A Methodology to Support Early Stage Off-the-Shelf Naval Vessel Acquisitions

Abstract

This paper describes a research programme to construct a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodology that supports acquiring organisations in the early stages of Off-the-Shelf (OTS) naval vessel acquisitions. A structured approach to design and requirements definition activities has been incorporated into the methodology to provide an easily implemented, reusable approach that supports defensible acquisition of OTS naval vessels through traceability of decisions. The methodology comprises two main parts. Firstly, a design space is developed from the capability needs using Set-Based Design principles, Model-Based Conceptual Design, and Design Patterns. A key idea is to employ Concept and Requirements Exploration to trim the design space to the region of OTS designs most likely to meet the needs. This region can be used to specify Request for Tender (RFT) requirements. Secondly, the methodology supports trades-off between the OTS design options proposed in the RFT responses using a multi-criteria decision making method. The paper includes an example implementation of the methodology for an indicative Offshore Patrol Vessel capability.

A Framework for Identifying and Managing New Operational Requirements during Naval Vessel Batch‐Building Programs

“…Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) can be seen as the connective tissue of digital engineering 1 as it can be used to manage and link together the SE and design processes and artifacts in a digital environment. The author has also previously demonstrated the ability to use MBSE as the connective tissue between different disciplines when constructing an MBSE methodology to support off-the-shelf naval vessel acquisitions (Morris, 2019). The approach utilized different domains within an MBSE metamodel to integrate and manage Operational Analysis, SE and naval vessel design activities and a similar approach could be adopted to implementing the framework in Figure 6.…”