Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is Critical for Developing Today’s Innovative Products

Innovative products require electrical, electronic, mechanical and software disciplines working together to meet consumer demands.

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(Image courtesy of Siemens Digital Industries Software.)

(Image courtesy of Siemens Digital Industries Software.)

Written by: Tim Kinman, Vice President, Trending Solutions Consulting & Global Program Lead for Systems Digitalization, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

Today’s innovative products require electrical, electronic, mechanical and software disciplines working together to meet consumer demands, but traditional methods for product development are no longer efficient due to systems design complexity. By adopting model-based systems engineering (MBSE), engineering teams can create and exploit domain models (and multi-domain models) as the primary means of digital information exchange between engineers—saving time, effort and overall program cost.

MBSE is a formalized application of modeling that integrates system requirements, design, analysis, verification and validation activities, from the conceptual design phase and continuing throughout development and later life cycle phases.

The ideal MBSE digital transformation solution comprises five key components:

  1. Product Definition at the conceptual design phase.
  2. Connected Engineering using architecture-driven design fully integrated across domains.
  3. Continuous Verification from onset to final product delivery.
  4. Quality Engineering to meet design compliance.
  5. Program Planning to successfully manage all the digital information for product creation.

This article covers each of these critical areas, and the benefits of utilizing a comprehensive MBSE methodology.

(Image courtesy of Siemens Digital Industries Software.)

(Image courtesy of Siemens Digital Industries Software.)

Product Definition

At the onset of developing a product, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) formulates an initial concept that addresses the needs of the target customer—mapping out the intent of the end-product, its performance, functional and non-functional elements, requirements and the product’s architecture. This integrated set of information is then applied to the product’s multi-domain architecture to define the digital twin of the product. The digital twin is a virtual representation of the end-product that ultimately will be delivered to market.

The OEM must consider how these elements can all be connected to represent the ideal product, which then must evolve to engineering, manufacturing, distribution to the consumer and asset performance. Today’s OEMs must also adopt an integrated product lifecycle management (PLM) environment that can support robust systems engineering tools, providing visibility to ensure their products will perform optimally with minimal risks.

The modern automobile, for example, is comprised of advanced architectures that provide rich features, which can be adapted to the needs of the consumer, with new features enhanced or added by enabling software. Thus, product definition has evolved from conceptual design to a continuous activity that requires lifecycle-focused systems engineering throughout the life of the product. The MBSE approach to product definition includes requirements management, parameter management, functional and systems modeling, and multi-domain architecture. With the design insights and information from MBSE models and methods, engineering teams can make better decisions to manage the increasing systems complexities of their product.

Connected Engineering

The next area, connected engineering, utilizes product definition to drive integration across software, mechanical, electrical and electronics systems for cross-domain development. Using real-time information linked to system models, engineering teams can simulate behaviors, assess risks and impacts, expose defects and resolve issues across the most complex systems of systems.

By breaking down the silos between these separate domains to create a data-centric model-based environment, OEMs will realize a connected single source of truth based on product definition, requirements, architecture and parameters. The conceptual design can then be executed across these multiple domains, ensuring functional integration to optimize design decisions, find defects, assess risks and design trade-offs. MBSE enables OEM teams to start integrated, and stay integrated.

Connected engineering is critical today since OEMs develop advanced products that continue to push the boundaries of design complexity. Consumer preferences, customization and industry and government regulations are contributing to the complexity of today’s products. Therefore, it is critical that mechanical, software, electrical and electronics engineering teams are connected for clear visibility and advanced real-time collaboration.

The connected engineering “feedback loop” across disciplines constantly verifies that the architecture and requirements are correct. The design is challenging the architecture and interfaces at this stage, evolving into a more solidified design that has interacted with software, electrical and mechanical domains. As a result, OEMs can enhance innovation potential and deliver products to market faster by making better and more informed decisions.

