Design for affordability from system to programme to portfolio using tradespace-based affordability analysis: An application to a federated satellite system design case study

Abstract

Affordability has become essential to the design of complex systems, programmes and portfolios due to evolving performance requirements, budget uncertainties and schedule uncertainties. This necessitates the design for affordability, which is the holistic consideration of performance, cost, schedule and other non-monetary parameters during early-phase design to perform valuable tradeoffs. By treating affordability as a high-priority ility, Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration and Epoch-Era Analysis can be used to synthesize a progressive tradespace-based method for finding affordable solutions and to perform affordability analysis. This method is called Tradespace-based Affordability Analysis and it can better simulate the scale, complexity and uncertainties in design, while mitigating the risk of losing valuable solutions due to oversight. Its feasibility is demonstrated through application to a case study on Federated Satellite Systems. Through a bottom-up design approach from system to programme to portfolio, an affordable solution with the desired tradeoffs across all its parameters can be obtained.