Conceptual Model: System Description (SDSF)

ISO 42010:2022 identifies the following new concepts:

  • Structuring Formalism

  • Structural Categories

  • Aspects

This System Description (SDSF) Structuring Formalism is building on these concepts to provide more flexibility in identifying and developing system architecture descriptions and promote reuse of Architecture Description Elements across a full range of system-of-interest types.

Structuring Formalism

The purpose of a Structuring Formalism is:

  • "to provide ways of representing relationships among various elements of the architecture and enhancing opportunities for analysis of interactions among those elements."

The Structuring Formalism focuses on the structural categories (SCs) and key relationships among those SCs.

  1. SCs are drawn from the types of AD Elements (ADEs) specified by the framework.

  2. Relationships can be represented using Correspondences to relate those elements.

Structural Categories

Structural Categories are equated to "dimensions" of a framework. An ADF defines structural categories used in the structuring formalism. These categories result from correspondence methods that group AD elements into meaningful configurations for presentation, analysis, and management of the AD for the system-of-interest.

Aspect

3.9 part of an entity’s character or nature (from ISO 42010:2022)

NOTE:  in this structuring formalism, an entity is a system-of-interest or system to align with ISO 15288:2015 system concepts.

System Description (SDSF) Conceptual Model

The System Description (SDSF) conceptual model is shown in the following diagram:

Structuring Formalism: System Description (SDSF)

In this System Description (SDSF), the SysDesc ADF creates a System Description that includes a number of AD Elements that can be used in correspondences across a set of System Descriptions for associated system-of-interests. These are:

  • System Description is a type of Architecture Description

  • Ontology Elements (system-of-interest concepts) are a type of Aspect

This provides flexibility for reusing many types of AD Elements across many types of system-of-interests.

The System Class Ontology element provides a way to identify and type systems within a System Classification Framework. This allows for integration across types of systems and within system types.