SYST 210

System Design

Kathryn Blackmond Laskey
Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research
George Mason University
Homework Assignment 8
Due November 5, 2020

Reading assignment: Chapters 7 and 8

Homework must be neat and readable.  At the top of every page you must include your name, the assignment number, and the due date.  Clearly indicate the question you are answering. You do not need to copy the entire question, but you must mark the question number and a brief description at the beginning of your answer for each question. You may work with others, but you must hand in your own assignment.

This assignment uses the UChekIt case study. For this assignment, we will all start with a common external systems diagram, function decomposition and data model for UChekIt. Notice that the external systems diagram is slightly different from the one given in Assignment 7. An input of "item price data" from the inventory system has been added. The engineers realized when developing the functional architecture that UChekIt needs an input from the inventory system to allow it to match the scanned barcode to an item in the inventory and retrieve its price.

A CORE model is provided on Blackboard as a starting point for this assignment.
  1. Develop a generic physical architecture for UChekIt. Create components in CORE for your generic physical architecture.  Arrange them in a physical hierarchy using the "built from"/ "built in"   relations. Produce a physical hierarchy diagram.
  2. Choose three of the bottom-level components in your physical architecture. Describe performance characteristics for at least two alternatives for each of these components.  Create a morphological box for the three components.  Include references to web sites or other sources of information that justify your choice of performance parameters and values. Use a standard citation format such as IEEE for your references.
  3. Choose two different candidate instantiated physical architectures from among the possibilities represented in your morphological box. 
  4. Write a paragraph explaining your physical architecture. Describe the choices for the instantiated physical architecture represented in your morphological box. Write your description so an intelligent college student who has not taken SYST 210 could understand your explanation.
  5. In CORE, allocate the components you created to the functions they perform using the "allocated to" / "performs" relations. Produce IDEF0 diagrams for F.0, F.0.1 and F.0.2. These diagrams should show the allocations you created. Save as image files. Make an ICOM table for your allocated architecture.
  6. Produce activity diagrams representing the UChekIt activation and control structure. Your diagrams should match the provided diagrams, except that they will show your allocated functions in the bottom partition. Write a paragraph explaining each activity diagram. (Note: to remove items from your activity diagrams, first select all the items you want to remove. Then right-click, select "Presentation > Hide Selection." Then select "Presentation > Display Mode > Hidden.")
  7. Produce a report that includes your IDEF0 diagrams with allocations to components, ICOM table, morphological box, candidate instantiated architectures and explanation, and activity diagrams with explanation.  You are expected to produce a professional quality engineering document.  Make sure your name and "Assignment 8" appear on every page. Make sure your pages are numbered. You will be graded for professionalism, clarity of writing, how well your diagrams match the instructions you have been given, and correctness of your descriptions.

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