System interface challenges in combining mature technologies with rigid architectures

Abstract

This thesis examines the integration of mature technologies with rigid architectures through concepts from Systems Architecture, Systems Engineering, and Project Management. The research focuses on a project with John Deere to integrate large-scale GPS vehicle control for agricultural fertilizer sprayers into an existing platform for sports turf maintenance spraying via the John Deere ProGator with Select Spray sprayer attachment. Agricultural GPS control systems and the ProGator turf sprayer are long-running legacy products of differing scales for John Deere's product portfolio and their architectures are rigid. The architectures of these products are broken down using Operand-Process Methodology and Design Structure Matrices for component integration and mapping processes to stakeholder needs. Additionally, prototype development vehicles are used to gather stakeholder needs and generate product engineering requirements. The gathering, validation, and revision of these requirements along with the product development cycle is facilitated by Spiral Development to manage the project through iterations starting with mule concept machines through to full production release.