2007 Issue 2 - Raytheon

Continued from page 23
and control echelon levels, but it also provides
significant opportunities to the individual
on the front line. Furthermore, net
centricity provides unprecedented capabilities
to validate the operational utility of
these same technologies and emergent
methodologies prior to deployment. Thus,
it validates Mission Assurance and the
effectiveness of solutions, from the frontline
warfighters’ environment through all
levels of upper command operations.
The recent Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) between
JFCOM and Raytheon is oriented toward
establishing the framework and supporting
mechanisms to allow just such a RDT&E
capability for urban environments. This
CRADA, titled Networked Urban Operations
Test Bed (NUOTB), is establishing an open
access framework to capitalize on existing
sites through the exploitation of networks.
By networking training environments,
acquisition authorities, and technology
providers into a cohesive environment and
process, complex system solutions can be
quickly evaluated, operationally validated
and readied for deployment to the by the
using customer throughout the RDT&E evolution.
By embedding technology testing,
evaluation and product evolution as part of
the existing training skills development of
the end user community, the operational
utility is aligned with the evolution of the
conflict area. And by embedding the
acquisition process up front in the other
areas, the customers DOTMLPF (Doctrine,
Organization, Training, Materiel,
Leadership, Personnel, Facilities) concerns
are addressed early, and therefore the
“Need” to “Deployed Solution” cycle can
be shortened significantly. Furthermore,
solutions in this environment can be scrutinized
not only for tactical effectiveness, but
for operations and strategic levels of effectiveness
as well.
Although challenges still exist and continue
to evolve, our nation is developing solutions
to meet these challenges at the technology
level, the employment level, the effect level
and the timeliness level. The real challenge
is expending enough effort to bring these
solutions to bear. •
Timothy R. Morris
timothy_r_morris@raytheon.com
24 2007 ISSUE 2 RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGY TODAY
onTechnology
P R O C E S S I N G
After Solid Success
Raytheon Presses Forward With MDA
Model-driven architecture (MDA ® ) is an
established software development methodology
put into practice across Raytheon’s
businesses. Raytheon Missile Systems (MS)
has been using MDA for more than 10
years; Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) has
a half-dozen projects where contractually
delivered software has been developed
from MDA (each at a greater productivity
level than traditional software methods);
and Network Centric Systems (NCS) has an
initiative to have MDA deployed at each of
their sites across the country.
As such, Raytheon engineers and other
experts have authored a number of papers
and presentations touting the benefits of
MDA. These benefits include:
• An increase in productivity
• A decrease in defects
• Better communication between systems
and software engineering
• Better communication with our customers
• An increase in reuse and product line
development
• Portability
For these reasons, the adoption of MDA
may be inevitable. The most compelling
argument for its adoption, though, might
be that our customers are beginning to
demand it.
As the value and maturity of MDA is
increasingly recognized, the larger question
becomes: “Should the government make
the delivery of compilable models a contractual
requirement?” Based on Raytheon’s
MDA briefings to Pentagon representatives
and the Office of Naval Research, the message
is now clear. The acquisition offices of
the DoD are seriously considering the productivity
improvement, the software quality
Manufacturing
Finance
Transportation Health Care
More
E-Commerce
Space Model-Driven Telecom
Architecture
and the potential for reuse that represent
the promise of MDA.
From a business perspective, an argument
can be made that the industry transition
from current software development
practices to MDA is similar in nature to
the adoption of the Capability Maturity
Model (CMM ® ).
When the CMM was first released in the
early 1990s by the Software Engineering
Institute (SEI) at Carnegie-Mellon University,
acceptance ranged from total buy-in to outright
hostility. The norm may have been
somewhere in the middle, between cautious
optimism and mindful skepticism. All
arguments were settled when various government
factions required CMM certification
as part of the acquisition process.
As the customer community explores the
possibility of requiring MDA products as
deliverables, Raytheon will continue to
expand the use of this technology.
Our continued success with model-driven
architecture is based on a practical strategy.
After pathfinding the new technology on
several internal research and development
projects in IDS, MS and NCS, we started
Y E S T E R D A Y … T O D A Y … T O M O R R O W