An assessment of ROSETTA for smart electricity grid system-of-systems design

To meet increasing demand worldwide for electricity, efforts are underway to augment today´s electrical grid infrastructure with enhanced information technology (IT), creating a Smart Grid capable of advanced monitoring, information exchange, analytics, and control. Because of the nature of the electrical grid, the stakeholders that control and use it, and the interconnectedness of proposed IT solutions, Smart Grid is a system-of-systems (SoS) that warrants new approaches to design. In this paper, the Relational-Oriented Systems Engineering and Technology Tradeoff Analysis (ROSETTA) Environment is assessed in light of Smart Grid system-of-systems (SoS) design. The specific example considered is a demand response (DR) problem of monitoring and leveling peak electricity demand. DR is first presented as an SoS design problem, comprising multiple, managerially independent systems (both human and technical) and subject to a variety of scenarios. Through discussion of the DR example, the intent and structure of ROSETTA is elucidated and initially considered for relevance to Smart Grid SoS design decisions.