The document discusses the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project. It provides background on the SKA science drivers and vision to build the largest radio telescope in the world over multiple phases and sites. It describes the SKA organization, design consortia working on different components, notional data flow, and use of agile practices for developing the large amount of software and systems required. The document advocates for taking an agile approach to systems engineering to provide value throughout the telescope's design, construction, and operations.

1. Agile Software Engineering
& System Engineering at
SKA scale
Juande Santander-Vela
SKA SW Systems Engineer
SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
Astronomical Data Analysis
Software & Systems
(on behalf of the SE team)

2. SKA Key Science Drivers:
The history of the Universe
Cosmic Dawn
(First Stars and Galaxies)
Galaxy Evolution
(Normal Galaxies z~2-3)
Cosmology
(Dark Energy, Large Scale Structure)
Cosmic Magnetism
(Origin, Evolution)
Cradle of Life
(Planets, Molecules, SETI)
Testing General Relativity
(Strong Regime, Gravitational Waves)
Exploration of the Unknown
Broadest range of
science of any facility,
worldwide

3. SKA Observatory Vision
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
3 sites
2 telescopes
1 observatoryDesign Phase:
~ €200M; 600 scientists+engineers,
80% complete
SKA Phase 1 (SKA1)
Construction: 2019 – 2025
Construction cost cap: €674.1M
(2016 inflation-adjusted)
Operations cost: (estimate) €89M/yr
MeerKAT integrated
Observatory Development Programme
(€20M/year planned)
SKA Regional centres out of scope of
centrally-funded SKAO.
SKA Phase 2: start mid-2020s
~2000 dishes across 3500km of
Southern Africa
Major expansion of SKA1-Low
across Western Australia
>50 years lifetime!
Drives need for reliability,
and adaptability

4. SKA Observatory Vision
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
3 sites
2 telescopes
1 observatoryDesign Phase:
~ €200M; 600 scientists+engineers,
80% complete
SKA Phase 1 (SKA1)
Construction: 2019 – 2025
Construction cost cap: €674.1M
(2016 inflation-adjusted)
Operations cost: (estimate) €89M/yr
MeerKAT integrated
Observatory Development Programme
(€20M/year planned)
SKA Regional centres out of scope of
centrally-funded SKAO.
SKA Phase 2: start mid-2020s
~2000 dishes across 3500km of
Southern Africa
Major expansion of SKA1-Low
across Western Australia
>50 years lifetime!
Drives need for reliability,
and adaptability

5. SKA Organisation
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
! Australia (DoI&S)
" Canada (NRC-HIA)
# China (MOST)
$ India (DAE)
% Italy (INAF)
& Netherlands (NWO)
' New Zealand (MED)
( South Africa (DST)
) Sweden (Chalmers)
* UK (BEIS/STFC)
In discussion with:
+ Germany
, France
- Portugal
. Spain
/ Switzerland
0 Japan
1 South Korea
In the process of
becoming an Inter-
Governmental
Organisation

6. SKA1 Design Consortia
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7. SKA1 Design Consortia
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Software
Heavy
Elements

8. Have
~6-10 × FTE
wrt SKAO
SKA1 Design Consortia
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

9. 1000 kmMap data ©2017 Terms of Use
Filter Consortia
Assembly, Integration & Verification
Central Signal Processor
Dish
Infrastructure Australia
Infrastructure South Africa
Low-Frequency Aperture Array
Mid-Frequency Aperture Array
Science Data Processor
Signal and Data Transport
Telescope Manager
Wideband Single Pixel Feeds
Check/uncheck all
GMT-7
GMT+12
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
19 hour timezone span

10. SKA1-Low locations
1600 km
N
➤➤
NData SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCOData SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO
Image Landsat / CopernicusImage Landsat / Copernicus
SKA1-Mid locations
500 km
N
➤➤
NImage Landsat / CopernicusImage Landsat / Copernicus
Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCOData SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO
SKA1 Sites
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
SKA1-LOW: 50 – 350 MHz
Phase 1: ~130,000 antennas
across 65km
SKA1-Mid: 350 MHz – 24 GHz
Phase 1: 200 15-m dishes
across 150 km

11. SKA1 Telescopes
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
SKA1-LOW: 50 – 350 MHz
Phase 1: ~130,000 antennas
across 65km
SKA1-Mid: 350 MHz – 24 GHz
Phase 1: 200 15-m dishes
across 150 km

12. SKA1 Notional Data Flow
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
2 Pb/s 7.2 Tb/s
7.2 Tb/s
8.8 Tb/s8.8 Tb/s
~50 PFLOPS
~5 Tb/s
~250 PFLOPS
Long Term
Storage
300 PB/year
LFAA Data Network Digital Data Backhaul
Digital Data Backhaul
CSP-SDP Network

