System of systems capability to requirements engineering

Given an existing set of interconnected, independent systems, often referred to as a system of systems (SoS), one of the key activities according to the United States Department of Defense Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems is “translating SoS capability objectives into high-level SoS requirements”. Capability engineering starts with understanding the desired capability and identifying various options for achieving that capability, technically assessing the various alternatives, then further evaluating the most viable alternatives in terms of capability performance, cost, and schedule. This paper provides additional guidance for translating capability objectives into requirements; defines SoS engineering methods, processes, and tools that might support this activity; and illustrates how the methods, processes, and tools would be used and integrated to support SoS engineering using an example SoS.