Our Holistic Approach to Complex Systems

Less Risk and More Collaboration

Customers in the aerospace and defense sector expect speed, precision, and transparency in systems development. Achieving these objectives with a Document-Based Systems Engineering (DBSE) approach is a challenge. Risk can increase exponentially in complex systems as each adjustment in system requirements or design must be traced across multiple documents and engineering products. Not to mention things like human error, acronyms, and misunderstanding of language. Our holistic approach to Digital Engineering, specifically Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), uses a model-based design to address these problems by managing and storing system information within the context of a system model.?

How is Risk Addressed in Systems Development?

A complex system with interdependent operations typically indicates a higher risk level, which is why our model-based systems engineers manage and store information within a system model, creating a single source of truth. This model documents system?requirements and describes how the system will be assembled to meet those specified requirements. It will also include the verification and validation activities needed to ensure the requirements are met within the system.

The Model-Based Approach:

1. Better CommunicationMore complex systems often mean harder to understand requirements and higher risk for human error. A model is created to deal with it. Particularly, they allow us to understand an area of interest or concern and provide unambiguous communication for all interested parties. To ensure most effective communication, our team of experts is certified on many levels in Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This common language promotes a shared understanding between users, project offices, and the development teams. All elements are stored in the model, but specific diagrams are created for specific purposes. MBSE allows one to create different views for different stakeholders depending on the party’s interests and the message that is wanting to be conveyed to the viewer. When compared with a traditional approach, where system information is stored across multiple documents with a lack of language meaning and requirement definition, MBSE dramatically improves the speed and clarity of communication across the team.
2. Improved EfficiencyWhile a document-based approach can produce a model, they are static and focused on one variable. Because of this, it is difficult to capture the effect of changes on system operation. Further, information gets pushed from one document to another creating redundant entries and the possibility of transcription errors.On the other hand, model-based systems engineering houses all system data in a single model, so there is no need to transfer data from one document or system to another. The chance of error is immediately lowered, and redundancy is eliminated. A key element of MBSE is the idea of reuse. An element is created once and can be reused throughout the model. This allows system information to be more consistent and saves engineers valuable time when developing the model. In addition, the model’s visual aspect can save both money and time because it allows engineers to see design impact prior to changes and offers flexibility when exploring alternative solutions.
3. Ongoing UtilityFar more than product specs or testing, MBSE can be used throughout the systems engineering lifecycle for a project. Commonly, models are used to develop system architectures, model system behavior, create and store requirements, and perform gap analyses for projects. The defense and aerospace industries are increasingly relying on the use of digital engineering approaches. With the overwhelming amount of information that engineers are required to analyze, the traditional document-based approach is significantly more difficult to sustain. As we assist our customers transition from document-based to model-based, we utilize MBSE to provide an effective way to manage system complexity through the entire lifecycle.

Expertise for Your Digital Ecosystem

For INTUITIVE, model-based systems engineering is not a buzzword, but rather an effective way of incorporating models with systems engineering practices for the most complex of systems. Our team knows that the models we design are only as good as the engineer who develops the systems and writes the requirements. Our team of model-based system engineers is comprised of certified professionals with a range of disciplines and experiences. Our approach keeps speed, precision, and transparency top of mind throughout the entire development and design process.

When it comes to your system, are you making The INTUITIVE Choice?