Conference PaperPDF Available

Agile Model Based Systems Engineering

Authors:
  • TWT GmbH Science & Innovation

Abstract and Figures

Regardless of which domain we consider in this modern world, its respective products grow ever more complex. More complex customer demands and increasing interconnection between digital and physical aspects of product, production and user lead to highly sophisticated systems, made up of a vast number of small pieces of clever engineering and information technology. How can this complexity be managed? Is there an approach equally valid for domains like automotive, civil engineering, aeronautics and space? Is there a “rocket science “? And furthermore, how can such systems be designed efficiently? Such systems are made up of a number of smaller systems, which are supplied by different companies and designed by different people. Can system integrators and suppliers work together efficiently, even in the early stages of development? We will address these questions in a talk on modern Systems Engineering, which provides methods and processes for safe and secure design and testing of complex systems. We will touch on important modern aspects, such as model based systems engineering and model based validation as well as agile methods within systems engineering. As use cases we will present snapshots from an agile systems engineering approach to both automated driving and real drive emission testing. A further key feature shown is the variable complexity of simulations in such an approach, which can help the designer to evaluate e.g. basic geometric and stiffness properties with low complexity, fast simulations as well as enable the engineer to validate specific system properties using high fidelity FE, CFD or electrical simulations for example. All simulations feed the testing for requirement compliance with automated tracing of simulation results and parameters. A discussion of the relevant standards and formats will also be presented. In the first case a fully model based process is used to adapt to a change in a restrictive system requirement. Using a discussion based on a functional mockup setup, the effects of the change to the system will be shown. Automated testing using the virtual system shows conflicts and the specification and constructed system are kept synchronized. Based on a standard based toolchain the automated construction of the simulation architecture from formalized requirements and intermediate functional models enables this agile process. In a second example the evaluation of the vehicles real drive emissions is used to make a case for environmental modelling as part of the agile process, as the predicted emissions depend strongly on the exact and available scenarios for testing.
No caption available
… 
Content may be subject to copyright.
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Agile Model Based
Systems Engineering
Dr. M. Pfeil, Dr. R. Frotscher,
Dr. S. Staudacher, Dr. M. Ditze,
Dr. K. Kufieta, Dr. C. König,
Dr. V. Fäßler
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 2
Management Summary
9Years Technisch-Wissenschaftlicher Transfer
9Experts
9Research Projects
9Perspectives
Management Board
Dr. Dimitris Vartziotis
Joachim Laicher
Frank Beutenmüller
Dr. Victor Fäßler
30
300
20
3
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 3
Competences
Processes
Methods
IT
Engineering
Systems
Engineering
FEM
CFD
Multiphase Flow Simulation
Structural Analysis
Geometric und Functional
MBS
Optimization
Visualization
Aerodynamics
Computation and Simulation
Thermodynamics
Acoustics Vibration
FDM
PDM
Software Development
Implementation
Connectivity
Specification
Interfaces
Architecture
Development
Algorithmic
Context
System
Complexity
Data Bases
Analyses
Efficient Processes
Holistic
Weight Management
Concepts
Training Courses
Implementation
Consulting
Interdisciplinary
IT Development
Automation
HV Systems
Co-Simulation
Connected Vehicle
Battery Modelling
FMTC
FMI
Requirements Management
Electronics
Modelisar
Embedded Systems
Assistance Systems
Functional Safety
Simulation Data Analysis
ISO 26262
Big Data
Ice Detection
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 4
Managing Complexity
Model Based Systems Engineering
Communication
Predictive
Maintenance
Services
Design
Energy Management
Fleet
System
Complexity
Autonomous Driving
Data Management
Control Units
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 5
The Change to Agility
Value added for daily work
Mail Dashboard
