| Summary: | The usefulness of packageability as one of the ‘ilities’ for systems engineering was investigated. It was found that packageability plays an important role in a multitude of systems, and it was investigated in several ways. First, a brief analysis showed that at least two criteria must be met for something to be considered an ility. These criteria are that the ility often manifests itself after the system is deployed, and that the potential ility must not simply be a persistent physical characteristic. It was shown that packageability meets both requirements. Second, six different systems were examined, revealing nine general ways packageability is used. They provide a way for system engineers to recognize packageability as a non-functional system property. The usefulness of packageability as a top-level non-functional system property is shown, as well as for sub-systems and components. A working definition of packageability is then proposed. Finally, a detailed treatment of packageability is presented for radar systems with transmit–receive modules. Packageability was shown to be a useful ility category that can add value to stakeholders, and that captures real system features that are not captured by other ilities. This work demonstrates that packageability should be considered as an ility for systems engineers.
|
|---|
