New structured method defines mission requirements without customer input

In a new paper on arXiv, researchers Taylor C. Fazzini and Daniel R. Herber tackle a persistent gap in systems engineering: how to define mission requirements when stakeholders are absent or input is vague. Their structured approach decomposes mission intent into six layers—context, functions, constraints, critical dimensions, effectiveness attributes, and architecture alternatives. This enables a mission feasibility assessment without relying on pre-existing customer specifications. The method introduces Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) to objectively prioritize mission-critical dimensions, and a novel mission complexity factor that accounts for external difficulties, technology maturity, evidence confidence, and mission utility. The result is a traceable basis for deriving Tier 1 and 2 requirements, directly applicable to rapid build programs like military acquisition, space assets, and large infrastructure projects.

The framework is designed to integrate with standard modeling languages—Unified Architecture Framework (UAF) and Systems Modeling Language (SysML)—making it practical for existing engineering workflows. The researchers demonstrate the method on a notional close air support mission, showing how it yields quantifiable effectiveness metrics even when traditional requirements are undefined. By automating prioritization and complexity assessment, this approach reduces ambiguity early in the proposal process, where requirements often evolve rapidly. For defense contractors, space agencies, and infrastructure developers, this means faster, more rigorous requirement definition with less dependency on stakeholder interviews. The paper (arXiv:2606.05651) was presented at AIAA Aviation 2026 and is available for review.