Systems and Software Development

Systems and software engineering have made tremendous strides.  The processes and methodologies used have matured and the system lifecycle is now defined.  This is not to say that the systems and software domains are static.  Quite the opposite is true.  New methodologies, tools and processes are evolving rapidly.  I've personally had the opportunity to experience the systems and software domain from a defense perspective and have shared a small business perspective as an IBM Business Partner on my Social Business post.  

Not only is PSG a Social Business, we are also a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contractor.  In this capacity we develop innovative technologies in autonomous systems and system of systems (SoS).  These technologies challenge our systems engineering background and expertise.  The innovations also drive software developments to move systems and SoS research forward.  In this blog, I want to share the challenges we have encountered growing from an SBIR company to a systems and software development organization.  This journey is similar for other small businesses and small teams within larger businesses.  

I am invested in the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) and therefore PSG is founded on processes and methodologies developed in this international organization.  Within the organizational structure of INCOSE, I volunteer as the Working Group Chair of the Very Small and Micro Enterprise Working Group, (VSME WG).  This working group has been commissioned by INCOSE and the International Organization for Standards/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) to develop derivative standard products for systems and software.  This work has brought us close to functional processes applicable across a wide variety of domains and derived from approved standards.  The experience provides a foundational expertise in systems and software development processes. 

We made a strategic decision in 2010 to become an IBM Business Partner with certifications in IBM Rational systems and software acceleration suite.  We have also gained certifications in IBM system x (x86 servers) and storage systems.  With over 130 years staff experience in complex software intensive programs, adding the IBM BP in the systems and software tools complements our collective experiences.  As systems engineering and software consultants, combining our expertise with the enterprise tools we've used over multiple program lifecycles allows us to contribute both services and tools to our customers.  

Now back to PSG's efforts in innovative research.  This is where we leverage our experience, INCOSE process expertise and IBM BP into creating and maturing a systems and software organization capable of complex software developments.  This is also where I'd like to share our experience through this blog and offer PSG's story.  We're hopeful our  mistakes, successes and victories can provide insight for other businesses and teams taking on the global challenges of increasingly complex developments.  

To begin our journey, PSG needed a development environment to support systems engineering design.  We quickly got to a place where performing systems engineering tasks of requirements definition, concept development, architecture and model based systems engineering (MBSE) was at least cumbersome if not impossible without a network for collaboration.  Even small teams need repository based tools such as IBM Rational DOORS to develop, manage and iterate on system and software environments.  We selected an IBM system x as the foundational development an operations workhorse for our organization.  We customized our configuration by performing a trade of features and capability  until we arrived at the system that met our needs at an affordable price.  There is tons of assistance through your IBM BP and a deep bench of IBM technical support - even for the small organization.  Don't leave out cloud solutions and images that can support your needs.  We've built a hybrid cloud in our organization.

Tip #1.  Find an IT professional to support your organization.  Either a consultant or full time staff employee is necessary.  Your cloud provider (if you go that way) should have a fully qualified and certified help function as a key component of the offering.  

For our purposes, we equipped our development environment with IBM Rational DOORS, System Architect, and Rhapsody.  The IBM Rational  Jazz platform provides the basis of collaboration necessary for your complex developments and can accelerate your time to market in today's competitive environment. These fundamental components equip us with the tools necessary to develop architectures, requirements and designs based on INCOSE MBSE methodology.  Now we are able to spend our energy on systems and software engineering using enterprise tools.  Not only tools recognized by discerning customers, but tools that are repository based and built on a collaboration framework that endures throughout the lifecycle of the project development.  Oh yes and our enterprise development environment running on an IBM system x that has been solid as a rock for nearly 24 months!  

My plan is to continue our story and get deeper into specifics on the systems and software engineering effort on our SBIR project.  I hope you will find something of use in our story and look forward to your feedback!