Author

Philip Tarnoff
Director
Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT)
E-mail: tarnoff@eng.umd.edu
Phone: (301) 403-4619

Description

Are you looking for an Advanced Systems Engineering course that offers the flexibility and convenience of a web-based course, but also offers interaction with the instructor and fellow students? This course is intended to cover a broad set of topics in system engineering and system integration. It will provide participants with an appreciation of the principles of systems engineering and its application to ITS projects. It will also introduce participants to the techniques of systems integration associated with regional systems. Regional integration introduces the need for a more detailed understanding of the principles of systems engineering, particularly those associated with the benefits of alternative architectures, and the necessity to consider the principles of system reliability, maintainability and availability.

What is an Instructor-led, Web-based course?

A “blended” course combines the best features of both instructor-led and web-based instruction. These features include:

• Live discussions with the instructor through the use of conference calls,
• Convenient, flexible web-based learning,
• A specific time schedule in which to complete the course, and
• Interaction with other students through the use of class problems posted on a discussion board.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the principles of systems engineering
• Interpret the manner in which the National ITS Architecture and system standards support the systems engineering process
• Direct and participate in system designs
• Explain the principles of system procurement
• Describe the principles of system integration

Audience

This course is designed for transportation professionals interested in broadening their knowledge of planning, designing and implementing ITS projects. The targeted audience primarily includes engineers, project managers and planners from the public sector.

Course Length

The course goes for six weeks (see course syllabus) and takes the student between 10-12 hours of time to complete the entire course.

Author & Instructor

The author of the course is Philip Tarnoff, Director of the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) at the University of Maryland.

Prerequisites

Some familiarity with the management and operation of surface transportation services and facilities.

Outline of Web-based Course Content

Numbers in parentheses refer to pages.

Module A. Introduction and Review (04-37)

Lesson 1.  Fundamental Aspects of Systems Engineering (05-12)

1. Systems Engineering Characteristics
2. Systems Integration
3. The Keys to Success in Systems Engineering
4. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 2. Process Models and Crosscutting Activities (13-37)

1. Systems Engineering Process
• The "V" Model Approach to Systems Engineering
2. Lifecycle models
   • The Waterfall Model
   • The Spiral Model 
   • The Evolutionary Development Model
   • Comparison of Life Cycle Models
3. Crosscutting Activities 
   • Risk Management 
   • Configuration Management
   • Traceability
   • Validation and Verification
4. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Module B. The Planning Process (38-103)

Lesson 1. Procurement (39-57)

1. The Procurement Process
2. The Contracting Model
   • Work Allocation Contracts
   • Method of Award
   • Contract Form
   • Contract Types
3. Selecting the Best Solution
4. Procurement Packages
5. Putting it All Together
6. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 2. Defining the Vision and Requirements (58-79)

1. The Concept of Operations
2. The Final Rule 23 CFR 940
3. The Vision
4. Defining Requirements
   • Role of National ITS Architecture User Services
   • Requirements Definition Process
   • Designing a Basic Freeway System Design: Exercise
5. High Level Functions: Pspecs
6. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 3. Cost Analysis (80-103)

1. Benefit-Cost Analysis
2. Utility-Cost Analysis
3. Where Does the Data Come From?
4. Estimating Software and Systems Integration Costs
5. Defining the Project Constraints
6. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Workshop #1  

Module C. The Design Process (104-196)

Lesson 1. Design and the National ITS Physical Architecture (105-121)

1. Translating the Requirements into Functions
2. Physical Architecture
   • Subsystems
   • Terminators
3. Translating Functions into a Design
   • Regional Context
   • Use of the Architecture Material: Pspecs
4. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 2.  System Architecture (122-136)

1. System Architecture
2. System Topologies
   • Star
   • Mesh
   • Hierarchical
3. Selecting a Topology
   • Estimating the Cost
   • Design Maturity
   • Organizational Compatibility
   • Hybrid Solutions
4. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 3.  Compatibility and System Design (137-156)

1. The Ilities
2. Expandability
3. The Ilities Related to System Failures  
4. Availability
• Calculating Downtime Exercise
5. Reliability
• Redundant systems: Exercise
6. Other Applications for the Ilities
7. Maintainability
8. Relating the Ilities to the Topologies
• Sample Calculation
9. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 4.  Standards and System Design (157-184)

1. Standards and System Design
2. Interoperability and Interchangeability 
3. The OSI Model 
   • Illustrating the OSI Layers: Exercise
   • Application of the OSI Model to ITS Standards 
4. Why Are Standards Important?  
5. The TMDD Standard
6. The National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) 
7. ITS Standards: Summary
8. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 5.  Describing the System (185-196)

1. Relationship Between Specifications and Procurement 
2. Specifications
   • General Provisions
   • Special Provisions  
3. Principles of Good Specification Writing  
4. The Problems of Software Specification
• Software Specification: Exercise 
5. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Module D. System Implementation (197-250)

Lesson 1.  Prototyping (200-209)

1. Prototyping
2. Prototyping Alternatives
3. Why Should Change be Limited?
4. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 2.  Testing (210-224)

1. Types of Tests
2. Module Testing
3. Factory Acceptance Tests
4. Acceptance Testing
5. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Lesson 3.  System Integration (225-250)

1. Legacy Systems
2. Types and Levels of Systems Integration
3. Importance of Systems Integration
4. Technical Roadblocks to Integration
   • Interface Alternatives
   • CORBA
   • XML
   • Other Commercial Systems
5. Real-World Systems Integration Problem
6. Lesson Summary and Quiz

Workshop #2 

Final Exam (253)

Course Syllabus

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