From Common Strategies and Approaches to Virtual Integration

This paper deals with the integration process in multidisciplinary technical systems projects. The paper reviews the objectives of the integration process, planning and managing principles, as well as the pitfalls and difficulties associated with this process. Various integration approaches are described and analyzed. A method for comparing integration approaches in systems projects is suggested. The paper then introduces the Model-Based methods for virtual integration and examines how initial steps in that direction impact the conventional integration practices.