{"270001":{"#nid":"270001","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Novel Collaborative Software Helps Systems Engineers Link Performance and Cost","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EToday\u0027s modeling and simulation (M\u0026amp;S) software provides indispensable tools for systems engineering challenges. Such programs allow investigators to experiment with \u0022what-ifs\u0022 by adjusting design parameters and examining potential outcomes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA team from the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (GTRI) has produced an advanced web-based tool that lets physically separated participants collaborate on model-based systems engineering projects. Known as the Framework for Assessing Cost and Technology (FACT), the program utilizes open-source software components to allow users to visualize a system\u0027s potential expense alongside its performance, reliability and other factors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research is sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC). The work was most recently reported in March in the Proceedings of the 11th Conference on Systems Engineering Research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe FACT tool enables users to pull all aspects of a project into a single modeling and simulation process, explained Tommer Ender, a GTRI senior research engineer who co-leads the effort.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The FACT framework lets multiple users work together online to create entire systems, including complex technology systems,\u0022 Ender said. \u0022All they need is access to a web browser.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFACT\u0027s features include:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECapacity to weigh cost along with performance factors;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAdaptability to a wide range of systems engineering problems;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAbility to track the entire collaborative process;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAdvanced security and configurability features;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECollaboration among any systems engineering platforms with web access.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFACT is currently in use at the GTRI field office in Quantico, Va., located on the Quantico Marine Corps Base. There, senior research engineers Jim Bertoglio and Ron Smith are working with Marine Corps personnel to maximize the software\u0027s effectiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInside the GTRI facility, a dedicated conference room with six large high definition screens provides highly reconfigurable work areas. The screens function individually or together, while notes handwritten on a linked screen can instantly become electronic text that supports the online collaboration.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E Modeling Multiple Factors\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModeling and simulation software, Ender explained, has traditionally been used to address performance issues. For instance, M\u0026amp;S tools allow researchers to investigate the capabilities of air or ground vehicles, or radar systems\u0027 effectiveness against hostile action.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These tools do an excellent job of answering the \u0027how fast, how well\u0027 questions, but we rarely see them working in either collaborative or cost-aware environments,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith FACT, online users can take advantage of a technique called trade-space analysis, which allows them to juggle performance, cost and other factors, said Daniel Browne, a research engineer who leads the project for GTRI. For example, users examining vehicle convoy logistics could investigate the complex interrelationship of vehicles, personnel, supplies and cost to pinpoint optimal combinations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We can select parameters for each component down to the desired level of detail, and then experiment with trade-offs at the attribute level,\u0022 Browne said. \u0022Suppose I use FACT to adjust the number of convoy personnel per HUMVEE to increase fuel efficiency. I can then turn around and look at how that change affects the number of convoys I can field, and what the ultimate cost savings is.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFACT\u0027s collaborative capabilities include security and usability functions that are highly configurable, he said. If, for instance, a given user is responsible only for budgetary considerations, administrators could limit that person to just the model\u0027s cost portions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsers can create entire technical models outside the FACT framework, and then introduce those models into the collaborative arena for team-wide consideration. In all cases, administrators can go back and trace each part of the work, including where it came from and what happened after it came into the system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Multi-Project Tool\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEnder stressed the point that FACT\u0027s modeling capabilities can be applied to many different types of projects. The GTRI development team has already used it to address systems engineering questions relating to ships, satellites and ground vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In the past, it\u0027s been very challenging to re-use modeling and simulation tools,\u0022 he said. \u0022You could build a big beautiful tool for a customer, but when the customer came in with a different problem, you had to start again from scratch.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA major factor in FACT\u0027s portability is that its building blocks are both flexible and familiar. They\u0027re based on open-source software standards and recognized approaches to systems engineering processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, the FACT toolkit utilizes the Systems Modeling Language (SysML), an open-source modeling language widely used in systems engineering applications. SysML supports design, analysis and validation of many different kinds of systems development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe FACT tool itself will likely be limited to military use, Browne said. But software frameworks similar to FACT offer promise for future applications that could support both academic and commercial systems engineering needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The ultimate goal is to have a reusable model-based systems engineering tool in hand, available for a wide range of customer needs,\u0022 he said. \u0022Having such a tool lets us spend our time and effort improving the quality of the domain-specific information that goes into the model itself, rather than having to reinvent the modeling tool we\u0027re using.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Assistance\u003C\/strong\u003E: Lance Wallace (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-407-7280) or John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed an advanced web-based tool that allows geographically separated participants to collaborate on systems engineering projects.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An advanced web-based tool allows collaboration on systems engineering projects."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-01-21 21:16:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:44","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"269991":{"id":"269991","type":"image","title":"FACT Development Team","body":null,"created":"1449244077","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:47:57","changed":"1475894959","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:19","alt":"FACT Development Team","file":{"fid":"198609","name":"fact5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fact5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fact5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1508597,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fact5_0.jpg?itok=kiAoPEJJ"}}},"media_ids":["269991"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"340","name":"collaboration"},{"id":"823","name":"design"},{"id":"84491","name":"FACT"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"84481","name":"modeling \u0026 simulation"},{"id":"167642","name":"systems engineering"},{"id":"84501","name":"Tommer Ender"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}