System integration: performance doesn´t measure up

A two-decade lag in the aerospace industry´s usage of well-known available integration techniques is largely the result of adherence to custom. The practice in question can be in the area of standards, specifications, or management methods. The biggest payoff opportunity is therefore in those areas, as much as in scientific breakthroughs; some explanations follow. The topics discussed include: software; subsystem mismatch; interface standards; human resource allocation; testability; an long-term goals