AN INTEROPERABILITY-BY-DESIGN APPROACH FOR DESIGNING SMART GRID SOLUTIONS

Interoperability is at the heart of the digital transformation of Smart Grid, and any methodology that advocates this concept would help develop Smart Grid solutions correctly. Some of the major challenges in the way to achieving a seamless integration with a high interoperability maturity level are not following a well-defined methodology. This work presents one such methodology – the AIT (Virtual Lab) VLab, which is based on the principle of interoperability-by-design. The principle advocates that interoperability must be considered from the very beginning of the solution design and should be followed through all the life-cycle phases. It works by defining a common view of the system first so that the functional objectives of the solution can be aligned with what needs to be implemented. This methodology is being used in the Horizon 2020 project SENDER. Some exemplary use cases from the project will be presented. The results from applying the methodology show enhance workflow, bridging the gap between the implementation and requirements, and improved communication to name a few.