Text Model Isolated Linked
Data /
Tools
Communi-
cation
Specifi-
cation
MBSE
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 6
The Implementation
SPES as the Modeling Framework
MBSE
Viewpoint
low
high
Requirements Functional Logical Technical
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 7 Secure
Process
Tom
Function Developer
Division Warning Light
User Journey
for a Demand Sequence
Create
Michael
System Supervisor
Division PostCrash
MBSE
platform
OSLC connection
Sarah
Demand Manager
Telematics
RTC
Demand
Management RTC
Demand
Management
RTC
Demand
Management
DNG
MBSE frontend
RTC
Simulink
DNG
DM
Mario
Function Developer
Division Outside Light
Assign
Rhapsody
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 8
Full
System
Level
Module
Level
Component
Level
Requirements
Detailed Design /
Specification
Architectural Design
Continous Product Development Process
An Agile V-Model
Specification Integration
and Testing
Implementation
Integration Testing
System Testing
Function Modelling
Acceptance Testing
Unit Testing
Virtual Integration and
Simulation
Model Based Systems
Enginering (MBSE)
Systems Engineering -
Methods, Tools & Processes
MBSE with SysML
Continous Requirements
Management Virtual Testing
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 9
Continous Product Development Process
Formalized Requirements
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 10
Continuous Development
Responsibility
Department B / Tool 2
Department A / Tool 1
Supplier model / Tool 3
Integration tool / Tool 3
Integration environment, providing also e.g. driver, track, driving scenarios
Powertrain
Wheel suspensions
Operational
strategy
Tires
Wheel suspensions
Tires
Engine
Single point of truth
CoC responsible for all aspects
of component development
No re-modelling of
‚Department-A-components‘ in
Department B
Integration of (final) supplier
components
Tool-independence -> re-use of
outer world designs FMU
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 11
Route Analysis
Routing
Tools for Simulation Based Routing
Map Kernel Toolbox
Map
Curves

Traffic
Topography
Signs
Graph Module
Performance
Energy
Restrictions
Drivingprofile
Simulation
Models
Weather
Vehicle
Driver
5,5t
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 12
Simulation (Emission) Informed Routing
VERIS
RDE / PEMS
Requirements
Preset Start- &
Waypoints
Traffic / Time
Extensive
Visualisisation
Export for Navi or
Simulation
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 13
Toolchain
intoCPS
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 14
Holistic Tool Integration
Co-Simulation
NAFEMS World Congress 2017 | 11-14 June | Stockholm | Sweden
Confidential
Seite 15
Summary
Agility in MBSE through high level of automation and flexible tool integration (FMI, Co-Simulation)
Semantically clean requirements lead to direct incorporation into the architecture design and to
Direct and automated traceability (OSLC)
From Optimisation and Design Space Exploration in the early development phase to
validation and performance tuning in later phases through tool independent interfaces for
Full integration of supplier models.
Toolchain is open for users and tool vendors (http://projects.au.dk/into-cps/)
... These can contribute generally to modelbased systems engineering (MBSE), such as envisioned by Object Management Group Object Definition Metamodel™ (38), or by domain-specific models (39). Scaled Agile explicitly embraces MBSE (40), though its exact CI/CD implementation is more supportive of checklists than code. Regardless of current standards, sense-making for continuous metadata can be facilitated by models, whatever their provenance. ...
Article
Full-text available
Implementations of metadata tend to favor centralized, static metadata. This depiction is at variance with the past decade of focus on big data, cloud native architectures and streaming platforms. Big data velocity can demand a correspondingly dynamic view of metadata. These trends, which include DevOps, CI/CD, DataOps and data fabric, are surveyed. Several specific cloud native tools are reviewed and weaknesses in their current metadata use are identified. Implementations are suggested which better exploit capabilities of streaming platform paradigms, in which metadata is continuously collected in dynamic contexts. Future cloud native software features are identified which could enable streamed metadata to power real time data fusion or fine tune automated reasoning through real time ontology updates.
