Architecting methodology for spatially and temporally distributed resource extraction systems

This paper presents a framework aimed at supporting the decision-making process for the preliminary design of system architectures for the extraction of spatially and temporally distributed resources. The goal of the research is to provide a tool to identify "global best" architectures for resource extraction "systems of systems," which usually differ from the sum of "local best" systems. The framework presented in this paper consists of an integrated model where both the architecture of the system of systems and the design of the individual systems are considered simultaneously. Using this approach, designers are able to gain insights by generating a selection of top-performing concepts. Subsequently, they can analyze those concepts using more sophisticated, albeit more resource-expensive design processes. The implementation of the proposed framework is a complementary tool to existing design practices. It features several advantages such as enabling the analysis of large-scale problems, for which exhaustive enumeration of architectures of systems of systems is not a viable option. The paper first presents an application of the methodology to the architecture of offshore oil and gas production fields. It then shows how to use the methodology for the development of scenario analyses. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 16