Devanandham Henry

Generic metrics and quantitative approaches for system resilience as a function of time

Resilience is generally understood as the ability of an entity to recover from an external disruptive event. In the system domain, a formal definition and quantification of the concept of resilience has been elusive. This paper proposes generic metrics and formulae for quantifying system resilience. The discussions and graphical examples illustrate that the quantitative model is aligned with the fundamental concept of resilience. Based on the approach presented it is possible to analyze resilience as a time dependent function in the context of systems. The paper describes the metrics of network and system resilience, time for resilience and total cost of resilience. Also the paper describes the key parameters necessary to analyze system resilience such as the following: disruptive events, component restoration and overall resilience strategy. A road network example is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed resilience metrics and how these analyses form the basis for developing effective resilience design strategies. The metrics described are generic enough to be implemented in a variety of applications as long as appropriate figures-of-merit and the necessary system parameters, system decomposition and component parameters are defined.

A system maturity index for the systems engineering life cycle

In the United States (USA) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the USA Department of Defense (DoD) the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale is a measure of maturity of an individual technology, with a view towards operational use in a system context. A comprehensive set of concerns becomes relevant when this metric is abstracted from an individual technology to a system context. This paper proposes the development of a system-focused approach for managing system development and making effective and efficient decisions during a systems engineering life cycle. This paper presents a System Readiness Level (SRL) index that incorporates both the current TRL scale and an Integration Readiness Level (IRL) and provides a method for determining readiness of a system in the systems engineering life cycle. This paper concludes with a general discuss of the implication of the proposed SRL and how this may be applied to four case examples.

Master's Degrees in Software Engineering: An Analysis of 28 University Programs

The software engineering institute published the last reference curriculum for a masters in software engineering in 1991. In 2007, a coalition from academia, industry, and government began creating a new reference curriculum. An early step was to establish a baseline of graduate education by surveying 28 masters programs in software engineering. The survey was largely limited to US schools. Key findings showed that the universities viewed software engineering largely as a specialization of computer science, that faculty size is generally small with few dedicated professors, and that new masters programs continue to start despite the decrease in computer science majors over the past few years. We used the IEEE Computer Societys Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) to structure our analysis of the 28 curricula, focusing primarily on courses and topics required or semirequired of all students. (A course is semirequired if there is at least a 50 percent chance a student must take it.) Major findings show wide variation in the depth and breadth of SWEBOK coverage in required and semirequired courses, less than 40 percent of all programs requiring an introductory course on software engineering, and many universities having required and semirequired courses that are peripheral to SWEBOK.

Perspectives on measuring enterprise resilience

The new paradigm, known as “resilience engineering”, emphasizes the importance of measuring resilience and suggests the development of methodologies to analyze and prepare to improve the resilience of enterprises. In this paper we review existing resilience measurement methodologies, and propose new modes of measurement. We define enterprise resilience as the capacity to decrease vulnerability, the ability to change and adapt, and the ability to recover quickly from disruption. Using this definition, we identify metrics which evaluate, more specifically: (1) an enterprises capability to decrease its level of vulnerability to expected and unexpected events, (2) its ability to change itself and adapt to changing environment; (3) its ability to recover in the least possible time in case of a disruptive event. Based on the discussed enterprise resilience metrics, we use several examples and evaluate a set of illustrative responses to common disruptions.

On the Impacts of Power Outages during Hurricane Sandy-A Resilience-Based Analysis

The dependence on continuous availability of power for day-to-day functioning and sustenance of life is more critical today than ever before. A prolonged loss of power is no longer just an inconvenience, but brings normal life to a standstill. When Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S East Coast in October 2012, many lost their homes and properties due to the flooding and severe winds. However, a significant impact was the power outages to over 8 million customers across 21 states, for days and even weeks. This paper takes a systems view of these power outages from supply and demand sides, from a quantitative resilience perspective. The focus of this study is on the resilience action that enables restoration of the disrupted system. Generic resilience framework and metrics are used as the basis for the resilience analysis; the observations, lessons learnt, and recommendations based on this analysis are expected to improve recovery from large-scale power outages resulting from any disruptive event in future.

The Current State of Software Engineering Masters Degree Programs

A broad coalition of professionals from academia, industry, and government, under sponsorship of the US Department of Defense, is building a new model curriculum for a Masters Degree in Software Engineering (SwE). Before beginning to create such a model, a study of 28 programs was completed to determine the current state of SwE masters-level education in the US and abroad.

Experiences From Creating the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) v. 1.0

Abstract Version 1.0 of the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) was released in September 2012. Seventy authors from around the world working for three years created the SEBoK. This paper discusses twelve factors that were critical to the successful development and on-time release of the SEBoK. The approach taken is elaborated, and lessons learned along the way are highlighted. These experiences and recommendations based on them would be useful to any collaborative research effort that shares one or more of the characteristics of SEBoK development.

Analysis of the References from the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK)

Abstract Version 1.0 of the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) was released in September 2012. The SEBoK contained over 1000 articles and almost 700 books as references. 224 of the references were cited as primary references. This paper disaggregates the references by several dimensions. Interesting insights include the most cited references; topics where references are sparse, indicating immaturity of the field; the longitudinal distribution of references; organizations with the most authors cited; and the most active research topics.

Competencies required for successful acquisition of the Next Generation Air Transportation System

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) is facing the challenge of significant increases in workload for the air traffic control system. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) efforts are aimed at providing the changes to the system needed to meet that challenge. In order to be prepared, the FAA is looking at the competencies needed to develop and deploy the improvements in an effective and efficient manner. As part of this work, Stevens Institute of Technology has been tasked to review the competencies needed for systems engineering, systems integration, and software engineering. This paper reviews the initial efforts and approach to define a competency model that best fits the needs of the NextGen program.