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March2015
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PresidentsPointofView
AbsoluteZerothePointWhereallMolecularMotionCeases
IthinkthatBaltimoreCitymayhave
hitarecordlowtemperature
sometimeaftermidnighton
February20,2015.Sometime
duringtheearlyhours,Inoticed1.1
degreesFahrenheitwasdisplayed
onanoutdoorthermometer.Itook
thatmomenttoreflectonmy
decisionin1996tobuyahouse

withhotwaterheatinsteadofthe
Mr.GeorgeAnderson
thenpopularheatpumps.Wasita
INCOSECCPresident
decisionbasedonweighing
george.anderson@incose.org performance,lifecyclecostsand
reliability?Roughlyspeaking,yes.I
movedherein1995afterliving25yearsintemperateCalifornia.Myfirst
thoughtsuponarrivalinMDfocusedonEastCoastwintersandhowto
copewiththem.Havingoriginallygrownupinthestormcenterof
NorthwesternPennsylvaniajustsouthofLakeErie,Iknewsomething
abouttheessentialsnecessaryforcomfortanddurabilityinwinter
weather.Isummarizedtheseashotwaterheatandaslateroof.The
heatpartoftheequationinvolvedrecognizingtheextremeperformance
rangeofboilerswhiletheroofwasalifecyclecostexercisewithan
unambiguousresult.
AsiftoremindmeduringmyfirstyearinMD,thewinterstormof1996
foundmesuddenlyconfinedtoaCroftontownhousecoaxingtheice
buildupoffthefanentranceofaheatpump.Someoftheseresistance
heateraugmentedpumpsdontworkwellinextremeconditionsand
maystopentirelywhentheairflowpathicesup.Someneighborsalso
foundtheirpipesfrozenand,ingeneral,thedesignsofCroftontown
housesdidnotseemtomeettheperformancerangerequiredforthe
lowtemperatureconditionsthatyear.Thisyear,thestorieswillgoon.
Carsdidnotstart,pipesfroze,andheatingsystemsfailed,caughtfire,
orprovidedinadequateheat.
Ontheroofsideofmyevaluation,I
wouldobservethatthestandard
asphaltroofistransferredtothe
landfillonaverageevery15years.
Comparethattomyslateroofthatis

InVol.6Issue3
PresidentsPOV
March18,2015
Dinner/Lecture
ModelingtheMechanical
WatchusingThe
DepartmentofDefense
ArchitectureFramework
(DoDAF)byGeorge
Anderson
KeepitSimple?byZane
Scott
SeekingVolunteersfor
ScienceFairJudging
UpcomingEvents

Thisisthemonthlynewsletterfor
INCOSEChesapeake,alocalchapter
ofINCOSEInternational.Weareanot
forprofitorganizationdedicatedto
providingaforumforprofessionals
practicingtheartandscienceof
SystemsEngineeringintheNorthern&
CentralMaryland&Southern
Pennsylvaniaarea.

JoinINCOSE
Today!

TheChesapeakeChapterisalways
lookingforvolunteerstospeakatour
upcomingmeetings!Pleasecontactour
2015ProgramsDirector,Glenn
Townson,ifyouwouldlikethe
opportunitytospeakorcanrecommend
someone.

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approaching90yearsinserviceand
hasnolifelimitotherthanthepotential
forphysicaldamagefromfallingtree
limbs.
Asengineersandsystemsthinkers,
weprobablyhaveanadvantageover
manyconsumersinmeetingourown
housingrequirements.Althoughwe
Figure1.TooMuchFrostfor cannotmasterallthetechnologyand
wisdomneededtodealwithevery
aHeatPump.
issue,wecantakeadvantageof
buildingcodesandtheirimbeddednationalandinternationalstandards.
Howdeep,forinstance,doesthecoderequireawaterpipetobeburied
intheground?WhatBTUoutputisrequiredforafurnacetomaintaina
guaranteedtemperatureinagivenstructureataspecifiedoutside
temperature?Applyingstandards,wecandeterminethatwhenheating
systemsfailtoperforminextremeconditions,eitherthestandardsare
inadequate,thesystemnoncompliant,orthesystemhasbeen
renderednoncompliantbyunapprovedmodifications.

