Mapping Complex Electronics Design to Project Life Cycle
The life
cycle for complex electronics design is a subset of the total project
or system life cycle. However, complex electronics also follows the
same basic development process as the project. To understand how the
two fit together, this section provides:
Terminology
used for life cycle phases varies within NASA, other government
agencies, and industry. The terms used here are a commonly defined set.
The listed project activities are meant to define the main activities
the project will be performing. The life cycle is defined as a
Waterfall life cycle because it is conceptually easy to understand. The
actual timing of the phases and activities will vary with the chosen
system life cycle, such as a spiral or iterative model.
The
mapping between complex electronics activities and project life cycle
phases is meant as a guideline only. The actual time when an activity
is performed is dependent of the project, the life cycle chosen for
system development, and the complex electronics type.
|
Project Life
Cycle Phase
|
Project
Activities
|
Complex
Electronics (CE) Activities
|
|
Concept
(Conceptual Design)
|
- Define
system concept
- Identify
system requirements
- Planning
for:
- Project
tracking and control
- Supporting
processes (e.g. configuration management, quality assurance,
safety)
- Verification
|
|
|
Preliminary
Design
|
- Allocate
system requirements to sub-systems
- Trade-off
studies
- Create
preliminary system design
- Identify
interfaces
- Perform
supporting processes
|
- Planning
- Determine
CE requirements
- Feasibility
studies
- Architectural
design
- Design
verification
|
|
Detailed
Design
|
- Refine
system design
- Prepare
for implementation
- Baseline
system design and interfaces
- Perform
supporting processes
|
- Design
Entry
- Synthesis
- Simulation
- Timing
Analysis
- Design
verification
|
|
Implementation
and Integration
|
- Turn
system design into hardware/software
- Put
the pieces together
- Low-level
testing
- Perform
supporting processes
|
- Floorplanning
- Place
and Route
- Program/Manufacture
- Device
testing
- Integration
with other electronics
|
|
Test,
Verification, Validation
|
- System-level
testing
- Acceptance
testing/Validation
- Complete
verification activities
- Perform
supporting processes
|
- Functional
testing
- Environmental
testing
- Complete
verification activities
|
|
Operations
and Maintenance
|
- Install
system
- Operate
system
- Perform
routine maintenance
- Repair
and upgrade
- Perform
supporting processes
|
- Upgrade
CE (if reprogrammable)
|
In the
table above, the project “preliminary design” phase
included the planning, requirements, and preliminary design for the
complex electronics. The life cycles section of this assurance plan
relates to the life cycle for complex electronics, and not for the
project as a whole. Therefore, planning and requirements are broken out
into separate phases.
The
complex electronics development activities are grouped into the
following phases:
|
Design Process
|
Complex
Electronics (CE) Activities
|
|
Planning
|
- Planning
(for development, verification, safety, and assurance)
|
|
Requirements
|
- Determine
CE requirements
- Feasibility
studies
|
|
Preliminary
Design
|
- Architectural
design
- Design
Entry
- Design
verification
|
|
Detailed
Design
|
- Synthesis
- Simulation
- Timing
Analysis
- Design
verification
|
|
Implementation
|
- Floorplanning
- Place
and Route
- Program/Manufacture
- Device
testing
|
|
Integration
and Testing
|
- Integration
with other electronics
- Testing
at board or sub-system level
- Functional
testing at system level
- Environmental
testing
- Complete
verification activities
|
|
Operations
and Maintenance
|
- Upgrade
CE (if reprogrammable)
|
Verification
and Validation (V&V) are not included in the above table, because
they are processes that occur throughout the life cycle. For example,
testing is one method to verify that the system meets the requirements.
An acceptance test or demonstration is a validation activity if the
customer uses it to determine if the system is performing as the
customer expects. Tests usually occur later in the project life cycle.
Prototyping and simulation are early-life cycle validation activities.
Reviews at each life cycle phase that determine that product (design
architecture, low-level design, and test procedure) correctly and
completely meet the requirements are verification activates.
|