Continuous Verification

The third area is continuous verification where the elements of connected engineering, the network and electrical distribution work together. Continuous verification occurs from the beginning of the product cycle through to the end. Continuous verification also leverages simulation models and product context to measure component, sub-system and complete system closed-loop testing. For a new automobile, continuous verification will reveal how the software, network sensors, actuator and the actual vehicle will all work together.

MBSE leverages software and systems engineering for product validation, enabling the OEM to virtually verify the product, and optimize the resulting end product for delivery to the market. For the automotive OEM, for example, continuous verification enables delivering the right vehicle at the right time, every time. An integrated MBSE methodology provides continuous verification from initial concept to the end of the product lifecycle, enabling OEMS to proactively change how products are planned, managed and delivered.

Quality (Safety and Cyber)

Because MBSE allows OEMs to create a virtual prototype or digital twin in an open, adaptable environment, their engineering teams can access the multi-domain connections within one seamless workflow to develop products that meet or exceed their requirements and performance metrics. A combination of geometric data and software elements, the digital twin makes it possible for engineers to virtually execute the product, including the ability to simulate the environment and the operator using that product in a real-life scenario, ensuring it meets performance targets before a physical prototype is created.

Compliance with all engineering requirements and industry or government regulations will ensure that the end-product is safe, reliable and secure. For modern automobiles and aircraft, the MBSE approach to functional safety can be adapted to meet critical industry standards such as ISO26262, STAMP and ARP4754A, WP29 or NASA SP-2016-6105. By optimizing the virtual prototype to meet the product quality goals, industry standards, and manufacturing requirements, OEMs can deliver smarter, more innovative products in shorter development cycles.

Program Planning and Execution

Once the product is ready for release to manufacturing, the OEM engineering team needs to provide orchestration and automation to reduce the difficulty of managing the scale. OEMs also must consider their customer’s needs and how they are managing the information and people across their product lifecycle with today’s engineering activity. Additionally, the increase in the systems, software and Electrical/Electronic elements required by the shift to smart products also needs to be organized and managed.

Applying a systems approach to program planning and execution by integrating not just timing but cost, resource scheduling and technical requirements into a single program, enables OEMs to orchestrate and automate the business processes from systems to closed loop.

By frontloading simulation for engineering decisions, as well as verification and validation (V&V), OEMs provide an ability to schedule the virtual V&V with reporting to reflect the progress to meeting the overall product requirements.

With integrated PLM and MBSE to create a digital thread connecting these once disparate engineering disciplines, OEMs can generate an accurate and comprehensive digital twin to create innovative products while managing extreme complexity and requirements issues.

Conclusion

Although MBSE is not a new approach, the development process has evolved, advancing to meet design complexity challenges. A modern MBSE solution enables continuous verification of product requirements and the management of every process in a unified digital environment, from concept through end-of-life.  A key component of the MBSE digitalization journey is to start integrated and stay integrated, among every domain working on the project (e.g. electrical, electronic, mechanical and software). Traditional methods that rely on spreadsheets and documentation from disparate engineering groups are no longer effective. Innovations today require a single, comprehensive digital twin to harness the system-level design complexities that drive next-generation products. Adopting a robust and proven MBSE methodology will provide OEMs with a competitive advantage, particularly as emerging AI and connected technologies are being created at an explosive pace.

Learn more about MBSE at Siemens Digital Industries Software.


About the Author

Vice President, Trending Solutions Consulting & Global Program Lead for Systems Digitalization, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

Vice President, Trending Solutions Consulting & Global Program Lead for Systems Digitalization, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

Tim Kinman is the executive leader for Trending Solutions Consulting and the Global Program Lead for Systems Digitalization. He has over 36 years of product development experience spanning CAD applications, PDM data management, and 17 plus years guiding customer business transformation. 

In his current role, Tim works with customers worldwide regarding Engineering and Consulting Solutions for enablement of leading edge, trending solutions. Tim acts as a trusted advisor for major accounts with focus on customer business transformation and time to value. As Global Program Lead for model based systems engineering (MBSE), Tim is engaged across all development and functional organizations to deliver on MBSE vision and working with customers on realization plans addressing their business drivers.