System Architecture: Strategy and Product Development for Complex Systems, First Edition
by Daniel Selva, Bruce Cameron, Edward Crawley
Consistent and Attainable Goals
The consistency of goals is a very subtle property that is at the heart of systems engineering. By definition, many goals will conflict; a Hybrid Car may sacrifice range for reduced battery weight, for example. However, understanding whether the tradeoff between range and weight is shallow, steep, or otherwise shaped is not obvious.
Sometimes consistency can be checked through logical examination. For example, two goals with the same metric and opposing target values would be a clear indication of inconsistency. Some system metrics add linearly; every additional hardware feature on the Hybrid Car adds weight, and the weight of the Hybrid Car can be calculated as the sum of the weights of the parts. However, some ...
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