The Application of a Viewpoints Framework in the Development of C4I systems

This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A396973. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: In the development of large distributed systems, both the detection and resolution of inconsistency in policy, requirements, and specifications pose major challenges. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the inconsistencies in policy, requirements, and specifications in the development of information/ Joint Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C41) systems. In this thesis, we explore the application of a "viewpoints" framework to aid in the development of distributed information systems. A viewpoints framework methodology that was developed to aid in the development of distributed systems is the Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing (RM- ODP). This thesis is concerned with the application of the five viewpoints of RM-ODP and the translation of policy into requirements and specifications. In this thesis we use the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system as a case study to explain how RM-ODP can be used to develop distributed information systems. We found that identifying inconsistencies regarding interoperability amongst the subsystems of BMD necessitated the use of multiple viewpoints and that firm conclusions could not be made until the system was viewed at the lower levels.