TheChesapeakeChapterof
INCOSEisproudtorecognize
thefollowingorganizationsfor
sponsoringourendeavoursto
expandingtheunderstanding
andappreciationofSystems
Engineeringinthelocalarea:

Ilookforwardtoleavingtheextreme
coldanditschallengesbehindusas
wemoveintoMarch.OurFebruary18,
membershipmeetingwas
disappointingduetothecancellation
ofourspeakerDavidScheidt,
JHUAPL,duetoaninjurysustained
whileoperatingadroneearlierthat
day.InplaceofDavidspresentation,
wesubstitutedaprogramfeaturinga
Figure2.WinteronBrook
videoofthelateDr.EberhardtRechtin
GreenRoad,Baltimore,MD
speakingonSystemsArchitectingof
Organizations.Davidhasagreedto
rescheduleforafuturemeeting.WealsomovedtheOfficerInstallation
ceremonyforwardduetotheearlydepartureofmemberstryingtobeat
theonsetofanewsnowstorm.
Nextmonth,wewillannounceourscheduledmonthlyspeakers,
tutorials,andtrainingclasses.Temperatureswillriseandatthatpoint
ourmolecularmotionshouldpickup!

BAH

Sercona

Camber

GeorgeAndersonINCOSEChesapeakeChapterPresident
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18March,2015(6:00pm8:00pm):SEConsiderations
forApplyingModelBasedSystemsEngineering(MBSE)

Presentation:Thispresentationdiscusses
keytopicsthatmustbeaccuratelyand
completelydevelopedduringtheinitial
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stagesofasystemdevelopmentwhen
applyingModelBasedSystems
Engineering(MBSE).Thekeytopics
addressedare:StakeholderNeeds
Analysis,SystemUseCases,Scenarios,
SequenceDiagrams,SystemsModeling
Language(SysML),andArchitecture&
ModelingandRequirements.Theuseof
thetermInitialStagesreferstothe
activitiesintheupperleftoftheSystems
EngineeringVdiagramwhereitisessential
MarkWalker,BCTVP, todevelopandunderstandStakeholder
Needsandtotranslatetheseintowell
SystemsEngineering
definedStakeholderandsystems
Programs
engineeringproductsincludingarchitecture
views/models.ThearchitectureviewsreferprimarilytotheSysML
diagramsbutUseCasesandSequenceDiagramsarealsonecessary
partsofthedevelopmentprocess.

Clickhereformoredetails:(www.incosecc.org)
Gotowww.incosecc.org/registration/toregister

ParsonsAuditorium,Bldg1
JohnsHopkinsUniversityAppliedPhysicsLaboratory
11100JohnsHopkinsRoad
Laurel,MD

MapandDirections

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ModelingtheMechanicalWatchusingTheDepartment
ofDefenseArchitectureFramework(DoDAF)
byGeorgeAnderson
DomesticwatchmanufactureintheUnitedStatesendedin1969when
theHamiltonWatchCompanyofLancaster,Pennsylvaniaceased
production.Thisendedanerathatspannedatleast100years.While
thecompanyisstillinexistence,allitswatchesarenowproduced
outsideoftheUnitedStates.Hamilton'scontributiontotheprecision,
qualityandbeautyofthemechanicalwatchisrepresentedinthelastof
itsrailroadwatches,themodel992B,showninFigure1.Somehave
saidthatthequalityseeninthe992Banditscontemporarieswasso
remarkablethattoday'scounterfeitersofantiquescannoteconomically
duplicateit.

ThisNewsletteristoserveourmembersand
isopentoallforcontributions.Doyouhavean
interestingideaforanarticle?Areviewofa
newbookrelatedtoengineering?Letus
know.Wedlovetohearabout.Itmaywindup
inafutureissueofourNewsletter.

Returntotop

Today,manytaketimekeepingforgranted
totheextentthatsomeareeven
abandoningtheuseofapersonalwatch
tousethetimefunctionontheircell
phone.Forothersthereisafascination
withthemechanicalwatchoritsheritage
thatsupportsarobustmarketin
expensivewatchlinessuchasRolex,
Omega,andevenHamilton.These
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watchescansellforpricesinexcessof
$6000eventhoughthecheaperquartz
watchisasuperiortimekeeper.
Sincethemechanicalwatchisnotgoing
awayinthenearfuture,anabbreviated
SystemsEngineeringmodelmayprovide
someinsightintothephysicalconcepts
involvedandidentifythecommon
principlesthatthemechanicalwatch
shareswithlatertechnology,includingthe
CesiumclocksthatareusedintheUnited
StatesGlobalPositioning(SystemGPS).

