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Software Engineering in the Defence Sector

Presentation to ACS Young IT Industry NightJuly 2006

Dr Sanjay Mazumdar (Head of Software Engineering)

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Our Global Company

– BAE Systems is an international company engaged in development, delivery and support of advanced Defence and aerospace systems

– Sales over A$28 billion (US$22 billion)

– More than 90,000 employees

– Major operations across five continents and customers in 130 countries

– Capability in land, sea, air and space

– Pioneer technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years

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BAE Systems Australia - Facts and Figures

– Leading Australian defence and aerospace company

– More than 50 years of operations in Australia

– Headquartered in Edinburgh Parks, South Australia

– Major sites in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle plus numerous customer bases

– Approximately 2,700 employees

– Principal customer - Australian Defence Force

– Annual Sales FY2006 $550m

– Key activities in air, land and sea

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BAE Systems in Australia 1953 - 2006

BAE Systems Australia

English Electric & Bristol Aircraft commenced trading

BAe Australiaformed

GEC-MarconiSystems

Plessey

EMI

AWADI

1953

2000

1999

1996

1961

HUNTER

1998

1981

1989

ThornEMI

Fairey

TEI

1967

1990

SiemensPlessey

GECTelecoms

1994

1963

1985

GECTelecoms ,Defence

1988

HUNTERAerospace

1982

AustralianFlightTrainingSchool

AustralianAviationCollege

BritishAerospace& AnsettAustralianAviationAcademy

1991

BritishAerospaceFlightTraining

2001 20

06

Note: Civil Flight Training

divested 2005

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To be a leading through-life capability partner to the Australian Defence Force optimising Australia’s defence across maritime, air, land and joint

environments

Capability Partnering Areas:

Fast Jet Support Autonomous Systems

Rotary Wing MRO Guided Weapons (Naval Air Defence)

Military Flight Training ISR Mission Support Systems

HF Surveillance Electronic Warfare

Mission Systems Training & Simulation

BAE Systems Australia - Strategic Vision

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Indigenous Software Engineering Capability

– BAE SYSTEMS Australia has 340+ Software Engineers.

– Resources are distributed across our multiple engineering sites:– Edinburgh Parks (Adelaide)– North Ryde (Sydney)– Williamtown (Newcastle)– Abbotsford (Melbourne)– Canberra

and Business Units: – Force Awareness and Protection (FAP)– Military Air Support (MAS)– Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C)– Operations

– We have significant experience in delivering Defence Software Systems and providing ongoing Software System Support

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Software Engineering in Defence

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What is Software Engineering?

– The activity of developing software systems using a controlled Engineering Process

– Characteristics of Software Engineering– Software built by teams rather than individuals – Developments based on sound Engineering principles– Includes technical and non-technical (e.g. customer interaction,

documentation etc) aspects of the software product – Key Software Engineering Lifecycle Elements

– Requirements Analysis– Design– Code and Unit Test– Integration– CSCI Test– Support and Maintenance

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Software Engineering in Defence – how is it different?

– Strong engineering focus– Software Engineering rather than programming.

– Software is part of a bigger System or System of Systems– Part of bigger engineering, production and support framework

– Diverse range of technologies– Embedded real-time through to database driven n-tier architectures

– Diverse range of applications. – Can see your software running on custom hardware and deployed

in the field.– Often involves safety critical and regulatory requirements– Strong focus on operator user interface requirements and through life

support requirements– Opportunities to branch into other engineering disciplines (Sys Eng, HW,

Safety Engineering, Support Engineering etc.)

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Typical Software Intensive System Structure

Avionics Radar EW Engine Weapon Systems

HWCIs CSCIs

RWR CSCI

ECM CSCI

IRCM CSCI

CDMS CSCI

EWControl CSCI

CM Control CSCI

CM Launch CSCI

StatusCSU

Select CSU

Chaff CSU

Flare CSU

BIT CSU

CSCI - Computer Software Configuration Item

HWCI – Hardware Configuration Item

CSU - Computer Software Unit

Software can be part of a larger System (Systems Engineering)

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Type of Software Intensive projects

LIFTA

Nulka

OTHR

UAVs

Wedgetail

Mercury Messaging

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Typical S/W Engineering Roles

– Software Architect – Has the primary responsibility for the software technical solution– Bridge between Systems Engineering and Software Engineering– Defender of the architectural integrity of the software system

– Software Project Manager – Main focus is to manage and track the execution of Software Engineering activities with

respect to Cost, Quality and Schedule. – Often referred to as a Cost Account Manager in Defence

– Software Engineer– Appropriately qualified and experienced engineer working across all phases of the software

development lifecycle– Appropriate level of understanding of software configuration management, quality assurance,

tools, software processes

– Software Test Engineer– Software Engineer with a specific test focus– Involved in test planning, test design (including test harness/environment), test case

development/coding and test execution

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What do we look for in Software Engineers?

– Characteristics of a Software Engineer – Thorough technical knowledge of Information Technology– Able to apply Engineering discipline to complete the full lifecycle of

development– Communication skills (both oral and written)– Ability to elicit user needs– ‘Systems’ approach to the development of Software products

– A big picture view of the world– Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) defines

many of the desireable competencies

– More than just a programmer – A whole of lifecycle perspective (Requirements -> Support)– A mix of Computer Science and Engineering (and maths!!!)

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Defence Capability Plan (DCP) 2004-2014

– DCP highlights a significant increase in Defence expenditure over next 10 years

– Recently released revised DCP 2006-2016 reinforces this

– Major constraints to achieving DCP:

– National skills– Industry capacity &

capability– DMO capacity & capability

Major Capital Equipment Spend in Real 04/05 ($B)Adapted from DMO presentation at ASWEC 2006 “Why is

Acquiring Software Intensive Systems so Difficult?”

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Source: The Australian Software Acquisition Management Course, Defense Systems Management College, Mar 00

Increasing growth in software intensive systems

Functions Performed

in Software

(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1960 1964 1970 1975 1982 1990 2000

B-2

A-7F-4

F-111

F-15F-16

F-22

This trend, combined with the predicted 70% increase in DCP spend = significant software opportunities in

the Defence sector

This trend, combined with the declining software engineering

degree intake = a significant resource challenge to both DMO and defence industry

Demand >> Supply

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Further Information

– BAE Systems Australiahttp://www.baesystems.com.au

– Crosstalk – Journal of Defense Software Engineering http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk/

– DoD Software Technology News http://www.softwaretechnews.com/

– Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO)http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/index.cfm

– Defence SAhttp://www.defence-sa.com/Default.htm

– Centre of Excellence in Defence and Industry Systems Capability (CEDISC)http://www.cedisc.com/

– Software Engineering Body of Knowledgehttp://www.swebok.org/

– Software Engineering Institute (SEI)http://www.sei.cmu.edu/