Azad Madni
Professor
Director, SAE Program
Viterbi School of Engineering azad.madni@usc.edu

■
Rapidly changing battlespace
 irregular, hybrid warfare
 adaptive, asymmetric threats
■
Need new class of adaptive systems
 developed with speed and agility
 capable of adapting to new missions, threats, operational contexts
■
Existing SE methods, processes, tools are woefully inadequate
Systems 2020, a DDR&E initiative, identified Platform-Based
Engineering as a “game changer” for building adaptive systems
Madni/2
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

■
A cost-effective, risk-mitigated system development approach that employs a common structure from which high quality derivative products can be developed rapidly
■
Intended to achieve rapid time-to-fielding through reuse of platform and core assets
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni
Madni/3

■
Configurable, extensible, reusable system implementation infrastructure comprising hardware, software, and networked systems
■
Encompasses domain-specific components and services that reflect
 commonalities of systems in the domain (configured as reusable physical/informational components)
 variabilities across domains (individually developed domain product line)
 interface conventions for “plug and play” with domain infrastructure and common components
■
Includes
 physical platforms (e.g., aircraft) designed to support a range of payloads or missions
 information platforms that provide layered services for network management, operating system, data management, and mission support
Madni/4
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

Develop platforms that can accommodate or evolve to satisfy changing mission goals and the needs of variable, uncertain operational environments
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni
Madni/5

■
“Game Changers” are technologies or processes that enable development of fast, flexible, and adaptable systems
■
PBE game changers include
 adaptive product line architectures
 agility platforms
 architectural patterns
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni
Madni/6

■
An adaptive architecture used to develop a family of systems
 using a common set of core assets in a prescribed way
 sharing a common set of features satisfying the needs of a market/mission
■
Enable rapid insertion and “test-drive” of new system capabilities and system evolution as part of a product line
■
Enable reduction of product development cycle time, cost, and risks by starting with “a partial solution” provided by the platform
■
Extend useful life of the platform by building in mechanisms for product line adaptation and evolution
Madni/7
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

■
Platforms that enable fast and cost-effective adaptation to change
 exploit emerging technologies
 adapt to changes in regulation, policy, or threat characteristics
■
Enabled by technological advances
 virtualization – assures transparency of computing resources and locations
 cloud computing – enable on demand provisioning of services that support rapid, cost-effective increases/decreases of resources
 architectural patterns
– facilitate software development and integration
 adaptive product line architectures – facilitate automated reasoning about the platform to achieve adaptive system behavior and seamless legacy integration
Madni/8
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

■
Offer solutions to specific software and hardware development problems within a particular domain that can be exploited (with modifications) in many systems development contexts
■
Facilitate automated reasoning about platform to achieve adaptive system behavior and seamless legacy integration
■
Offer a foundation for architectural style, reference architectures, middleware platforms, and application frameworks
■
Enable faster development of flexible/adaptable systems
■
Applications include
 achieving alignment of organizations and systems
 discovering new ways to rapidly build flexible, adaptable, versatile platforms (e.g., data mining to uncover latent patterns in architecture and find opportunities for reuse of components/subsystems)
Madni/9
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

• real options
• resource buffers
• schedule buffers
• technology options provision
facilitate reasoning in design of enable exploit
• virtualization
• cloud computing
• dynamically composable services
• dynamically composable capabilities accelerate development of
Madni/10
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

■ Mechanisms for introducing real options to enable downstream introduction of new technology in cost-effective fashion
■ Methodology for designing resource and schedule buffers to absorb changes in product line
■ Methodology for determining how far a product line can be adapted before it loses its value proposition and competitive advantage
Madni/11
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

■ Methodology to analyze multiple tradeoffs impacting platform agility
■ Methodology to evaluate tradeoffs between product line scope and platform agility, and between product line robustness and platform agility
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni
Madni/12

■ Scale proven software architectural patterns to systems
■
Specify integration patterns for hardware-software integration and human-system integration
■ Develop reasoning mechanisms based on system architectural patterns
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni
Madni/13

■
Adaptive Product Line Architecture
 extend useful life of the product line by “absorbing” or “adapting to” change
■
Agility Platform
 rapid, cost-effective adaptation to new requirements and changes in the operational and regulatory environment
■
Architectural Patterns

Facilitate and accelerate development and integration of APLAs and
APs
Speed up of 4x to 10x observed in commercial firms.
Madni/14
Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni

Copyright © 2010 Azad M. Madni
Madni/15