Figure1.HamiltonModel
Wewilluse
992Bcirca1962
the
DepartmentofDefenseArchitecture
Framework(DoDAF)forourmodelsince
itsguidanceisreadilyavailableonthe
Internet.Themodel'sdescriptionclaims
thatitsviewsshouldbeselectedona"fit
forpurpose"basissoonlythreewillbe
usedtomodelthemechanicalwatch.

DoDAFviewsaspiretodescribeadefined
aspectofanunderlyingmodelthat
containsmorecomprehensiveinformation Figure2.Hamilton992B
abouttheactualsystem.Forthiseffortwe interiorshowinggoldwheels
andrubyjewels.
willbecontenttoprovideonlythedata
shownintheselectedviews.Ourunderlyingmodelifpursuedfully
wouldcontainagreatdealoftheinformationaccumulatedinover100
yearsofengineeringimprovements.Watchcollectorsandhorologists
haveavailableconsiderableamountsoftechnicalinformationon
mechanicalwatchesrangingfromsuchissuesaslubricationofjewelsto
thedevelopmentofadvancedmetalalloysforhairsprings.
TheDoDAF,Operational
view,OV2,showninFigure
3,illustratesthemajor
activitiesperformedbythe
watchandtheresource
flowsbetweenthem.There
areonlytworesourceflows:
energyandtimetransfer
thattogethersupportthe
activities.Theactivitiesin
turnprovideanindependent
timereferenceanddisplay
anoutputbymovingclock
hands.

Figure3.OV2

TheDoDAF,OV5b,Figure
4,showsthesameresource
flowsastheOV2andadds
twoimportantexternal
interfacesthatservicethe
watchbyperiodically
windingupthewatch
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mainspringandsettingthe
timetoanexternal
standard.
Figure5showstheDoDAF,
SystemsView,SV1that
depictssystemmodules
decomposedinto
componentparts.Notethat
Figure4.OV5b
thewheel(gear)train
servesadualpurpose.It
bothtransmitspowerandcommunicatesinformationfromtheBalance
WheeltotheTimeDisplay.
AfterstudyingthethreeDoDAF
views,wecanvisualizethe
individualwatchsystems'
purposesandrelationshipsbut
havenoinformationonthe
physicalimplementation.To
understandfullyhowthewatch
functionsweshouldviewthe
motionsofthebalancewheel,
escapewheelandthe
connectingpalletlever.Alinkis
Figure5.SV1
providedhere:Watch
Animation.Alternately,wecan
studytheexplodedviewsinFigures6&7.
Itisimportanttonotethat
thisdesigniscommonto
themajorityofallwatches
manufacturedinatleastthe
last100years.Any
variationsareextensionsto
thedesignasopposedto
basicchanges.Anexample
ofanextensionwouldbe
theselfwindingwatch
Figure6.WatchTrain
whereinaninternal
pendulousweightinsteadofthewatchownerwindsthemainspring.
TheDoDAFviewscontainenoughinformationtodescribewhatthe
watchdoesandthesystemsinvolved.Itdoesnotprovideinformation
onthemechanicalprincipalsofoperationorthenatureofthe
communicationsbetweensystems.Inthemechanicalwatch,geartrains
arethemeansofbothtransmittingpowerandcommunicatingthe
passageoftime.Akeysystemfeaturethatiscommonwithall
timekeepingdevicesistheTimeCalculator.Inpracticethisisalwaysa
formofoscillatorthatsuppliesaconstantperiodicmotionorelectrical
signal.Themechanicaloscillator,abalancewheel,hasbeen
supplantedwithminiaturequartztuningforks(thequartzwatch)aswell
asmoreadvancedconceptsthatincludecountingthevibrationsof
atoms.Quartzwatchesareatleast5timesmoreaccuratethana
mechanicalwatchbutfallshortoftheaccuracyprovidedbyCesium
Clocks.CesiumClockscannotbewornonthewristbutanyonecarrying
asmartphonewithGPSinstalledhasaccesstotheiroutputand
essentiallyrequiresittoprovideanaccurategeographiclocation.
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Figure7.WatchFunction

