ABSTRACT
The design of practical systems requires the translation of data fusion theoretic principles, practical constraints, and operational requirements into a physical, functional, and operational architecture that can be implemented, operated, and maintained. This translation of principles to practice demands a discipline that enables the system engineer or architect to perform the following basic functions:
De ne user requirements in terms of functionality (qualitative description) and performance (quantitative description). Synthesize alternative design models and analyze/compare the alternatives in terms of requirements and risk. Select optimum design against some optimization criteria. Allocate requirements to functional system subelements for selected design candidates. Monitor the as-designed system to measure projected technical performance, risk, and other factors (e.g., projected life cycle cost) throughout the design and test cycle. Verify performance of the implemented system against top-and intermediatelevel requirements to ensure that requirements are met, and to validate the system performance model.