... Les architectures sont définies de façon progressive pour satisfaire les exigences principales, puis les exigences secondaires, des itérations remettant en cause des choix amont étant possibles. De manière générale, les processus techniques interagissent constamment et il est préconisé que la phase de définition de la solution se fasse par niveau de détail progressif (Long, 2012). L'intervention des processus support sur les processus techniques vise à garantir une minimisation des risques liés au projet de développement du produit. ...
Thesis
Full-text available
Dans un environnement fortement concurrentiel, les industriels doivent constamment améliorer leurs produits pour rester compétitifs et satisfaire au mieux leurs clients tout en minimisant les coûts et la prise de risques en conception. En phase préliminaire de conception ou de (re-)engineering, prédire les performances de nouveaux produits est une tâche difficile. En effet, l’impact des changements opérés sur les caractéristiques du produit relativement aux performances de celui-ci ne peut être estimé que de façon imprécise. Décideurs et concepteurs doivent pourtant identifier les performances à améliorer en limitant les efforts d’ingénierie déployés pour des améliorations innovantes. Bien que plusieurs indicateurs de plus-value aient été proposés par la communauté de la décision multicritère pour évaluer a priori l’amélioration que confère un changement de configuration à un produit, ils semblent néanmoins reposer sur des hypothèses de réalisabilité des gains de performance peu réalistes dans le contexte manufacturier.Sur la base de techniques d’analyse multicritère et de théorie des possibilités, cette thèse propose une extension de ces indices de plus-values lorsque la vraisemblance des améliorations espérées ne peut être évaluée de façon précise comme c’est le cas en phase de conception préliminaire. Cette connaissance imparfaite des relations entre les actions d’amélioration et les performances espérées rend la question « comment se fixer des objectifs ambitieux lorsque l’on conçoit ou améliore un produit tout en faisant en sorte que ces objectifs restent à la portée du manufacturier ? » d’autant plus complexe. Ainsi, les améliorations qu’il faut planifier doivent à la fois avoir un impact significatif sur la performance du produit et correspondre à des compétences maîtrisées par le manufacturier. Plusieurs approches de la littérature se sont intéressées à ces deux aspects de l’amélioration, mais peu d’entre elles les considèrent conjointement. Nous proposons dans cette thèse plusieurs approches qualitatives et possibilistes qui concilient les deux points de vue à travers des problèmes d’optimisation multi-attributs. La notion d’interaction entre deux dimensions de la performance y est centrale. Un exemple relatif à la conception d’un robot autonome est proposé pour illustrer chacune de nos propositions. Cette étude de cas est issue du challenge Robafis qui est organisé annuellement par l’Association Française d’ingénierie Système (AFIS) pour promouvoir l’ingénierie système dans les écoles d’ingénieurs.
... An ontology identifies and defines the concepts and terms[6]. It also provides descriptions of the concepts and defines their relationships[7]. An ontology provides better definitions for the usage than a dictionary or taxonomy[1], which means an ontology is not just a classification method. ...
Article
Recently, the increased complexity of systems has made systems engineering necessary. It is very useful for system designers to understand the whole context of the concerned system based on systems engineering. A system model can be used to describe the outcome of a system design. A system model describes the system from the viewpoint of the stakeholder`s needs using the mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive principle. A system model can be used to smoothly design a large and complicated system based on the systems engineering development process. Many companies and countries are attempting to apply model-based systems engineering, and the significance of the system model quality is increasing as system models are referenced during system development. In this paper, we propose a quality assessment method for ontology which is one of system models by focusing on the system development process. First, in this process, a system developer should explicitly show the relationship between viewpoints. Then, the system developer should select dependent rather than independent viewpoints. With dependent viewpoints, each viewpoint used to describe the system has some logical relationship. The set of viewpoints makes it possible to show, not only tangible and physical system parts, but also conceptual system parts. In this paper, we develop an ontological system model of a Japanese weather observation system. By comparing some ontological system models, we verify the effectiveness of explicitly describing the relationships between viewpoints and select dependent viewpoints.
