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One Model, Many Interests, Many Views
Connecting Architecture to Analysis
When describing the role systems engineers play, frequently the analogy is drawn to a conductor and
an orchestra. While the coordination aspect is appropriate, the greater analogy falls apart. The better
analogy is that of connective tissue binding together the various engineers, subject matter experts,
managers, users, and stakeholders whose collective knowledge and insights contribute to successfully
engineering the right system.
Successfully connecting across the project involves communicating ideas about what is needed,
experiences from the past, insights into potential designs, and concerns regarding potential risks
and problems. It also requires connecting the many analytical considerations that bring rigor to
systems engineering. There are a host of detailed analytical engineering models that govern these
considerations – forces, resistance, power, fluid dynamics, reliability, maintainability, and much more.
Though the many engineering disciplines and other fields involved may have developed independently,
these analytics are not independent. They are often closely coupled and must be properly connected in
order to successfully explore possible solutions in the systems engineering trade space.
Much in the way that the systems engineer serves as connective tissue across the project team, the
solution architecture is the connectivetissue connecting key analytical models thatwill ultimately govern
system performance and viability. Most frequently, these detailed analytical models are interrelated
via the physical architecture (components and their interconnections), though the behavioral
dimension should not be overlooked. Done properly, the system architecture becomes the “one model
to coordinate them all,” and several graphical representations help capture and communicate these
critical interrelationships.