Systems Engineering Mini-Project: Requirements Specification and Systems Architecture

Coursework briefing

This guide describes the Systems Engineering Mini-project that forms part of the assessment for EG7312 Systems Engineering. This guide  contains the background and administrative information you need to complete the project, but you will need to research components and  make appropriate assumptions in the absence of perfect data, because this is what Systems Engineers do!

The mini-project is to produce systems engineering documentation and a systems architecture for a simple system, then plan how the system  will be verified. The system selected may be changed each year the module is run. The brief for the current year is given in section 3 below.

The aim of the project is not to produce a detailed engineering design or to undertake a full systems engineering activity but for you to  demonstrate the application of a systems engineering approach and the selection and use of appropriate systems engineering tools. The  project is deliberately open ended so there is no single ‘right’ answer.

2.1 Fit with overall assessment for the module

Group of five or six students can be formed to complete this coursework. The coursework is designed to assess learning outcomes of the  module that cannot be assessed via a conventional examination. These include writing systems engineering documentation and more advanced  application of some of the systems engineering tools. Overall, it gives you the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of key systems  engineering principles and techniques and how to apply them. You do not have to use every tool or technique we have covered in the  module; you do need to pick the most appropriate of these.

The coursework is worth 50% of the marks for the module and is marked out of 100 points. Marks are awarded for two main elements of the  report – an updated Requirement Specification and a System Architecture & Verification Plan. These are described below.

The coursework  report shall be submitted via the Blackboard module site in PDF format. The Blackboard assessment page gives a ‘rubric’ for that describes the marking criteria that will be applied.

2.2 Initial Report- Requirement Specification

You are required to write a Requirement Specification for the system. The requirement specification shall:

start with a statement of the system objective,

use the requirement specification template as provided and used in the taught sessions,

follow the advice given in:

o the taught sessions, 2

o the formative feedback on the class activity and

Initial Report- Requirement Specification

o other background reading.

It shall include a brief justification for each requirement in accordance with current good practice and,

It shall have a MAXIMUM of 15 requirements.

The limit on the number of requirements is there to encourage a focus on the most important requirements for the system.

Students must submit this initial part of the report by November 17th , submitted via Blackboard. This part will not be marked, however  general feedback will be provided. This feedback must be used while preparing the final report that must contain the updated requirement specifications.

A session will be organized to provide general feedback for the prepared requirement specification before system architecture and verification  activity can be started.

2.3 Final Report- Updated Requirement Specification, System Architecture and Verification

You are required to develop the overall architecture of a system that would meet the requirement specification discussed initially in the report.  The system architecture report shall:

describe the updated system objective and requirement specification

describe the approach taken to developing the architecture, including any systems engineering methods used,

include a schematic diagram of the system architecture selected, including sub-systems and elements and interfaces

report the results of any analysis performed to confirm the feasibility or performance of the system architecture against key requirements and provide a risk analysis and mitigation plan for the feasibility of operation of this system

describe a verification plan to determine whether the system has quality, including both qualification and acceptance activities.

include a discussion of how the general feedback on the requirements specification has been taken into account or problems with the original  requirements have been identified and fixed.

2.4 Final Report guidelines

be no more than 20 sides of A4 excluding references and any appendices.

written using the School standard report template available on the Engineering Students Blackboard site (including all font sizes and margins)

clear contribution of the group members must be presented in the report. 3

2.5 Support

You should use all the learning resources provided for the module, plus any other outside reading to help with the project. You may also use the  weekly office hour to ask any questions you have about the coursework– but please note that I have to be careful about what advice I can  give in order to be fair to all students. The coursework is deliberately open-ended because at Masters level you need to be developing good  judgement about how to solve a problem independently.

2.6 Plagiarism

Please see the appropriate guidance about plagiarism in you programme handbooks and on the University website and note that it is not  acceptable. The coursework is an individual group exercise, and given the open-ended nature of the brief and the fact that your requirement  specifications will all be different, I would expect to see significant variation in the system architectures proposed and verification plans.