Getting Started

Introduction and Overview

Welcome to SYS650: System Architecture and Design
System Architecture and Design picks up where Fundamentals of Systems Engineering
(SYS625) left off. SYS625 covered the disciplined process for identifying a stakeholder
need and translating that need into a complete set of system requirements for a
selected system concept, and ended with the System Requirement Review (SRR). In
contrast to SYS625, the focus of this course shifts inside the system boundary to define
and develop a specification for the set of logical and physical elements that comprise
the logical and physical architectures. The course also addresses the implications of life
cycle and design factors on the system design. The course culminates with a
Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in which the system design is reviewed before
detailed design can begin. The course has a strong how-to orientation both a team
project and a final individual project are used to give students an opportunity to apply
the architectural concepts and lessons learned. The course highlights linkages between
early architectural decisions driven by customer requirements and concept of
operations, and system operational and support costs.

Course Objectives
After taking this course, the student will be able to:
Understand the link between the functional and physical system architectures and the
iterative nature of architecture development.
Allocate system level requirements to components level requirements through
equivalence, apportionment, synthesis and other methods.
Use a systems engineering tool to manage requirements, perform system level
modeling, document functional and physical architectures
Develop a system level functional and physical architecture applying the methods
learned in the course.

Textbook
The textbook for this course is: Buede, D. M., The Engineering Design of Systems,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Either the first or second edition of this book can
be used. ISBN numbers are:

1st edition (2000) ISBNs: 0-471-28225-1 OR 978-0471282259, 488 pages.

2nd edition (2009) ISBNs: 0-470-16402-6 OR 978-0470164020, 536 pages. (preferred)

Textbook examples used in the lecture notes are further explained in the textbook. The
textbook also provides reference material for the assignments. Related chapters of the
text are shown in the Weekly Schedule for each topic (chapters for 2nd edition to be
added when available); however, students should prioritize the review of the course
material and completion of the assignments first, and refer to and read through the
textbook when specifically required and as time allows.
1

Fundamentals of Online Learning

If this is your first experience with online learning, there are some important differences
from classroom-based instruction. In a traditional classroom, the instructor presents
information to the students, assigns homework, and conducts assessments to verify that
students have mastered the information required. Students listen to lectures, participate
in classroom discussions, complete homework assignments and take exams. While the
expectation in a traditional classroom is that students will be actively engaged in the
learning process, some learning occurs even for students who remain completely
passive. Being present for classroom lectures and the ensuing discussions provides
even the least energetic students with some modicum of understanding of the course
content. Not so with online learning. With online courses, students can sit in front
of their computers for as long as they like, but unless they take action, no
learning takes place! Thus, students bear a greater responsibility for their own learning
in the online classroom; if they stop taking action for some period of time, learning stops
until they resume.
One advantage of online learning above that in the classroom, is the students are free
to perform additional online research in real-time on many of the topics in the course
material. This additional real-time research increases knowledge in the material
presented and when students make these findings a part of our online weekly
discussions, everyone benefits from the truly collaborative learning experience.

Course Outline
SYS650 describes the preliminary design phase of the systems engineering process,
beginning after the Systems Requirements Review (SRR) through to the Preliminary
Design Review (PDR). After a brief review of SYS625, functional and physical views
are developed for the system and these are integrated into a comprehensive system
model using CORE as a design tool. The course is divided into thirteen weeks.
Students are required to complete one team or one individual assignment each week.
Individuals also participate in an online discussion each week starting in week one
through week twelve. An individual response to one Discussion Question (DQ) is
required by Wednesday of each week followed by a response, on a different day later in
the week that demonstrates active participation in the online discussion.
To promote full team member participation, students are required to assess their own
contributions and other members of their team about midway in the semester and then
again towards the end of the semester, prior to the grading of the final team project.
While team members usually receive the same grade, team members may earn a lower
grade due to lower participation in the team activities.
There is both a team (Preliminary Design Review (PDR) presentation) and an individual
(to be worked on alone) final project to demonstrate personal mastery of the course
material. While specific assignments are required each week, there is no requirement
that the assignments must be completed in a single week they can be started early! A
more detailed outline of the course is provided in the Weekly Schedule.
2

Weekly Schedule
W
k
1

Ch. 1, 6

Ch. 2, 3

Ch. 7

Ch. 7

Ch. 7

Ch. 8,
10

Physical and
Interface
Architectures

Team

Ch 9

System Model

Team

Ch. 13

Architecture
Assessment

Team

PDR, part 1

10

PDR, part 2

Final
Team
Final
Team

11
12
13

Buede

Ch. 12,
Ch. 9.5

Lecture
Notes
SYS625/CORE
Review and
ATM Guided
Tour
Introduction to
and Strategic
Role of
Architecture
Functional
Architecture
Functional Arch
Tradeoffs