Article
Full-text available
Featured Application Model-Based Systems Engineering is an edX Professional Certificate Program comprised of two five-week courses that teach principles and applications of model-based systems engineering using Object-Process Methodology—OPM ISO 19450. Abstract Modeling and systems thinking skills, as well as scientific understanding, are necessary for comprehending complex, food-related processes. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of food-related learning units on graduate students’ systems thinking and modeling skills, as well as on their understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) issues. In this research, six STEM experts constructed a conceptual model of the codfish tracking process using Object-Process Methodology. Next, 15 STEM graduate students, who are prospective teachers, participated in a graduate course, which includes four online units on food production processes based on their respective models. Research tools included an expert focus group, student assignments, and questionnaires. Modeling and scientific understanding rubrics were adapted and validated for analysis of the assignments. We found a significant difference in the scores of systems thinking and modeling skills between students with modeling background and those without. Based of students’ feedback along the course, learning in context of food and sustainability also contributed to developing these skills. The contribution is the combination of food production and conceptual models for developing STEM teachers’ systems thinking and modeling skills, and their scientific understanding of food processes and sustainability issues.
Preprint
Full-text available
Effective decision-supporting visualization is critical for strategic, tactic, and operational management before and during a large-scale climate or extreme weather emergency. Most emergency management applications traditionally consist of map-based event and object visualization and management, which is necessary for operations, but has small contribution to decision makers. At the same time, analytical models and simulations that usually enable prediction and situation evaluation are often analyst-oriented and detached from the operational command and control system. Nevertheless, emergencies tend to generate unpredictable effects, which may require new decision-support tools in real-time, based on alternative data sources or data streams. In this paper, we advocate the use of dashboards for emergency management, but more importantly, we propose an intelligent mechanism to support effective and efficient utilization of data and information for decision-making via flexible deployment and visualization of data streams and metric displays. We employ this framework in the H2020 beAWARE project that aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative framework for enhanced decision support and management services in extreme weather climate events.
Thesis
Spherea (formerly Cassidian Test & Services), initiator of the PhD thesis, is a leading provider of Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) solutions for aerospace and military vehicles’ maintenance. The company’s interest in Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) research is motivated by occurrence of No Fault Found (NFF) events detected by ATE, and determining superfluous maintenance activities and consequently major wastes of time, energy and money. IVHM, through its advanced diagnostics and prognostics capabilities, and integration at enterprise level of vehicle health management could solve NFF events occurring during operational-level maintenance. Nevertheless, IVHM systems proposed so far are most of the times developed and matured empirically, for specific vehicle systems, founded on proprietary concepts, and lacking of consensual structuring principles. This results in a lack of consensus in both the structuring principles of IVHM systems and their Systems Engineering. Today, the challenge is to provide an IVHM modelling framework independent from the type of supported system and usable for IVHM Systems Engineering. Towards such framework, the main contributions developed in this thesis progressively build the foundation and pillars of an IVHM modelling framework. The notion of system of systems drives our first proposal of defining principles of an overall IVHM system. From this system vision, the focus of the thesis is oriented on the vehicle centric function of IVHM as catalyst of maintenance decisions at operational level, having the ability to solve the industrial problems at the genesis of the thesis. The key structuring principles of this function are analysed upon three dimensions (functional dimension, a dimension of abstraction, and distribution between the on-board /on-ground segment), setting the basis of the proposal of a generic modelling framework IVHM, considering both vehicle and enterprise centric functions. This framework is built following a Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach, supported