Beyond the V-Model: A Layered Conceptual Framework Integrating Governance, Design Logic, and Iteration

The V-Model remains a central framework in systems engineering, providing structure, traceability, and governance across the development process. Despite its widespread and disciplined use, many projects experience late-stage integration problems that cannot be fully explained by technical uncertainty, insufficient testing, or lack of process compliance. This paper argues that a key underlying cause is equivocality: the presence of multiple plausible interpretations within early requirements and stakeholder statements. Unlike uncertainty, equivocality cannot be resolved through additional data or verification alone and often remains hidden until integration. To address this limitation, the paper introduces the Layered V-Model as a conceptual framework that separates governance, design logic, and iteration into distinct but interacting layers. In this interpretation, the classical V-Model serves as a governance backbone, while design logic makes interpretations explicit and traceable, and iteration structures learning in time. The framework does not propose a new development model but provides an analytical lens for understanding misalignment in complex, multidisciplinary projects. By making the roles and boundaries of established methods explicit, the Layered V-Model offers implications for both systems engineering research and practice, particularly in contexts characterised by high equivocality and evolving requirements.