Systems Engineering for the Digital Age

Chapter 37Assessing Benefits of Modularity in Missions and System of Systems

Navindran Davendralingam¹, Cesare Guariniello², and Lu Xiao³

¹ Research Science, Amazon Inc., Seattle, WA, USA

² School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

³ School of Systems and Enterprise, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Introduction

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has recognized the need to transition to a culture of performance and affordability. This includes prioritization of speed of delivery, continuous adaptation, and frequent upgrades. These objectives are supported by various DoD initiatives, including leveraging a modularization strategy via the modular open system approach (MOSA) – a defense acquisition initiative (and requirement in law for major programs) to encourage the adoption of modularization and of open architectures.

However, current MOSA guidelines provide limited insight into:

1. The “What”: The specific potential benefits of modularity and openness, the conflicting priorities of the diverse set of stakeholders involved, and the complex interdependencies that exist between the technical and business elements of modular system acquisitions;
2. The “How”: Which levers to play, and decision problems to solve, to realize the benefits of modularity and openness throughout the “MOSA ecosystem”;
3. The “Why”: How can programs improve their evidence for specific MOSA implementation

While the above three points illustrate challenges ...