Mark J. De Spain

The Design for Tractable Analysis (DTA) Framework: A Methodology for the Analysis and Simulation of Complex Systems

The Design for Tractable Analysis (DTA) framework was developed to address the analysis of complex systems and so-called “wicked problems.†DTA is distinctive because it treats analytic processes as key artifacts that can be created and improved through formal design processes. Systems (or enterprises) are analyzed as a whole, in conjunction with decomposing them into constituent elements for domain-specific analyses that are informed by the whole. After using the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) to frame the problem in the context of stakeholder needs, DTA harnesses the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) to structure the analysis of the system and address questions about the emergent properties of the system. The novel use of DSM to “design the analysis†makes DTA particularly suitable for addressing the interdependent nature of complex systems. The use of DTA is demonstrated by a case study of sensor grid placement decisions to secure assets at a fixed site.