Implementation vs Integration

The implementation process creates or fabricates a system element conforming to that element’s detailed description (requirements, architecture, design, including interfaces). Consider a phone network, like Verizon. In this case, the implementation process would deal with the fabrication and feature creation of the Verizon cell phone itself since this process involves hardware, software, and services implementation concepts. This would include coding the software on the phone to make sure that it aligns with stakeholder requirements. These high level requirements could include the capabilities of sending texts, taking pictures, internet access, calling, setting an alarm, and connecting to the Verizon network. More specific requirements could include picture editing, deleting texts, clearing internet history, etc. All of the high level requirements can be containerized, so each of them acts independently of each other- the only dependency being the phone has to be on the Verizon network to access the internet, send iMessages, etc.

The integration process consists of progressively assembling the implemented system elements (hardware, software, and operation resources) that compose the system of interest as defined and verifying the correctness of the static and dynamic aspects of interfaces between the implemented system elements. Using the same scenario as in the previous paragraph, the integration process would deal with putting the new cell phone on the Verizon network. This process works closely with the verification and validation process as engineers make sure that all the elements of the cell phone are functioning properly after the migration to the Verizon network. It is also very important that during this integration process, a proper strategy is used to make the entire process as quick and effective as possible. In this situation, global integration would be most effective because the cell phone is already made, and the only feature that needs to be integrated is the network connectivity function within the cell phone itself. This strategy is most effective for simple systems with few interactions, which is why it would be best for this system. Ultimately, this process will satisfy not only requirements, but the overall architectural design (functionality, performance, design, constraints).