SysML contracts for systems of systems

This paper proposes and demonstrates an architectural pattern for the contractual specification of interfaces between constituent systems within a System of Systems (SoS). We take a structured approach to the development of the pattern, which we call the Contract Pattern. It is developed and demonstrated in SysML using a case study from the Audio/Video domain. We also identify some of the obstacles in the way of checking the conformance of a constituent system to a contract, and discuss how these may be overcome.