Glossary · Requirements and interfaces
Interface (systems engineering)
German: Schnittstelle
In systems engineering, an interface is a defined boundary across which systems exchange energy, material, data, commands, states or responsibility. An interface has two sides, and each side has an owner.
- Data and interfaces
- Integrated systems
- German source term
In one sentence
An interface in systems engineering is where systems exchange energy, material, data, commands or responsibility, and where integration faults cluster.
Example
The transfer point between a conveyor and a robot cell is an interface for material (parts), data (part present), commands (stop) and responsibility (who guards the transfer opening).
How it applies
- Integrated systems: List every interface at the system boundary and between subsystems. Include non-electrical exchanges such as material flow, shared guards and responsibility handovers.
- Machine safety: Many hazards in integrated plants sit at interfaces: missing stop signals, unclear restart conditions, unguarded transfer openings.
- Technical documentation: Describe each interface in an interface specification or an interface control document, and reflect user-relevant interface behavior in the manuals.
- Responsibility: Record who owns each side and who approves changes. An interface without an owner is a change risk.
The German term Schnittstelle is used in the same broad sense; in everyday German it is often narrowed to data or software interfaces, which can hide the physical and organizational ones.