Systems Engineering and Ship Design: a synergy for getting the right design and the design right

What makes a successful ship design? The most brilliant solution cannot be called a success if it is something that nobody desires. Nonetheless, if a solution can in principle fulfill customer’s needs but it is not appropriately executed, it is a failure as well. Therefore, for a successful solution, both elements are crucial: getting the right design and getting the design right. Respectively they answer the question “ what is the right thing to build and why?” and “how do we build it?”. The traditional design method, represented by the “design spiral”, is a solution-oriented approach that works well when requirements have already been defined. It surely provides a feasible ship possibly fulfilling the customer’s requirements, but it is not ascertained a priori that it is the best one from all points of view. The exploration of the problem domain, necessary to select the more appropriate design, can be achieved with a problem-oriented approach such as Systems Engineering (SE) methodology. SE aims is to identify the best possible solution that satisfies customer needs in the most efficient and effective way. In this paper, a new approach that merges the traditional ship design procedure with the Systems Engineering (SE) processes will be discussed, with a special focus on the conceptual integration between the SE V-model and the design spiral. In this perspective, it will be necessary to discuss the definitions of Measures of Performance (MOPs) and Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs). MOEs are related to the achievement of the mission in the intended operational environment, while MOPs characterize the physical attributes of system/ subsystems. The aim is to open a discussion within the naval architects community to define an innovative methodology that will support the decisional process in finding the best possible solution, in the specific domain of naval ships.