Why Software Architects Must Be Involved in the Earliest Systems Engineering Activities

Today's major defense systems rely heavily on software-enabled capabilities. However, many defense programs acquiring new systems first determine the physical items to develop, assuming the contractors for those items will provide all needed software for the capability. But software by its nature spans physical items: it provides the inter-system communication that has a direct influence on most capabilities, and thus must be architected intelligently, especially when pieces are built by different contractors. As Dr. Sarah Sheard discusses in this SEI Podcast, if this architecture step is not done properly, a software-reliant project can be set up to fail from the first architectural decision.