented in Appendix A of this text. Alternatively, the physical elements of an SES may be entirely engineered. These systems operate in natural and engineered environments. A case study of modern software‐enabled automobiles is presented in Appendix B.

The digital elements of an SES include digital hardware and the software that senses, measures, regulates, and controls the physical elements, including the digital hardware. In addition, the digital elements of an SES may include analog/digital and digital/analog converters for interconnecting analog system elements and digital devices. Software may also provide data management capabilities and communication among internal system elements and to external entities. Communication may be provided by direct linkage or by Internet‐enabled or Intranet‐enabled software links.

SESs range from smartphones to household appliances to pacemakers to automobiles to military systems to the International Space Station. They are deployed in every domain of modern society, including but not limited to aerospace, agriculture, communication, consumer products, defense, ecology, energy, health care, intelligent buildings, manufacturing, and transportation.

It is not an exaggeration to state that SESs are ubiquitous throughout modern society; they are constantly growing in size, complexity, and number of deployments.

Part 1 of the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (Engineering Disciplines Other than Systems Engineering) includes the following statement, attributed to Dr Barry Boehm, that describes the relationship between system engineering and software engineering (Boehm 1994):

SwE and SE are not just allied disciplines, they are intimately intertwined. Most functionality of commercial and government systems is now implemented in software, and software plays a prominent, or dominant role in differentiating competing systems in the marketplace. Software is usually prominent in modern systems architectures and is often the “glue” for integrating complex system components.

(SEBoKwiki.org, Part 1, Systems Engineering and Other Disciplines)

The intimate intertwining is reflected in the close relationships between systems engineering (SE) and software engineering life cycle processes in ISO/IEC/IEEE Standards 15288 and 12207 (ISO 2015, 2017). However, the methods and processes of SE do not always match those needed to accommodate development of the intimate intertwined physical elements and software elements of SESs. This text is concerned with bridging the gap between SE and software engineering and bridging the gap between the working relationships of physical systems engineers (PhSEs) and software engineers.

This chapter provides the opportunity for readers to learn about (or review) some background for the coverage of SES development in the remainder of the text. Topics in this chapter include the following:

• The evolution of engineering;
• The nature of systems, SE, and software engineering;
• Related disciplines;
• The product, service, enterprise, and systems of systems (SoSs) perspectives; and
• The roles played by PhSEs and SwSEs in developing SESs.

References and exercises are provided to enable further investigation of the topics presented in this chapter.

1.2 The Evolution of Engineering

Engineers develop systems, processes, and tools that improve the safety, security, ease, and convenience of human life and other life forms. Engineers also develop methods and tools to exploit natural resources. In recent times, engineers have become increasingly involved in developing mechanisms to protect and preserve natural resources and the ecological environment.

It is said that the first engineers developed structures to protect humans from animals and the environment, build crude bridges across streams, and exploit the lever and the wheel. Notable engineering achievements in ancient times included construction of the pyramids in Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the temples of ancient Greece, and the aqueducts that brought water to Rome.

In the early 1800s, the term “civil engineering” was coined to distinguish construction of bridges and buildings from development of military devices. During the mid‐1800s, development of machine tools, and invention of the steam engine and the machines powered by it, fostered the discipline of mechanical engineering. An early (stationary) steam engine, known as a beam engine, is illustrated in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 A stationary steam engine.

Source: Attribution: Nicolás Pérez.

During the late 1800s, electrical engineering evolved based on experiments with electricity and invention of the electric motor and generator. Civil engineering emerged from ancient practices; mechanical and electrical engineering were initially thought of as applie...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Part I: Systems Engineering and Software Engineering
• Part II: Systems Engineering for Software‐Enabled Physical Systems
• Part III: Technical Management of Systems Engineering
• Appendix A: The Northwest Hydroelectric System
• Appendix B: Automobile Embedded Real‐Time Systems
• Glossary of Terms
• Index
• End User License Agreement