INCOSE's Information Communications Technology (ITC) Working Group's Top 10 for Network-Ready Systems

The INCOSE Information Communications Technology (ITC) Working Group strives to educate and inform INCOSE members, other INCOSE working groups, and industry on the necessity and importance of Network Technologies in modern Systems Engineering efforts.?

The ITC has developed a 10-item awareness list that Systems Engineers may wish to consider in their various projects. Systems Engineers are not expected to be network architects, design engineers, or operators. However, the ITC working group suggests that reviewing and considering these 10 items may lead to a more successful project with higher customer satisfaction.?

1)???? Network Infrastructure: Understand the underlying network infrastructure that will be used for network communications in your project or company.

a)???? Consider aspects such as bandwidth, latency, reliability, and scalability.

b)???? Evaluate the available network options and choose the most suitable ones for your project's requirements.

c)???? Remember to review how mobile devices, voice services, and IoT devices will be obtained and managed.?

2)???? Security: Prioritize the security of the communication system.

a)???? Implement appropriate security measures such as encryption, authentication, and access controls to protect sensitive data and ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA).

b)???? Stay updated on the latest security best practices and adhere to industry standards.

3)???? Protocols and Standards: Select appropriate communication protocols and adhere to relevant industry standards.

a)???? For example, if the system will be transmitting data, consider using network services that offer protocols like HTTP, TCP/IP, or MQTT. Compliance with such standards ensures compatibility and interoperability with other systems.

4)???? Data Validation and Error Handling: Implement mechanisms to validate incoming and outgoing data to ensure its integrity and prevent vulnerabilities.

a)???? Consider implementing error detection and correction techniques, such as checksums or error-correcting codes, to handle transmission errors effectively.

5)???? Bandwidth and Performance: Evaluate the bandwidth requirements of your project and ensure that the communication system can handle the expected data volume.

a)???? Consider the inter-data center traffic, major site (i.e., Cloud), internet demand, and remote user needs.

b)???? Employ design and engineering techniques to optimize data transmission.? For example, where applicable, employ compression or minimize data payloads.

6)???? Scalability and Redundancy: Anticipate future growth and ensure the communication system is scalable to accommodate increasing demands. Consider implementing redundancy measures, such as load balancing or failover mechanisms, to ensure high availability and minimize single points of failure.

7)???? Quality of Service (QoS): If your project requirements include specific performance guarantees such as a guaranteed availability or uptime percentage, define and prioritize the desired QoS parameters to support the requirement(s). This may include aspects such as latency, packet loss, throughput, or prioritization of certain types of traffic.

a)???? Ensure that mechanisms and tools to monitor and enforce QoS requirements are defined.

8)???? Compatibility and Interoperability: Consider the compatibility of your communication system with other systems or platforms and obtain concurrence that all systems will work together as required.

9)???? Monitoring and Logging: Implement monitoring and logging capabilities to track the performance, availability, and security of the communication system. Ensure policies and processes are defined to monitor network traffic, system health, and error logs to identify and troubleshoot issues promptly. This data can also provide valuable insights for system optimization and future enhancements.

10) Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Consider any industry-specific regulations or compliance requirements that may apply to your project. For example, if your system involves financial transactions, unique government and industry security policies may need to be implemented. Ensure the communication system design meets these requirements and incorporates necessary privacy or data protection measures.

Find out about the ICT Working Group.

To read this article and more, check out the Q3 Members Newsletter out now!