Willthemechanicalclockas
weknowittodaycontinueto
bedeveloped?Theanswer
isprobablyyesforatleast
tworeasons.Thefirst
reasonisthatthe
technologyisbasedon
yearsofdesignevolution
thatiswellunderstoodand
hasapplicationsinother
industriessuchas
microelectronics.Second,
thereisalwaysaneedin
specialenvironmentsfor
independenttimekeeping
devicesthatdonotuse
electricalenergy,canbe
madeimmunetoremote
tampering,andmaybe

producedcheaplyinlargequantities.
DidtheDoDAFarchitectureviewsaidingaininganinitialappreciation
ofthemajorelementsandfunctionsofthewatch?Ifnot,perhapsthere
isalatentcuriositytogobeyondtheSystemsEngineeringelementand
delvemoreintowhatcanprovetobefascinatingdetails.Whatfor
instancearethetwofunctionsofwatchjewelsorthepurposeofusing
solidgoldwheelsinthegeartrain.Ifthesequestionscaptivateyou,the
followingwebsitesareworthviewing.
Howamechanicalwatchworks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcoIue1Bs8
HamiltonHowawatchworks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZwq1KL4SD0
Whatmakesafinewatchfine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfaT6sfagEE
TheElginWatchFactory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys4ChOWYNy8
Thefinalquestiontopresentbeforeconcludingis:DidtheDodAFmodel
efficientlydescribeenoughofthewatchdesigntobeausefulexercise?
Herewehavetheelementalchallengeofallengineeringmodelsdoes
theeffortjustifyitscreation.Ibelievethatinthecaseofthemechanical
watchitdoesinthesensethatitcanbeanenticingentryintothestudy
ofmoretechnicaldetailsthatwouldotherwisebeavoidedorignored.
Afterall,spending$6000ormoreforawatchcouldjustifyalittle
investigation.
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KeepItSimple?
byZaneScott
Foreverycomplexproblemthereisananswerthatisclear,simple,
andwrong.H.L.Mencken
"Everythingshouldbeassimpleaspossible,butnotsimpler."Albert
Einstein
Sageadvicefromtwowellknownminds.Whatdoesthismeanforusin
themodelbasedsystemsengineeringworld?
Menckenremindsusofthelovelytrapofleapingtoaconclusionthat
seemstobeattractiveatfirstblushbutcanleadtoproblemsdownthe
road.Thisistheresultofanincompleteconsiderationoftheproblem
andthealternativesolutions.Welookatapotentialsolutionwhich
seemsclearandsimpleandareattractedtoit.Afterall,thiswould
solveourprobleminastraightforwardway.Itwouldberelativelyeasy
toimplementandeasilyunderstoodbystakeholders.
OftenwecouplethiswiththedangeragainstwhichEinsteinwarnsus.
Wecaneitherdealwithproblemsinalltheircomplexityorwetrimaway
thecomplexityandtreatthemasiftheywereactuallysimple.Thelatter
isatemptingchoice.Itissometimesaccomplishedbybreakingthe
problemintosimplesubproblemswithwhichwedealseparately.This
isaproductofouranalytictrainingandmindset.Wearetaughtto
understandsystems(andproblems)bybreakingthemapartintotheir
componentsandtacklingeachoneinturn.
Theproblemwiththisapproachisthatoftenthechallengeofacomplex
questioncomespreciselyfromitsstructurefromtherelationships
betweenthecomponentsthatmakeitup.Whenwedeconstructthe
problemwelosethiscomplexityfromourthoughtprocess.Weinduce
theexcessivesimplicityagainstwhichEinsteinwarnsus.
Ifweoversimplifytheproblemandcouplethatwitharushtoasimple
solutionweunderconsiderboththeproblemanditsalternative
solutions.Thatcanresultinunintendedconsequencesstemmingfrom
oursolutionorasolutionthatjustsimplydoesntwork.Neitherofthese
issufficientasananswertotheproblem.Theconsequencesofboth
MenckensandEinsteinscaveatsarevisiteduponthesolution.
Howdoweavoidthosetraps?Theanswerliesinarobust,disciplined
problemsolvingprocessleadingtoaneffectivesolution.
Theprocessmustberobust.Itmustbecapableofhandlingthe
completeproblem.Weneedinsightintotheactualproblemthat
includesalltheaspectsoftheproblemanditsimpact.Ourmodelmust
giveusinsightintotheactualproblemanditssettinginordertoprovide
uswithawaytojudgethealternativesolutionsagainstrealityinsteadof
somesimplifiedstrawman.Theexpressionoftheproblemandpotential
solutionsinalldomains(requirements,functionalbehavior,physical
architectureandverificationandvalidation)shouldbehandledtogether
