TABLE OF CONTENTS Systems consist of entities, referred to as elements of the system architecture in the previous chapter, and relations between those entities. The relations between the entities are referred to as interfaces. Interface analysis is one of the methods by which we arrive at an optimum architecture for a system before we commit to design it. We define precisely where the interface planes are in the system, who is responsible for them, and ensure that the teams and principal engineers responsible for the interface terminals and the related media all have precisely the same understanding of the requirements and design concept for each one. In the process we may affect changes to the system architecture derived from allocation of system functionality. The desired goal is to refine the match between how the design teams are organized and how the product system is organized in order to simplify the system development process and assure we have accounted for all needed system functionality. Systems with the simplest interfaces relative to system design responsibilities result in programs with the fewest risks.
This book encourages the use of n-Square diagramming techniques augmented by specialized analytical techniques corresponding to the several engineering disciplines (avionics, fluid dynamics, and so forth) to determine the optimum interface relations between system elements. Generally, the analyst seeks to maximize the capacity for interaction between system elements while minimizing the system need to interact. Generally, this results in minimizing the number and complexity of interfaces.
Given that...
