Mindful Maturation Matters: The V‐Model as a passport to engagement

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to explore how awareness and insight from the information associated with a system (requirements, analysis, solution, verification, risk) matures as understanding increases. This is done through a series of iterations between requirements and design within each system level, and between the levels of system, sub‐systems, elements etc. that make up the system as a whole.To handle this maturation, it is important to mindfully manage this maturing information. One of the best ways to do this is to use the Systems Engineering V‐Model.This paper explores the ways the often‐maligned V‐Model is misunderstood and the barriers to its intended use and proposes a range of practices that can help tailor the model and achieve its intended purpose of supporting the creation of successful systems. This is illustrated with several analogies.Chief amongst these is recognizing that whilst the V‐Model shows process, it is not an instruction for the order of process, but a structural concept to help store, organize, update, and share the maturing awareness, insight and understanding achieved at a point in time. Key is understanding the system development, due to the interaction of parts to make wholes, has never been a linear (waterfall) flow. Understanding how this interaction works, how to recognize/handle uncertainty, how to communicate the developing understanding across the range of teams developing systems at multiple levels is critical.