ISO/IEC/IEEE 21840:2019

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC/
STANDARD IEEE
First edition
2019-12
Systems and software engineering —
Guidelines for the utilization of ISO/
IEC/IEEE 15288 in the context of
system of systems (SoS)
Ingénierie des systèmes et du logiciel — Lignes directrices pour
l'utilisation de l'ISO/IEC/IECC 15288 dans le contexte d'un système de
systèmes (SdS)
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2019
©
IEEE 2019
© ISO/IEC 2019
© IEEE 2019
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Published in Switzerland
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ii © IEEE 2019 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative References . 1
3 Terms, definitions, and abbreviated terms . 1
3.1 Terms and definitions . 1
3.2 Abbreviated terms . 3
4 Relationship to other standards . 3
5 Key concepts and application . 4
5.1 Differences between systems and SoS . 4
5.2 Managerial and operational independence. 7
6 Application of system life cycle processes to SoS .10
6.1 Agreement processes .10
6.1.1 General.10
6.1.2 Acquisition process .12
6.1.3 Supply process .13
6.2 Organizational project-enabling processes .15
6.2.1 General.15
6.2.2 Life cycle model management process .16
6.2.3 Infrastructure management process .17
6.2.4 Portfolio management process .18
6.2.5 Human resource management process .20
6.2.6 Quality management process.21
6.2.7 Knowledge management process .22
6.3 Technical management processes .23
6.3.1 General.23
6.3.2 Project planning process .24
6.3.3 Project assessment and control process .25
6.3.4 Decision management process .27
6.3.5 Risk management process .28
6.3.6 Configuration management process .29
6.3.7 Information management process .30
6.3.8 Measurement process .31
6.3.9 Quality assurance process .32
6.4 Technical processes .33
6.4.1 General.33
6.4.2 Business or mission analysis process .36
6.4.3 Stakeholder needs and requirements definition process .37
6.4.4 System requirements definition process .39
6.4.5 Architecture definition process .41
6.4.6 Design definition process .44
6.4.7 System analysis process.46
6.4.8 Implementation process .47
6.4.9 Integration process .48
6.4.10 Verification process .49
6.4.11 Transition process .51
6.4.12 Validation process . . .52
6.4.13 Operation process .54
6.4.14 Maintenance process .55
6.4.15 Disposal process .56
Bibliography .58
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© IEEE 2019 – All rights reserved iii

IEEE notices and abstract .59
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iv © IEEE 2019 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that
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different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
IEEE Standards documents are developed within the IEEE Societies and the Standards Coordinating
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standards through a consensus development process, approved by the American National Standards
Institute, which brings together volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests to achieve the
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While the IEEE administers the process and establishes rules to promote fairness in the consensus
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iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 7, Systems and software engineering, in cooperation with the Systems and Software
Engineering Standards Committee of the IEEE Computer Society, under the Partner Standards
Development Organization cooperation agreement between ISO and IEEE.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
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© IEEE 2019 – All rights reserved v

Introduction
Application of systems engineering to systems of systems has become increasingly important for the
realization and sustainability of large and persistent sociotechnical systems in domains as varied
as healthcare, transportation, energy, and defense, and contexts such as corporations, cities, and
government. This has been intensified in the last fifteen years by the pervasiveness of information
technology (IT), illustrated by new technologies and paradigms such as Sensor Networks, Cloud
Computing
...