Rule 14: ICT shall be developed and its performance demonstrated with respect to the environment in which it will operate
Updated 16 October 2023
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The rules are under review and subject to change.
1. Rule requirement
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ICT shall be developed and its performance demonstrated with respect to the following being defined and documented 1.1 Quantification of the required network characteristics (to include, but not be limited to: bandwidth, latency, jitter, packet loss). 1.2 The capability’s operational and technical architecture shall be documented and maintained. 1.3 Performance metrics shall be defined. 1.4 The ICT environment characteristics (to include but not be limited to: bandwidth, latency, jitter, traffic, security) within which it will operate shall be understood.
- ICT performance shall be demonstrated 2.1 ICT performance shall be demonstrated under Normal operating conditions. Normal operating conditions will need to be determined through understanding the characteristic of the environment within which it is operated and how it is to be used. 2.2 ICT performance shall be demonstrated under less than ideal conditions; this may be the result of insufficient bandwidth, high latency or jitter. The boundary of unacceptable ICT performance must be identified 2.3 The above shall be demonstrated through: 2.3.1 Prediction of expected performance based on modelling and characterisation 2.3.2 Testing in a representative environment. 2.3.3 Analysis of ‘experienced against predicted’ performance on the live environment.
- ICT impact on the existing environment shall be demonstrated and quantified. 3.1 Evidence that delivery of ICT does not have an unacceptable operational impact on other capabilities. This shall be demonstrated through:
3.1.1 Prediction of expected impact based on modelling and characterisation. 3.1.2 Testing the capability in a representative environment. 3.1.3 Analysis of ‘experienced against predicted’ performance on the live environment. All capabilities being introduced / changed within the deployed environment shall be modelled by ISS Ops-OD Ops-ENDAC team to predict network resource utilisation and the understand network impact. Project teams shall request support through ISS Ops-OD Ops-ENDAC.
2. Rule rationale
It is essential that ICT is developed with respect to the environmental constraints and limitations it will operate in. This environment will have a bearing on a solution being able to deliver the performance expected of it. This is of particular importance in the Deployed Environment where networks often have high latency and low bandwidth.
In conjunction with understanding the environment the solution must be properly defined in terms of use, information exchange requirements and performance. Without these being properly defined a solution cannot be developed, tested and demonstrated against them.
The impact of new or changed ICT on the performance of other capabilities must be quantified and accepted. Any new or changed ICT will have an impact on other capabilities where there is a use of common resources. This impact must be understood to allow informed decisions on whether it is accepted.