Analysing the impacts of system obsolescence based on system architecture models

Obsolescence is the fact that an entity (physical or logical) is becoming outdated or no longer useful and in this way is considered inappropriate. The objectives of this article are twofold. First, we seek to contribute to the understanding of obsolescence through two conceptual models. They enable, among others, to link the points of view of the external and internal actors of the system. This mapping is fundamental when it comes to solve the re-design problems posed by some obsolescence issues. The obsolescence management process consists of Prepare, Identify, Assess, Analyze, and Implement. The second objective is to offer two support tools for the Identify and Assess phases: House of Obsolescence and System Obsolescence Exposure Analysis. The first allows to map the changes, desired or imposed, by external actors to the critical components and functions of the system architecture. These latter are then analyzed using the second tool whose objective is to assign an obsolescence exposure index to the identified obsolescence issues in order to prioritize them for solution determination during the analysis phase. The tools make extensive use of the modeled system knowledge through the application of System Engineering. The application of the tools is then illustrated through a case study.