Change-out: A System of Systems Approach to COTS Management

Civilization has slipped into the twenty-first century with electronics touching nearly every part of our lives. Since inception, integrated circuit technology and software have advanced exponentially. Complex systems such as cars, satellites and aircraft can have subsystems with lifespans that wildly differ. Many such products are truly a systems of systems where subsystem change-out is required to keep the unit up-to-date. Products that run mostly on electronics are often smaller like telephones and computers. When obsolete they are usually replaced rather than refurbished. But in larger systems like an aircraft or a submarine, subsystem change-out should be considering during planning. In the Department of Defense as well as other organizations, managing such a process is complex. This paper examines such complexity, provides a visual framework for a system of systems and the relevance and importance of change-out in general