Generating a Robust System Architecture Using ARCADIA Capella - Mon Feb 13, 2023 - INCOSE Canada 

This is an INCOSE volunteer-organized virtual event brought to you at no cost by the INCOSE Canada Chapter in collaboration featuring speaker Dr. Eric Dano who is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he majored in physics, and later served in the United States Marine Corps as an Electronics Counter Measures Officer (ECMO) flying in the EA-6B Prowler. Eric received his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in Electrical Engineering and Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, studying the experimental radar backscatter from deep ocean breaking waves.  Upon graduation, he took a job at Sanders/BAE Systems in Nashua, NH where he worked for over 25 years.  While at BAE, he served as System Architect/Technical Director on multiple advanced land, sea, and airborne based systems.  Dr. Dano also served as the lead of the System Architecture Community of Practice and led the development of the Chief Engineers in the CEMA and PS business areas.  In Fall of 2022, Eric left BAE Systems to take an Associate Professor of Practice teaching position in George Washington University’s Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department (EMSE).  His research interests include improvement of complex engineered systems through robust system architecture, system thinking, model-based systems architecture/ engineering, and improvement of system engineering practices.  Dr. Dano has been an INCOSE member since 2011 and is a past president of the New England chapter, a member of the Physics Honor Society, industry liaison for the ASEE-Mid Atlantic Section, a Senior member of IEEE, and participates on numerous IEEE, NDIA and INCOSE working groups.

Event Abstract

System Architecture is often attributed to defining 70% of the cost and capabilities of a system. However, even after nearly two decades of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), there is a lack of architecture focused methodologies and tools to aid programs in creating a robust, transdisciplinary system architecture. While the System Modeling Language (SysML) has become the official Object Management Group standard, its general-purpose nature and lack of associated methodology make it difficult to use for hierarchical architectures, without making modifications to the SysMLprofile. In 2007, Thales developed an architecture-centric MBSE method called the Architecture Analysis and Design Integrated Approach (ARCADIA), which combines the language, methodology and meta-model with a highly integrated tool called Capella. The ARCADIA 5-step Architecture Development Method (ADM) provides instance-based methodologies for each ADM step with rich viewpoints and views to ensure a robust architecture is obtained. Common methods with significant error prevention logic are used to reduce the user’s learning curve. While the ARCADIA method is robust for architecture synthesis without modification, this presentation will describe an augmented approach which defines a subset of the views and order of creation using only the first four ARCADIA ADM steps. This approach minimizes redundancy and modeling time without effecting the derived architecture. In addition, supplemental views will be added into the ARCADIA model to provide greater system context and to ensure a robust, transdisciplinary architecture is realized.