This is just an Excerpt from a larger document, click here to view the entire document.Implementing SBA
SBA is not a replacement for good systems engineering. Indeed, an important simulation tool is Simulation Based Design (SBD), which is a system design approach based on the creation of virtual system prototypes and virtual environments within an integrated system design capture and simulation framework. Virtual prototypes of candidate system designs are constructed based upon design information captured in multiple domains.
Simulation allows virtual prototypes to be examined in operational scenarios. The cost and schedule associated with a specific design can be compared with the functionality and support costs of the design. In this way, systems can be designed and developed that meet the mission requirements at the minimum life cycle cost.
Figure 1. SBA involves collaboration, sharing of information, and the application and sharing of advances in information technology. (Click to Zoom)
Advanced system engineering development methods and automation techniques allow the complexity inherent in the design of large complex systems to be managed efficiently and provide an effective means for evaluating multiple candidate design options at various levels of design abstraction. The US Advanced Research Projects Agency has pursued a simulation based design approach in the development of advanced ship design tools that address mechanical and hydrodynamic ship design factors.
Each military service is implementing SBA differently. The US Army has adopted the SMART, or Simulation and Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements, and Training, approach. Established by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, SMART brings together the requirements, training, and acquisition communities to address system development and life-cycle support. A centrally planned, decentrally executed strategy is being used to motivate Army program managers to incorporate SMART in their programs.
The US Navy was the earliest service proponent of SBA. Unlike the other services, however, the Navy has not established a highlevel champion for the concept. The Navy plans to establish a work breakdown structure that supports the cost-effective implementation of SBA.
The US Air Force explored SBA roadmap concepts in 1998 using a Tiger Team under the leadership of the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). AFMC, with Air Staff assistance, has been given the leadership role for SBA within the Air Force. This team made recommendations concerning how SBA should be implemented within the Air Force. As a result of this Tiger Team and a subsequent General Officer SBA Conference, the Air Force established the SBA Infrastructure Program, scheduled to begin in October 2001.
