An architecture description method for describing ranges of the specific rules to connect among systems related to open Systems-of-Systems (SoS)

The previous study states an effective description method depending on the type of System-of-Systems (SoS) needs to be indicated. An architecture description method proposed in the previous study clarifies the objects to reduce misunderstanding the scopes of managed objects at the designing open SoS. However, the method describing the boundaries of the specific rules is not mentioned to connect among systems related to open SoS. If the systems engineers and the systems designers cannot recognize the range in which the systems related to open SoS work with the specific rules, it would be difficult to redesign open SoS realizing interoperability in the future. Therefore, this study aims to propose an architecture description method for describing ranges of the specific rules to connect among systems related to open SoS. The evaluation method confirmed from the two viewpoints that if the subjects can describe and explain the range including SoI and the objects related to SoI, and the range including the external object (X) and the objects related to X. The results of this study suggested that the proposed method is effective for the subjects to recognize the boundaries.