by SysML. The major contribution of the thesis is the modelling, within the framework of IVHM, of the generic Health Management Module (gHMM), support for integration of diagnostics and prognostics, key processes of health management. The gHMM formalization enables to integrate diagnostics and prognostics not only in the conventional way: from diagnosis to prognosis, but also in an original one: from prognostics to diagnostics with the purpose of reducing ambiguity groups; the latter is backed-up through the proposal of an algorithm for one elementary activities of the gHMM. The gHMM MBSE engineering thus leads to a generic modelling framework, which, by a principle of instantiation, allows the construction of an IVHM system designed for the health management of individual vehicle systems. Towards such particularization, the thesis investigates characteristics impacting selection of appropriate supporting algorithms. This analysis enables to identify ten generic macro-criteria, which are further formalized based on ontologies and used within a multi-criteria based methodology suited for selecting diagnostics and prognostics algorithms for vehicle health management. Finally, the validation protocol of the scientific contributions is proposed, and applied at different scales of implementation in the field of wind turbine and UAV health management
Article
Full-text available
Das International Council of Systems Engineering (INCOSE) versteht die modellbasierte Systementwicklung (MBSE, engl. Model-Based Systems Engineering) als die Nutzung von durchgängigen Modellen im Rahmen der Aktivitäten der Systementwicklung (SE, engl. Systems Engineering) [In00]. Im Gegensatz zu dokumentenbasiertem Vorgehen werden computerinterpretierbare Modelle verwendet. Obwohl der Mehrwert von MBSE gegenüber klassischen Vorgehensweisen wahrgenommen wird [BC10], gibt es noch erhebliches Potenzial zur Verbesserung der Anwendbarkeit, des Nutzens und der Erlernbarkeit [ALR12][AZ13] sowie bei der Integration in die Prozesse und Werkzeuge der Produktentwicklung [ZI12]. Im Folgenden wird ein Überblick über die Forschungstätigkeiten bezüglich des MBSE im Rahmen der Karlsruher Schule gegeben, welche die Forschungsergebnisse des IPEK zusammenfasst.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Das Systemmodell ist der Kern des Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). Während jedoch im Systems Engineering dem Zusammenspiel von Produkt und Projekt ein hoher Stellenwert beigemessen wird, liegt der Fokus im MBSE noch sehr stark auf technischen Prozessen. Im Hinblick auf die Idee des Systemmodells als zentrale Datenquelle sollten auch Stakeholder jenseits der direkten Entwicklungsaktivitäten das Systemmodell entsprechend nutzen können und davon profitieren. Dazu wird ein Demonstrator vorgestellt, welcher die Anwendung einer Komplexitätsanalyse auf Basis des Systemmodells mechatronischer Systeme stellvertretend für Methoden in Sinne der technischen Managementprozesse der ISO/IEC 15288 aufzeigt. Grundlage des Demonstrators bildet das Systemmodell eines Pedelecs. Die darin modellierten Strukturen dienen als Input für die Komplexitätsanalyse. Über die automatisierte Anwendung der Komplexitätsanalyse ergibt sich als Output ein Portfolio, das die Komplexität der funktionserfüllenden Komponenten mit der Bewertung der Funktionalität in Beziehung setzt und somit eine Beurteilung und entsprechende Handlungsempfehlungen der Komponenten ermöglicht.
Conference Paper
In model-based systems engineering a model specifying the system’s design is shared across a variety of disciplines and used to ensure the consistency and quality of the overall design. Existing implementations for describing these system models exhibit a number of shortcomings regarding their approach to data management. In this emerging applications paper, we present the application of an ontology for space system design that provides increased semantic soundness of the underlying standardized data specification, enables reasoners to identify problems in the system, and allows the application of operational knowledge collected over past projects to the system to be designed. Based on a qualitative evaluation driven by data derived from an actual satellite design project, a reflection on the applicability of ontologies in the overall model-based systems engineering approach is pursued.
Article
Full-text available
Autonomous systems are on the rise. However, the challenge to test autonomous systems to ensure their safe and fault-free behaviour is not solved yet. This is especially critical when we consider the fact that autonomous systems are often safety-critical systems envisaged to interact with humans without explicit human supervision. This paper points out why testing autonomous systems is such a challenge and provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art theory and practice. The gathered information is then condensed into guiding points for the way forward.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.