EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXCESS AND SYSTEM EVOLUTIONS USING A STRESS-TEST

摘要

Engineers understand that attaining a full service life can add value to an engineered system. Ensuring that this is possible requires that excess be embedded within the design to enable system evolution when new or changed requirements are placed on it during the service phase. However, since future needs are by definition unknown, knowing with certainty which excesses to embed is impossible. To address that challenge, this paper draws on an excess mapping method developed in previous work that demonstrated how to map component relationships based on excess interactions. This method is now used in a stress test approach to explore how a system design is affected when faced with various possible evolution scenarios. This study has two results: first, a judgment of whether the current system design possesses sufficient excess for it to respond to future needs. Second, quantitative estimates of excesses to add if the current design excess is judged to be insufficient. A demonstrative example is presented using a dart gun, which determines that the system as designed is likely adequate for a variety of possible future needs.