The Importance of Architecture in DoD Software
Abstract
The military threat to the United States posed by the Soviet Union is diminished, but there are new threats from rapidly evolving Third World countries that require rapid changes to military systems. Crises such as the recent events in the Persian Gulf highlight the need for flexible systems that can be changed quickly to meet the military's unanticipated challenges. In addition, the defense budget continues to be reduced - the government has less money to spend on systems. The answer to this dual challenge - to make systems more flexible and to reduce the cost of defense systems - lies in the design of the digital system architecture, which includes the composition of hardware and software components, the structure that interconnects them, and the rules by which they interact. Architecture design is the key to achieving the cost savings and operational flexibility inherent in digital systems. If the system is properly structured, then hardware components can be added or upgraded without expensive changes to the rest of the system. A good architecture allows a system designed to counter one threat to counter a different threat through localized modifications to the software that change the functional capability of the system or allow it to interoperate with other systems. What is more, under the right circumstances, these changes can be made very quickly.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA244848
Entities
People
- Barry M. Horowitz
Organizations
- MITRE Corporation