13. SKA1 Notional Data Flow
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
2 Pb/s 7.2 Tb/s
7.2 Tb/s
8.8 Tb/s8.8 Tb/s
~50 PFLOPS
~5 Tb/s
~250 PFLOPS
Long Term
Storage
300 PB/year
LFAA Data Network Digital Data Backhaul
Digital Data Backhaul
CSP-SDP Network

14. SKA1 Notional Data Flow
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
2 Pb/s 7.2 Tb/s
7.2 Tb/s
8.8 Tb/s8.8 Tb/s
~50 PFLOPS
~5 Tb/s
~250 PFLOPS
Long Term
Storage
300 PB/year
LFAA Data Network Digital Data Backhaul
Digital Data Backhaul
CSP-SDP Network

15. SKA1 Notional Data Flow
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
2 Pb/s 7.2 Tb/s
7.2 Tb/s
8.8 Tb/s8.8 Tb/s
~50 PFLOPS
~5 Tb/s
~250 PFLOPS
Long Term
Storage
300 PB/year
LFAA Data Network Digital Data Backhaul
Digital Data Backhaul
CSP-SDP Network
Similar to LOFAR
in flexibility.
See O4.2 by
Adriaan Renting

16. How to develop so
much software?
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17. Agile
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18. Agile, Scaled Agile
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(Framework)

19. SAFe for Lean Enterprises Large Solution SAFe
®
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Agile Teams, 5-7
people (including
Scrum Master),
±2 people
Agile Release
Trains (ARTs)
in Definition
https://scaledagileframework.com/

20. Agile Manifesto
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
http://agilemanifesto.org

21. The emphasis is on Quality
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
Nick Rees talk I10.1
(Thursday 26th, 9:00 AM)

22. What about
Systems Engineering?
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

23. INCOSE, 2004
“Systems engineering [SE] is an interdisciplinary approach and
means to enable the realisation of successful systems […] [SE]
integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort
forming a structured development process […] from concept to
production to operation. [SE] considers both the business and the
technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality
product that meets the user needs.”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

24. INCOSE, 2004
“Systems engineering [SE] is an interdisciplinary approach and
means to enable the realisation of successful systems […] [SE]
integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort
forming a structured development process […] from concept to
production to operation. [SE] considers both the business and the
technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality
product that meets the user needs.”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

25. INCOSE, 2004
“Systems engineering [SE] is an interdisciplinary approach and
means to enable the realisation of successful systems […] [SE]
integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort
forming a structured development process […] from concept to
production to operation. [SE] considers both the business and the
technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality
product that meets the user needs.”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

26. INCOSE, 2004
“Systems engineering [SE] is an interdisciplinary approach and
means to enable the realisation of successful systems […] [SE]
integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort
forming a structured development process […] from concept to
production to operation. [SE] considers both the business and the
technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality
product that meets the user needs.”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

27. INCOSE, 2004
“Systems engineering [SE] is an interdisciplinary approach and
means to enable the realisation of successful systems […] [SE]
integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort
forming a structured development process […] from concept to
production to operation. [SE] considers both the business and the
technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality
product that meets the user needs.”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

28. David Long, CEO Vitech Corp
“The role of Systems Engineers is to encode
and translate engineering to all stakeholders.”
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29. Nick Rees, SKAO Head of Computing
“Systems Engineers capture and remind us
of all the bullshit stakeholders say about
the system.”
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30. Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

31. Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

32. Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

33. Juande Santander-Vela, SKAO Software SE
“Systems Engineers have to provide useful
engineering artefacts to stakeholders, notice
still missing definition, and supply it ASAP”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
Freshly coined for
#ADASS2017CL!

34. Juande Santander-Vela, SKAO Software SE
“Systems Engineers have to provide useful
engineering artefacts to stakeholders, notice
still missing definition, and supply it ASAP”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
Or assess and
record the risk of
not doing it
Freshly coined for
#ADASS2017CL!

35. INCOSE, 2004
“Systems engineering [SE] is an interdisciplinary approach and
means to enable the realisation of successful systems […] [SE]
integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort
forming a structured development process […] from concept to
production to operation. [SE] considers both the business and the
technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality
product that meets the user needs.”
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
With an assessment of
what are the risks against
quality and user needs

36. SE must be Agile, or it
provides diminished value
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

37. Agile Manifesto
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
http://agilemanifesto.org

38. Agile SE
• Keep communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, with
speedy and clear dissemination of agreements
• Continuous integration of the engineering artefacts… and code,
preferably self-documented
• Get devs (and SEs) that are invested, not just
contracted → Gain‑share frameworks
• Have systems & processes that accommodate system (and code)
change and prove requirements are satisfied → don’t do document-
centric requirements management
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

39. Agile SE
• Keep communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, with
speedy and clear dissemination of agreements
• Continuous integration of the engineering artefacts… and code,
preferably self-documented
• Get devs (and SEs) that are invested, not just
contracted → Gain‑share frameworks
• Have systems & processes that accommodate system (and code)
change and prove requirements are satisfied → don’t do document-
centric requirements management
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
At all phases! Including design,
construction, commissioning, and
operations…
Don’t disband SE!