Assg
Type
Indiv

Team

Team
Team
Indiv

Functional
Modeling
OO and AFs

Indiv
Final
Indiv

Assgs Due Midnight EST, Sunday

See Course Material for Detail
Complete Student Profile. (10 pts)
Complete ATM CORE Guided Tour (50
pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Develop two new ATM sequence
diagrams; and update the requirements
in the ORD.
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Update the CORE model for the new
required inputs and outputs.
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Develop the first level functional
architecture in CORE.
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Create internal sequence diagrams and
trace through the teams first level
functional architecture; provide detail
on analysis and mismatches. (100 pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Develop first level physical architecture
in CORE. Add an external interface and
a link to the system model in CORE.
Provide team assessment. (5 pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Extend most complex first level
function and physical component to the
2nd level and add relationships.
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Describe how you might update the
ATM architecture for two Design
Factors. Provide a risk assessment for
the architecture.
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Post PDR Presentation slides. (225 pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Post PDR Presentation recording. (75
pts)
Provide team assessment. (5 pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Simulation Report (50 pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Weekly Discussion (15 pts)
Complete 2nd level functional and
physical architectures and extend
architectures to 3rd level for one
function (300 pts)
Complete Course Evaluation

Max
Pts
75

15

15
15
115

20

15

15

240
95

65
15
300

1000
3

Team Assignments
Team assignments are due in eight of the thirteen weeks. The first six team
assignments provide an opportunity for the instructor to review the teams work and
provide feedback to help the teams stay on track. The feedback is not intended to be
comprehensive or point out every flaw. The goal is for the teams to iteratively build and
revise their work based on lessons learned from the coursework, discussions, and
feedback. The two final team assignments are graded.
Assignments are described in detail for each week in the Course Material. After the
teams complete the weeks assignment, the team lead posts the teams work in the
assignment area for the instructor to review and provide comments. For consistency
and fairness to each team, this is the only time the instructor will review and provide
feedback on the teams deliverables. However, the instructor welcomes questions from
the team members (please copy your teammates) at any time.
In summary, the teamwork process each week is as follows:

Each student reviews the lecture notes and resource material provided in the Course
Material and discusses the material with their teams, as needed.
Team assignments are completed as a team, not by the team lead only. Please
note: Every team member should have a turn at updating the CORE model.
Team leaders post the teams completed assignment on time in the appropriate
area.
The instructor reviews the posted teamwork and provides feedback.
Teams factor instructor feedback and lessons learned from the coursework and
discussions, into their ongoing project work towards a high quality final PDR.

The week begins Monday morning. To ensure that ample time is available for review of
the team assignments prior to the following weeks work, team assignments must be
posted by midnight EST on Sunday of the week in which they are assigned. Instructor
comments will be posted by midnight Wednesday of the following week, typically earlier,
for all team assignments except the final PDR, which can take up to a week to review.

Teams and Team Leadership

System Architecture and Design employs project teams to facilitate the learning
process. Each team consists of three to five students who develop a system design
selected for its relevance and its familiarity in our case the Automated Teller Machine
(ATM). Teams are formed by the students with guidance from the instructor using a
Learning Team Sign-up sheet and the Form Teams discussion group.
Effective time management is crucial to ensure that teams complete their assignments
on time and to keep the course on schedule for all participants. To facilitate this, team
leaders are to be assigned by each team on a rotating basis. The team leader for each
week in which an assignment is required is responsible for:
a) arranging the team meeting or meetings,
b) facilitating team discussions, ensuring full participation of each member of the team,
4

c) verifying that the teams response to the assignment is accurate and complete, and
d) posting the assignment to the appropriate area by the required time.
Each student will be required to serve as team leader one to three times during the
course, depending on the size of the team. The members of the team collaborate to
decide on team leader assignments. A schedule of team leader assignments should be
posted to the appropriate thread in the Form Teams Discussion group by each team by
the end of the first week of class. Changes made to the team leader assignments
during the course should be posted as updates to the team lead list in the Form Teams
Discussion group.

Individual Assignments
Four individual assignments comprised of three smaller individual assignments and
one major final individual assignment, are due in the class along with the student
profile, team assessments, weekly discussions, and the completion of the course
evaluation survey. Individual assignments are explained in the Weekly Assignment files
in the Course Material and are posted in the Assignments area of the course.
Individual assignments are designed to successively build capability and confidence in
architecture concepts at the individual level. Attention to detail in the individual
assignments is key to building personal mastery.
The online week begins Monday morning. Individual assignments must be posted by
midnight EST on Sunday of the week in which they are assigned. Instructor comments
will typically be posted by midnight up to one week later for all individual assignments;
especially the final individual project.

