Report Summit 2023:
The Future of Systems Engineering

Exploring MBSE Trends in Research and Industry

Model-Based Systems Engineering is becoming increasingly important. From design to execution, complex systems should be supported with human-comprehensible and machine-readable models. In this context, the second MBSE Summit was held in Traunkirchen on June 5 and 6, 2023. More then 80 national and international experts and interested parties from science, research, technology, and industry met to discuss current trends and open challenges. The summit started with keynotes from standardization, research, and industry and was followed by intensive discussions in small breakout sessions on different MBSE focal points. It became clear that implementing model-based systems engineering from safety to standards to process quality is essential. Still, often, benefits have to be explained more intuitively, and the exchange between users needs to be intensified through training and discussions.

Building a major modeling language standard: Reflections on how we got to SysML v2 and where we are going

Ed Seidewitz (Model Driven Solutions, OMG) presented the new version of SysML v2 in its current status. It was shown why this new version is necessary and which new functionalities are made possible by this standard. For example, SysML v2 will use not only graphical but also textual notation, and there will be a standard API and exchange format based on JSON so that interoperability and project exchange will be possible. There are also reference implementations in parallel with the development. However, the overall implementation of v2 is more complicated and complex than v1, but it is proving possible.

the Swiss Army Knife of Engineering Methods

Dr. Judith Michael (Software Engineering, RWTH Aachen) lighted the relevance and necessity of modeling in today’s modern and complex systems. There is a wide range of possible applications for system models, and research results from the Cluster of Excellence IoP, for example, prove this. The Cluster of Excellence is researching how this versatility of system models can be used and promoted in the system life cycle.

Models can be used well for documentation; they facilitate the understanding of complex interrelationships and make it possible to reduce this complexity. In addition, the models created can be used for various other purposes. For example, it is possible to use engineering models made during system design for the systematic and efficient definition of larger parts of a digital twin.

Feature-based development – Applied MBSE in the context of overall vehicle development

Dr. Tobias Gawron-Deutsch (Robert Bosch AG) explained the application of MBSE in the automotive industry. It was pointed out that there must be a paradigm shift from a document-based to a modeling-based integrated world. Concerning development and application in the automotive sector, he showed the advantages of considering the development steps on a feature basis. This allows components to be developed individually for an overall concept. It is essential to consider the chain of effects “required” to “execute” the feature. There are shared requirements that do not have to be fulfilled by just one feature. These must be considered and validated for all features. The MBSE approach prevents features from becoming isolated silos.