40. Agile SE
• Keep communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, with
speedy and clear dissemination of agreements
• Continuous integration of the engineering artefacts… and code,
preferably self-documented
• Get devs (and SEs) that are invested, not just
contracted → Gain‑share frameworks
• Have systems & processes that accommodate system (and code)
change and prove requirements are satisfied → don’t do document-
centric requirements management
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
At all phases! Including design,
construction, commissioning, and
operations…
Don’t disband SE!

41. Agile SE
• Keep communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, with
speedy and clear dissemination of agreements
• Continuous integration of the engineering artefacts… and code,
preferably self-documented
• Get devs (and SEs) that are invested, not just
contracted → Gain‑share frameworks
• Have systems & processes that accommodate system (and code)
change and prove requirements are satisfied → don’t do document-
centric requirements management
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
At all phases! Including design,
construction, commissioning, and
operations…
Don’t disband SE!

42. Agile SE
• Keep communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, with
speedy and clear dissemination of agreements
• Continuous integration of the engineering artefacts… and code,
preferably self-documented
• Get devs (and SEs) that are invested, not just
contracted → Gain‑share frameworks
• Have systems & processes that accommodate system (and code)
change and prove requirements are satisfied → don’t do document-
centric requirements management
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
Partners, not
contractors/suppliers
mentioned by
JC Guzman on I2.1
At all phases! Including design,
construction, commissioning, and
operations…
Don’t disband SE!

43. Agile SE
• Keep communication with all stakeholders involved in the project, with
speedy and clear dissemination of agreements
• Continuous integration of the engineering artefacts… and code,
preferably self-documented
• Get devs (and SEs) that are invested, not just
contracted → Gain‑share frameworks
• Have systems & processes that accommodate system (and code)
change and prove requirements are satisfied → don’t do document-
centric requirements management
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
Partners, not
contractors/suppliers
mentioned by
JC Guzman on I2.1
At all phases! Including design,
construction, commissioning, and
operations…
Don’t disband SE!

44. Agile-ish Practices at SKAO
• SE planning
• We have a full plan, from which the backlog is constructed
• Progress reviewed every 2 weeks, with forward look to another 2 weeks
• Systems Modelling
• Integrated System Model for SKA1_Common and SKA1_Low in Cameo SysML
• Second model for SKA1_Mid in Vitech CORE
• Used for ICDs, discussions
• SKA1_Mid and SKA1_Low Block Diagrams
• Used for reference, updated in agile way, but low priority
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

45. Agile-ish Practices at SKA1
• Consortia work-planning
• Agile for SDP, TM
• LFAA uses agile for software development of AAVS1 prototype
• Others want to embrace SAFe for construction, just not now
• Multimodal communication
• Email, SMS, Confluence, JIRA, Jama comments, Slack, Vidyo, Skype…
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

46. Not so Agile-ish Practices at SKAO
• Engineering Change Process (ECPs) and Change Notes (CNs)
• Bug, or Feature? Still TBD for ECPs → more time to reflect
• Need for formality/signature/buy-in across consortia requires time; we need to
be able to move from as agreed to as designed before as signed… but how?
• Lack of JIRA/backlog culture → starting to improve
• Lack of self-awareness of performance metrics → starting to improve
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope

47. Agile SE is not for free…
• Coordination/communication takes time!
• Self-organisation frees time from management, but needs assistance from
monitoring → back to coordination!
• Automation of monitoring and communication can help… but still the
effectiveness of the communication needs to be monitored.
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
a lot of
But it makes it easier to
focus on the right things

48. Conclusions
• Agile SE can be seen as a tailoring of SE; you still need to identify which
are the processes that provide value to your system/organisation.
• It is a challenge to create teams that can work together, but making it
on a cadence makes it easier to achieve it… through repetition.
• We have to improve a lot at SKAO… but we’re working on it.
• Agile for Agile’s sake is a fad; you become Agile it to build quality, and
respond to mistakes, sooner.
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49. Thanks!
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY

50. Questions?
Exploring the Universewith the worlds’ largest radio telescope
SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY
j.santander-vela@skatelescope.org