System-of-Systems Viewpoint for System Architecture Documentation
John Klein, Hans van Vliet

TL;DR
This paper evaluates a system-of-systems architecture documentation viewpoint to support integrated design and analysis, identifying gaps and proposing enhancements to improve comprehensiveness for constituent system concerns.
Contribution
It introduces a revised architecture documentation viewpoint with a Deployment Model to better address system interaction concerns in a system-of-systems context.
Findings
Expert review showed the viewpoint effectively answered most architect questions.
Identified a gap in the baseline viewpoint regarding software and network relationships.
Adding a Deployment Model improved coverage of interaction concerns.
Abstract
Context: The systems comprising a system of systems (SoS) are inde- pendently acquired, operated, and managed. Frequently, the architecture documentation of these existing systems addresses only a stand-alone perspective, and must be augmented to address concerns that arise in the integrated SoS. Objective: We evaluated an architecture documentation viewpoint to address the concerns of a SoS architect about a constituent system, to support SoS design and analysis involving that constituent system. Method: We performed an expert review of documentation produced by applying the viewpoint to a system, using the active review method. Results: The expert panel was able to used a view constructed using the baseline version of the viewpoint to answer questions related to all SoS architect concerns about a constituent system, except for questions concerning the interaction of the constituent…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSoftware Engineering Techniques and Practices · Information Technology Governance and Strategy · Software Engineering Research
