Knowledge Protection

Deliver lasting value from legacy code and knowledge

The global industry challenge of having to meet ever increasing costs when supporting and protecting the IP wrapped up in old/legacy code,  in-house systems and models now has a solution. The j2 Universal Tool-Kit is able to integrate any and all legacy code and models into a single, robust and trusted working framework, where the knowledge, embedded in legacy code and systems, derived and developed over many decades, can be ringfenced and protected. By ringfencing the IP held within the legacy tools, whatever that may be e.g. code, models etc., any additional changes to any model, analysis or simulation can all be handled within the j2 Universal Tool-Kit which is already a fully supported, robust and trusted commercial off the shelf software running on a sustainable Windows operating system.  

In the last decade the ability to access and use old code and tools has become more and more difficult and expensive to achieve and support. In addition, the knowledge around legacy system design and how it works has also been eroding for a variety of reasons e.g.

    • Many of the older coding methods and development techniques are no longer contained within tertiary education teaching and are fast becoming obsolete and more difficult to support.
    • A large amount of knowledge resides in an ever shrinking pool of ‘experienced’ heads. This puts the same technical knowledge at risk of being lost.
    • Adding to the erosion of skills and experience is an inability to transfer that knowledge over into a reliable, sustainable and more advanced working framework that can be verified and trusted and there is a very real threat of losing access to this very valuable pool of knowledge that has evolved over many decades.

Historically, in-house code and systems have been poorly documented and this is now creating issues on reliability when in use. In addition, the older legacy systems are unable to accommodate changes in computer operating systems, system integration and overall data quality assurance.

At j2, we have recognised the challenge associated with losing this valuable knowledge bank and have determined that the j2 Universal Tool-Kit can provide a trusted platform within which the vested knowledge in any legacy code can be accommodated and the engineers can then build on that knowledge foundation whilst using the fully supported and sustainable j2 Universal Tool-Kit running on a Windows operating system.

The route to ring-fencing and protecting a knowledge base starts with a simple discussion and appraisal of what is required. A series of simple tests are then undertaken which sanity checks the legacy code, checks for unknowns e.g. data wind ups, oscillations, hidden integration steps etc., that can give rise to integration issues later. Once completed, an initial integration is tested and evaluated and if ok, the integration is completed.

Running in parallel with the integration step, the fully documented j2 Knowledge Transfer Process is able to provide instant learning in all the application areas where legacy code and systems have proven to be a challenge from model build thru analytical process to flight test and into simulation e.g.:

  • Core model build – where substantial model code is held in Fortran.
  • Substantial data from flight test held in a variety of file formats
  • The use of external models constructed in a variety of legacy programmes and data formats.
  • Using external specific code blocks e.g. engine decks, undercarriage, flight control systems etc.
  • Certified simulator models that can be re-used in simulation opportunities.
  • The creation of high fidelity digital twins using older legacy model code as a foundation.

j2 Aircraft Dynamics work closely with the end-user to deliver a bespoke and fully operational work process, using and integrating their old legacy code into the j2 Universal Framework, delivering a sustainable work methodology, all fully supported within a robust and trusted commercial off the shelf software, the j2 Universal Tool-Kit.