During my
research, I have interviewed many systems engineers from around the world that implicitly use patterns
during their systems engineering work. Most of these systems engineers have over 15 years experience. It should not surprise anyone that the number one concern they expressed regarding the use of patterns is to manage the interfaces. Interestingly, not a single pattern form that I have come across addresses the issue of interfaces. This probably is a result of the patterns published to date are pretty simple and straightforward, and interfaces are not that critical. As we move into an era of mining and publishing patterns for more complex systems, the interfaces become more important.
Therefore, one of the most significant contributions to pattern work
that was not discussed much to date is the need to spend time discussing the
interfaces. This should come as no surprise to systems engineers since that is
where many of us live – and where many of us have had our headaches.
Using
patterns for complex systems patterns must address the interfaces. Therefore
this recommended SE
pattern form includes a discussion on interfaces. Additionally, interfaces
should be addressed in the sketch. The sketch can even be an IDEF or SysML
model extract if that makes the pattern more understandable. In a later post, I
will post an example of a complex pattern called Perform Command and Control,
or Perform C2.
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