The Open Software Intensive System Strategy: An Integrative Approach for Building Software Intensive Systems

Abstract

Full spectrum dominance in markets, timely reaction to evolving business and customer needs, and system and process flexibility and cost effectiveness can only be achieved through steady infusion of affordable new technology and continuing modernization of systems and equipment. The open system strategy is an effective business and technical strategy to maintain the superiority of modern complex systems, including software intensive systems within constantly changing system requirements, growing resource constraints, and unprecedented rate of technological change. By following an open system strategy in design and development of complex software intensive systems, an organization will be in a position to continually leverage the investments made in commercial products, practices, and technologies by the global market place. Moreover, the organizations can also field superior system capabilities more quickly and more affordably. This paper proposes an open systems based strategy for developing complex software intensive systems. The proposed strategy can enhance adaptation of software intensive systems to the unprecedented changes brought about by the contemporary technical and business paradigm shifts.

• open systems
• software intensive systems
• modular design
• open architecture
• modular open systems approach