7.2.2 Agile Development of Tractable Analyses and Simulations of Complex Systems

Agile development differs from other engineering processes in the manner in which each task is performed, and the ability to respond to changes in scope or requirements. The agile model permits continual feedback after a complete pass through each of the disciplines. Agile development enables the system to be built in a series of cycles from a set of rudimentary capabilities to the full system capability. When agile development is applied to the analysis of complex systems and “wicked problems,” the inherent conflicts and inconsistencies of those systems can be resolved. The result of applying “agile” to analysis of a wicked problem is the Design for Tractable Analysis (DTA) framework. DTA analyzes the system (or enterprise) of interest as a whole, in conjunction with decomposing the system into constituent elements for domain specific analyses that are informed by the whole. The use of DTA is demonstrated through a case study of a complex security system.