Weekly Online Discussions

Students are required to participate in online discussions on the weeks course content
from Monday through Sunday each week. This discussion takes place in parallel with
the work on the individual or team assignment due that week. The instructor posts
Discussion Questions (DQs) to stimulate this discussion. The goal of the online
discussions are to mimic an in-class discussion in terms of addressing a topic and
reaching certain conclusions or objectives of learning; albeit, separated in time and
space. This leads to several differences between classroom and online discussions. In
online discussions:
All students participate, not just the more vocal students.
Students can participate any time of the day or night, when they are ready or in
the mood to contribute and learn.
Each participant has time to reflect on their response in order to provide a more
valuable experience to all, before posting the response.
Comments are succinct, using the minimum amount of words needed to make a
point, in order to minimize the amount of reading required to get to the point.
Postings are not limited to responses to the discussion questions. Postings may also
include observations related to that weeks course material, comments on lessons
5

learned while completing that weeks assignment, related real-life experiences, results
of related research (include url pointers, if applicable), or other value add material
pertinent to the course content for that week. There is also an area for students to post
questions on the course material; however the questions do not count towards the
participation requirements.
At the end of the week (after Sunday) the discussion will remain available to the
students but no more input should be posted.
Students comments will be monitored by the instructor. Each student should respond to
at least one DQ by Wednesday and post a substantive follow-up comment later in the
week that is, each student will be expected to contribute at least two substantive
comments per discussion each week on two separate days (Monday to Sunday) to
earn maximum credit.
Substantive comments are constructive, reflective and intended to further the learning
process. They provide insights, opinions, examples, or suggestions. Substantive
comments add value to the discussion. Comments like good point or I agree do not
qualify as substantive comments; however, they can be used as an introduction to a
follow-on point.
Participation in the discussion should be once early in the week (respond to one DQ)
and again towards the end of the week after the discussion has matured. Comments
should be short and to the point. Since every student and the instructor read every
comment, long, wordy comments place an unnecessary burden on the entire class.
The challenge is to provide meaningful contributions to the discussion as succinctly as
possible!

Lecture Notes and Course Concepts

Lecture notes are used primarily as a reference; that is, the presentation slides are not
intended to provide a complete understanding of the course concepts for that week.
Rather, important course concepts are introduced in a number of different ways. First, a
review of the most important points for each week is included in the Overview section of
the Assignment files for each week. Additional hints to important course concepts are
also found in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) included at the end of those same
weekly Assignment files. Second, recorded audio lectures are available in most weeks
on most topics. Lecture notes and other course content should be discussed as part of
the team meetings and applied to the teams work. Instructor feedback also serves as a
review of important course concepts. However, active participation in the online
discussions is critical for achieving a more complete understanding of the course
material through a question and answer approach. Additional questions are requested
and encouraged. Specific questions on a particular weeks course content should be
posted to that weeks FAQ discussion thread or sent to the instructors Mail for possible
inclusion in the FAQ discussion thread. When public questions are posted; students
should feel free to answer each others questions; and the instructor will clarify as
needed. Students should rely on the entire process, especially participation and reading
and asking questions through the weekly discussions, to learn the course material,
rather than struggle to understand a particular point that may seem unclear in the slides.
6

Grading
Grades will be based on three factors: class participation (20%), team project (30%) and
individual assignments (50%). Participation points will be awarded for completing a
student profile at the start of the course (10 points), assessing self and team members
midway (5 points) and at the completion (5 points) of the team project, and participating
in online discussions an important element of the course worth up to 180 points
earning up to 200 points total for participation. Students will be assigned points for
contributing to each of the twelve discussions as follows:

15 Points: Excellent student provided two or more substantive comments on two

or more days, and participated in the discussion both early in the discussion when it
was taking shape (by Wednesday), and later in the discussion when it had matured
(by Sunday), and significantly moved the discussion forward by taking it in a new
direction; for example, providing a relevant example from the students own
experience; or synthesizing a key point. Please note: Answering two or more DQs
on separate days during the week does not qualify for an Excellent.
10 Points: Compliant student contributed at least two substantive comments to the
discussion, as required, but failed to meet all criteria specified for Excellent.
5 Points: Deficient student contributed to the discussion but failed to make at least
two substantive comments.
0 Points: Failed student failed to participate in the discussion or the students
comments were not substantive.

Each team can earn up to 300 points for their team project. In the case of team
assignment, if a student is not contributing fully to the work of the team, the student will
earn a lower team grade. Individual assignments will be worth up to an additional 500
points three individual assignments worth up to 50, 100, 50 points respectively in
three of the weeks, and a final individual project due at the end of the course worth up
to 300 points. This results in a maximum of 1000 points for the course, which can be
divided by 10 for the final number grade. The standard Stevens grading scale is then
applied to determine the base letter grade: 90-100 A, 80-89 B, 70-79 C, 69 or less F,
and then a plus (+) or (-) will be applied to the final base letter grade as determined by
the overall performance of the students in the class. Typically the spread for 1000 points
is: 930-1000 A, 900-929 A-, 870-899 B+, 830-869 B, 800-829 B-, 770-799 C+, 730-769
C, 700-729 C-, 699 or less F. Therefore, if you are required to obtain a B or higher
grade by your company for tuition reimbursement, be aware you need to earn 830 or
more points in the class. The graduate grade points are:
A
4.00

A3.67

B+
3.33

B
3.00

B2.67

C+
2.33

C
2.00

C1.67

F
0.00

Students should review their grades each week using the My Grades tool.
Students should review their assignment feedback each week by clicking on Graded in
the Assignments link for each assignment. Please note that the feedback may include
attachments as noted in the feedback comments; feedback files are found with the
other files submitted in the Assignment area for each particular assignment.
7