SAMM: an architecture modeling methodology for ship command and control systems

Abstract

Ship command and control systems (SCCSs) are composed of large-scale, complex, real-time and software-intensive systems that complete tasks collaboratively. Open architecture has been introduced to design the architecture of SCCSs and has been refined into functional architecture (FA) and technical architecture (TA) to meet architectural requirements such as adapting fast-speed functional and technical changes. Thereby, specifying the architecture of SCCSs, based on FA and TA, becomes a key issue for stakeholders of the domain. In this paper, we propose an architecture modeling methodology (named as SAMM) for describing the architecture of SCCSs. SAMM is derived by following a systematic and generic framework—modeling Goal, domain-specific Conceptual model, architecture Viewpoint, and architecture description Language (GCVL), which guides domain experts to devise domain-specific architecture modeling methodologies of large-scale software-intensive systems. SAMM contains three viewpoints and 22 models, and a UML/SysML-based architecture description language. An industrial application of SAMM, along with the subsequent application of the derived SAMM architecture model (i.e., a deployed SCCS prototype) was conducted to evaluate SAMM. A questionnaire-based survey was also conducted to subjectively evaluate whether SAMM meets the modeling goals and its applicability. Results show that SAMM meets all modeling goals and is easy to apply.

Appendices

Appendix A: Figures

See the Figs. 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.

Fig. 17

Conceptual model of an architecture description of ISO/IEC 42010 [1]

Fig. 18

Part of functions of some software subsystems (FV-5)

Fig. 19

Implementation of functions by components (TV-3)

Fig. 20

Formal description of consistency rules among models and their framed concepts (Rule 1–Rule 7 in Table 16, Appendix B)

Fig. 21

Formal description of consistency rules among models and their framed concepts (Rule 8–Rule 11 in Table 16, Appendix B)

Appendix B: Tables

See the Tables 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

Table 10 Refined concerns of stakeholders

Table 11 Deriving architecture models for each architecture viewpoint based on stakeholder concerns

Table 12 Architecture viewpoints and models

Table 13 Model elements of CPaS and their realized concepts and relationships in the conceptual model

Table 14 Mapping between CPaS and architecture viewpoints and models

Table 15 Part of characteristics of the prototype system architecture

Table 16 Consistency rules among the 22 architecture models

Appendix C: Questionnaire

The goal of this questionnaire is to collect subjective opinions of SCCSs architecture modelers with different domain knowledge, modeling experience and job function(s) on the applicability of SAMM. SAMM was derived to satisfy the following three modeling goals:

• Goal 1. Support the architecture description of SCCSs in the development process and capture all the architectural concepts and their relationships that stakeholders concern with;

• Goal 2. Ensure that each stakeholder can concentrate on her/his own concern(s);

• Goal 3. Architecture descriptions of SCCSs should be easy to learn, use and understand since they are mainly used for the communication purpose among stakeholders;

Based on the above three modeling goal, we designed this questionnaire, which is divided into five sections. The first section collects your domain knowledge, modeling experience and job function(s). The middle three sections are, respectively, to collect your opinion on the satisfaction of SAMM to the three modeling goals. The last section is to collect your opinion on the overall applicability of SAMM. You can comments in “Remark” for each question if needed.