645.761 Systems Architecting

As the systems that systems engineers face become more complex, it is no longer sufficient to use "good engineering practices." The complex systems of today need to be architected before design work can begin. This course examines the principles and art of systems architecting as a subset of broad systems engineering when developing individual systems and systems which are components of a system of systems or federation of systems. The objective is to provide students with the principles, techniques, and hands-on experience of architecting modern, complex systems. Students will learn the latest architecture development techniques using DoD and commercial architectural frameworks, extending those frameworks to specific problems involving unique systems development environments. Topics include the management of underlying system and data models and the special architecting requirements of command, control and communications systems. Special attention will be placed on visualizing architecture artifacts, qualitatively and quantitatively evaluating architectures and the systems model they represent, and utilizing system architectures for investment decisions. Case studies from actual experiences will be presented.

Prerequisites: MS in Systems Engineering or advisor approval.