WP5: Engineering Methods and Tools

This WP aims at providing methods and prototype tools for the engineering of a new generation of very large-scale SOA-based distributed systems for batch and continuous process applications. These tools need to support the lifecycle (e.g., design, configuration, management and support) of SOA-based system architectures, providing SCADA functional capabilities to meet user requirements whilst exhibiting much greater distributed control and decision making than current DCS system implementations. This will require a new generation of engineering tools. These prototype tools will support selected aspects of the applications engineering and lifecycle support of the components implemented in WP3 underpinned by the WP2 architectural work. The aim is to adopt a holistic approach which enables system models to be defined and subsequently utilised throughout the overall system lifecycle. This work will be underpinned by previous research into service-oriented and event-based distributed systems.

Important objectives are:

• Consistent provision of engineering services across different system aspects and lifecycle phases, e.g., across system implementation, asset management and operator training.
• Development and implementation of comprehensive business-driven performance indicators, e.g., overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Effective process visualization. Consistent management of diverse assets requires whole-line visualisation and optimization.
• Consideration of system-of-systems engineering issues and through-life capability management.

To The shift from systems implemented via a predominantly centralized paradigm to control and monitoring strategies based on a system of systems with thousands of dynamic SOAcompliant devices is likely to require a new engineering methodology with requirements for new modelling and engineering approaches to be practically realized. The approach adopted will be to driven by user requirements derived from the studied usecases. This will determine the required tools for the considered SOA process control application(s). Critical tools not available from other sources will then be prototyped on the project in this work package.