Glossary · Systems engineering and MBSE
Concept of operations (ConOps)
Also known as: Operational concept (OpsCon)
German: Betriebskonzept (ConOps)
In systems engineering, a concept of operations (ConOps) is a document that describes, from the users' and operators' point of view, how a system is intended to be used, in which environments and operating modes, by whom, and how it fits into the organization's operations.
- Systems engineering
In one sentence
A concept of operations (ConOps) describes how a system will be used, by whom and in which situations, from the users' point of view.
Example
The ConOps for an automated warehouse describes normal picking shifts, night maintenance, manual intervention after a jam and the roles of operators, maintenance staff and IT.
How it applies
- Engineering: The ConOps is written early and feeds Stakeholder requirements, Operating mode definitions and Use case diagrams.
- Safety: Scenarios in the ConOps help identify Intended use and Reasonably foreseeable misuse for the risk assessment.
- Documentation: The ConOps is an excellent input for the documentation team: its roles, scenarios and modes map directly to audiences, task topics and the structure of the Operating manual.
- Project management: Review the ConOps with operators and maintenance staff, not only with management; missing scenarios such as cleaning, format changes or recovery after a fault are expensive to add once the design is fixed.
ConOps vs. OpsCon
ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148 distinguishes the ConOps, which describes the organization's intended operations at a high level, from the operational concept (OpsCon), which describes how one specific system will be operated. In everyday use both are often called ConOps.