holdingtheminappropriaterelationshiptoeachothertopromoteour
insightandunderstanding.Allthisrequiresarobustmodelingtool
capableofhandlingthedataaroundacomplexsystem.
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Theprocessmustalsobedisciplined.Itshouldallowconsiderationofall
reasonablealternatives.Thedisciplineorrigoroftheproblemsolving
processiswhatleadstoanassurancethatallthebaseshavebeen
touched.Byfollowingadisciplinedpathwecantrackalltherelevant
considerationsintooursolution.Wefindthatbeginningataveryhigh
levelwithourproblemdescriptionandwithoursolutionallowsustoadd
moreandmoredetailorgranularityinanorganizedmanner.This
preventstheomissionofcriticalaspectsoftheproblemorpotential
systemsolutions.Inthiswaywecanexaminealltheoptionsandmake
aninformedsetofdesignchoices.
WeavoidtheimpulsiveoversimplificationagainstwhichMencken
cautionsthrougharobustprocess.Nomatterhowcomplextherealityof
theproblem/solutionspacewecanaccommodatethesysteminour
model.Weconsiderallthedomainstogetherwithoutneedingto
fragmentorignorethem.Wecanarriveattherightsolution.
Withadisciplinedprocesswecansimplifytheproblemandthesolution
inrelevantintentionalways.Ourapproachtakesusthroughtheright
considerationssothatwecanseethesystemaroundtheproblemasan
interrelatedwhole.Wecanthentrimawaytheunnecessaryand
irrelevantinanintentionalratherthanarbitraryway.AsEinsteinadvises
wecanthenworkonproblemsandsolutionsthatareassimpleas
possibleandnosimpler.
Throughourrobustanddisciplinedprocesseswecanarriveattheright
answerstoclearlydefinedrealworldproblems.
VitechCorporation2015,ReprintedbyPermission
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VolunteersNeededtoJudgeatHighSchoolScience&
EngineeringFairs
Again,wewanttorepresentINCOSEatlocalHighSchoolScienceand
Engineeringfairsandseekvolunteerstohelpjudgeselectedstudent
projects.Forthosewhohavedonethis,arealwaysamazedand
pleasedatthevarietyandsophisticationofwhatsomestudentsdo.This
isanopportunityforustoprovideguidanceandadvice.
ThefollowingfairsarescheduledforMarch:
AnneArundelCountyRegionalScience&EngineeringFairNorth
CountyHSSaturday,March7,8AM1PM[snacksandlunch
provided]
BaltimoreRegionalScienceFairTowsonUniversitySaturday,
March22,7:30AM4PM
Usuallyover200projectsareavailable.Ateamof23usuallycover
around10projectsintimeperiodallottedsowewillpreviewand
preselectprojectsofinterestusuallyincategoriesofEngineering
[electrical,mechanical],ComputerScience,Math&Physics,
Transportation,Energy,Environmental,HealthSciences,etc.
Awardceremonytakesplaceonalaterdateandany/allcanattend.
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PleasecontactDonGantzer,OutreachLead,4109561562,
dongantzer@comcast.netformoredetails.
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UpcomingEventsandAnnouncements
March18,2015:DinnerLectureSEConsiderationsforApplying
ModelBasedSystemsEngineering(MBSE)MarkWalker,BCTVP,
SystemsEngineeringPrograms
April15,2015:DinnerLectureTheEngineeringofLargeScale
AmateurRocketsMichaelMangieri
May20,2015:DinnerLecture3DPrintingJohnSlotwinski
InterestedinJobsNetworking?ContactMarkKaczmarekat
mkaczmarekengr@comcast.net

INCOSE

Keepupwiththelatestnewsandevents.FindoutaboutournewBoardofDirectors.Exploreourextensivelibraryofpreviouslectures
fromourMonthlyDinnerMeetings.LearnoftheBenefitsofJoiningINCOSE.CheckoutSystemsEngineeringeducationinthelocalarea.
AllthisandmoreawaitsyouatourINCOSEChesapeakeChapterWebsite.
ForanycommentsorsuggestionsaboutthisnewsletterpleaseemailourPresident,GeorgeAndersonorourCommunications
Director,PatWilliams.Wevalueyourfeedback.

BoardofDirectorOfficers,2015

DirectorsatLarge

President:Mr.GeorgeAnderson
PastPresident:Mr.ErikDeVito
PresidentElect:Mr.JohnBoccio
Treasurer:Mr.KentDeJong
Secretary:Mr.MarkKaczmarek

Communications:Mr.PatWilliams
Programs:Mr.GlennTownson
MembershipCommittee:Mr.BobLecorchick

PleaseusetheForwardemaillinkbelowsowecaninviteyourfriendstojoinourmailinglist.Thanksinadvance.
INCOSEChesapeakeChapter2015

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