Anatomy of a Change Option: Mechanisms and Enablers

Designing systems that can deliver value to stakeholders is more than just eliciting requirements and developing sound and efficient technical solutions. In a time when technology, policy, economic conditions, and system end uses can change on short time scales, it is necessary to better conceive and manage system changes in order to alter system form, function, or operations to continue to deliver value in spite of exogenous changes. In order to better characterize and explicitly consider “changes” in a system during its lifecycle, this paper introduces the concept of “change mechanism” and describes the essential aspects that need to be considered for intentional changeability. The links between design principles, change mechanisms, and system properties are described in order to help frame how designers can create and evaluate changeability across various system types.