Adventium Labs proposes to implement the Continuous Human Operator Requirements Analysis of Linkage (CHORAL) tool to support a new requirements management methodology that will allow human factors engineers to input, link, and track cognitive human operator requirements within Systems Modeling Language (SysML) models. Off-the-shelf tools focused on project requirements management are designed to capture and validate requirements that define software and hardware system components that are largely quantitative and machine testable. In contrast, human operator requirements are often described in terms of higher-level operational goals that do not as easily support quantitative analysis or validation. When designing a system and its upgrades, this separation leads to costly issues when changes to system requirements result in changes to human operator requirements (and vice versa). CHORAL addresses the need for a tool to manage human operator requirements through the system development lifecycle, with a primary focus on the design phase where human operator requirements are created and first inform the systems design. CHORAL will support requirements management in MagicDraw in a way that does not require human factors engineers to have expertise in the SysML modeling language. The CHORAL prototype will be implemented as a MagicDraw (Cameo) plugin. CHORAL will employ a new SysML profile that extends the existing SysML class of requirements to capture human operator requirements, and generate a dialog based on the system model to guide the user through the processes of (1) entering human operator requirements elements following a goal-directed task analysis (GDTA) methodology and (2) defining relations between these human operator requirements elements and elements representing the modeled system. We will leverage SysMLs existing capability to relate requirements elements to system model elements, a standard practice that provides the tracking and tracing needed for CHORAL to generate alerts when changes to the model are made that impact relations between human operator requirements and system elements. In Phase I, we will establish CHORALs feasibility by demonstrating use of this profile by human factors engineers in a prototype demonstration.
Benefit: The CHORAL tool provides a mechanism for human factors engineers to participate in the requirements verification process alongside systems engineers using a shared SysML model. Human factors engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs) are often not experts in system modeling languages and the underlying engineering disciplines. CHORAL will enable human factors engineers and systems engineers to use the same MagicDraw environment to manage human operator requirements and develop the system. This will foster a collaborative relationship, helping to keep human factors engineers in the loop as changes to the system model are made that impact human operator requirements. Although operator requirements are different from technical requirements, they are intertwined. CHORAL will enable them to be considered simultaneously. Our transition plan is to integrate CHORAL into Adventiums existing Curated Access to Model-based Engineering Tools (CAMET), a suite of tools that are being used to support MBSE workflows including the Department of Defenses (DoDs) Architecture Centric Virtual Integration Process (ACVIP). ACVIP is the process of developing detailed models of embedded software systems and analyzing characteristics of the modeled system architecture such as resource utilization, timing, safety, and security to uncover issues that could pose risks to cost and schedule. ACVIP supports the DoDs Digital Engineering Strategy by applying virtual integration to embedded software systems. Army exercises have demonstrated application of ACVIP to identify embedded software errors during the design phases. Addressing issues during design is orders of magnitude less expensive in terms of cost and schedule than finding them in later phases. Application of ACVIP is expected to reduce schedule and cost risks to system developments. By the end of Phase II, CHORAL will join the other tools on CAMET and be immediately available to all CAMET subscribers. We also plan to establish a Navy transition target. Since CHORAL will be released on CAMET all existing subscribers will have immediate access. Current subscribers include Government entities, commercial firms, and academic organizations.
Keywords: Goal Directed Task Analysis, Goal Directed Task Analysis, Model Based Systems Engineering, requirements management, Human Operator Requirements, system modeling, Digital Engineering Strategy, Systems Modeling Language (SysML), Mission Modeling
