Technology Today 2006 Issue 3 - Raytheon

onTechnology
Simulation Based Acquisition
as Part of
Enterprise Modeling and Simulation
Simulation Based Acquisition (SBA) is a
strategic development method based on
sound systems architecting principles that
applies modeling and simulation to all the
phases of a weapon system’s life cycle:
requirements generation, concept development,
design, build, test, operation and
adaptation.
The method uses modeling and simulation
to provide an early, virtual prototyping
environment and a common frame of
reference for developers, analysts, end-users
and managers. Requirements and performance
are addressed as early as possible in
development.
The parallels between Simulation Based
Acquisition and systems architecting can
be shown with some definitions from
literature.
Note: Italicized words and numbers within
the following boxed paragraphs concerning
working definitions of systems architecture
and Simulation Based Acquisition, are used
in conjunction with Figure 1 to illustrate the
parallels between the two.
A good working definition of systems
architecture is as follows 1 :
“An architecture is the set of
information (1) that defines a
systems value (2), cost (3), and
risk (4) sufficiently for the purposes
of the systems sponsor (5).”
Conversely, a good working definition of
Simulation Based Acquisition (SBA) can be
found in the Defense Systems Management
College publication, Simulation Based
Acquisition: A New Approach 2 :
20 2006 ISSUE 3 RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGY TODAY
ARCHITECTURE & SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
“SBA is about using simulation (1) to
explore the design space, to validate
(4) designs, and to verify (4) that the
proposed design will meet (2) the
end-user’s (5) expectations (2) and is
manufacturable, supportable, and
affordable (3).”
The parallels between these two definitions
help to show how Simulation Based
Acquisition is related to systems architecting.
These parallels are depicted in Figure 1.
Systems Architecture
1) information
2) value
3) cost
4) risk
5) systems sponsor
The Benefits of Simulation Based
Acquisition
The benefits of Simulation Based
Acquisition are to facilitate early reduction
of cost, risk and uncertainty, while at the
same time increasing confidence. It follows
from adoption of an iterative development
process that fosters an environment of
using incremental building and testing. Risks
are addressed early, exposed consistently
and visited regularly.
In addition, customers and end users can
develop a good feel for the product’s endstate
by getting previews of the end-state in
a piecemeal fashion. This is done through
smart application of modeling and simulation
to provide an early, virtual prototyping
environment of the system and a common
communication tool for developers, analysts,
end users and managers.
Figure 2 compares development “With
SBA” versus development “Without SBA,”
showing how progress, risk, confidence and
cost are affected.
Figure 2 shows how Simulation Based
Acquisition facilitates early and regular mitigation
of cost, risk and uncertainty, while at
the same time it steadily increases confidence
throughout development. Note that
at the integration point of development,
progress and confidence actually decrease
without Simulation Based Acquisition. This
is because many of the risks and issues that
Simulation Based Acquisition as a Systems Architecture
Simulation Based Acquisition
1) simulation
2) meet ... expectations
3) affordable
4) validate and verify
5) end-user
Figure 1. The parallels between Simulation Based Acquisition and systems architecting. The
numbered words correspond to the italicized numbered words in the definitions given in the
previous paragraphs for systems architecture and Simulation Based Acquisition.
would have been discovered early by the
incremental development aspect of
Simulation Based Acquisition lie dormant
until the software and hardware pieces join
together in the integration phase.
The Spiral Development Aspect of
Simulation Based Acquisition
In an ideal application of Simulation Based
Acquisition, simulations extend from lowfidelity
aggregate models to detailed engineering
prototypes. United Defense Limited
Partnership calls this Simulate, Emulate,
Stimulate4 . This fits well with the concept
of spiral development. This spiral nature is
shown in Figure 3.
YESTERDAY…TODAY…TOMORROW