Systems Engineering Archive

There are almost 500 articles published in this blog - it's easy to lose track. All search options are summarized in this archive: Simple search, chronological, or in the sidebar by category, by day or by date. Have fun browsing.

Education, People
Guiding principle 1: Find a framework that works for you
July 20, 2023
Today we are talking about the first guiding principle, the use of a suitable framework to give our professional life the right direction. Below is the 3-minute video and a few explanations. This is the 2nd part of the series: 5 guiding principles for engineers to achieve success and fulfillment in their careers. Read now
Education, People
5 guiding principles for engineers to achieve success and fulfillment in their profession
July 13, 2023
5 guiding principles for all people, but especially for engineers, to find success and fulfillment in their careers. Read now
Artificial intelligence, Modeling & MBSE
MESConf Open Space: How AI is revolutionizing MBSE and focusing on compliance
July 6, 2023
AI can be used in the MBSE context. Here are the results from the MESConf Open Space session. The focus is on compliance. Read now
Air/space travel, Modeling & MBSE
OPS-SAT: Reverse engineering with MBSE at ESA
June 29, 2023
Modeling in systems engineering has many advantages. However, if an organization does not yet have (much) experience in model-based systems engineering (MBSE), this approach is risky. The European Space Agency (ESA) took an interesting intermediate route with the OPS-SAT: The team developed the satellite traditionally, i.e. document-based. This approach is very mature at ESA. However, after the successful deployment of the satellite, ESA invested the time to create a model via reverse engineering, which is to form the basis for further follow-up projects. Peter Gersing described this project in his keynote speech at MESCONF 2023. Read now
OMG, Tools
SysML v2 reference implementation: A field report
June 22, 2023
There is a reference implementation for SysML v2. This is a field report that examines installation, features and benefits. Read now
Artificial intelligence, Modeling & MBSE
MBSE with ChatGPT: A (scientific) field report
June 15, 2023
ChatGPT can be used to generate MBSE models from text. PlantUML can be used for visualization. Read now
Methods, Sample
The 2 biggest pitfalls when assigning IDs
June 8, 2023
IDs, or identifiers, are everywhere. In systems engineering, we work with IDs that uniquely identify requirements. In PLM, we have part numbers. But we also deal with IDs outside our area of expertise: Websites have URLs, or now URIs (the I stands for „identifier“). Books have an ISDN. And places have addresses. Identifiers are everywhere and they are important. That's why we should think a little before we commit to a scheme for assigning IDs. Here are the 2 biggest pitfalls. Read now
Methods, Standards & Methods
Are there alternatives to the "Scientific Method"?
June 1, 2023
The „scientific method“ has been established in research and development for hundreds of years. This refers to a systematic procedure consisting of a few steps that leads to reproducible results. The scientific method is so simple that even children can apply it. It is regularly used not only in research, but also in industrial development. We are often not even aware that we are using the scientific method. But what exactly is behind it? And are there alternatives? Read now
Analysis, Industry
International legal protection for artificial intelligence and big data
May 25, 2023
The rise of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era of technological progress. However, with these advances come new legal challenges that require global collaboration and legal protection. Even though we as systems engineers often focus on technical issues, dealing with intellectual property has always been important and is now more important than ever. Read now
Artificial intelligence, Modeling & MBSE
8 ideas for the use of AI for MBSE
May 18, 2023
AI opens up new possibilities, including in MBSE. The MESCONF modeling conference will take place in Munich on 22 and 23 June. However, the topic of AI is dominant: on the one hand through a keynote speech by Jan Seyler from Festo. On the other hand, I will be offering an open space session on the topic of AI & MBSE. Together with the participants, I would like to work out where the most potential lies. Below is a list of 8 ideas in advance. Read now
Industry, Open Source
From real-time to open source: 6 examples of embedded operating systems
May 11, 2023
Software is now an essential component of many modern products. But the software has to run somewhere. To do this, we need controllers (computers) and embedded operating systems that run on the controllers. And only then comes our software. The following is a brief overview of operating systems for embedded systems. Read now
Recommended, OMG, Standards & Methods
SysML v2 FAQ: Answers from Tim Weilkiens, Stephan Roth & Uwe Kaufmann
May 4, 2023
This FAQ on SysML v2 with the most important answers was created from discussions with the experts Tim Weilkiens, Stephan Roth & Uwe Kaufmann. Read now
Requirements, events
Gojko Adzic: 5 predictions for requirements management in the next 20 years
April 27, 2023
Gojko Adzic's attempt at this year's REConf is a bold one: how will requirements management develop over the next 20 years? As a successful book author and long-standing expert in software-heavy product development, Gojko has the right expertise. But 20 years is a long time - especially when it comes to making predictions about technology. Below is a summary of Gojko's four challenges and five predictions for the next 20 years in requirements management. To anticipate a little: Interestingly, he doesn't see system modeling as an important part of this. Read now
Artificial intelligence, Modeling & MBSE
10 challenges for AI in MBSE and the 8 skills required to meet them
April 20, 2023
AI has the potential to bring MBSE into the mainstream. The "Vision Paper" on the challenges for AI in MBSE provides clarity. Read now
Artificial intelligence, Methods
Collect AI data correctly in 6 steps
April 13, 2023
By now, word has gotten around that training data plays a central role for AI models. But how do we get good AI data? And since everyone is currently talking about "Artificial General Intelligence", the question arises as to whether we still need training data at all. The short answer is: Of course! Read on to hear the long answer. Read now
Modeling & MBSE, OMG
What do you think of SysML? Survey with 343 answers
April 6, 2023
SysML v2 has recently overcome another hurdle. The final version was recently accepted by the OMG. More on this shortly. But in keeping with this, today I would like to present the results of a survey on SysML. This was carried out by INCOSE and was answered by 343 participants. The results give a good overview of the perception of SysML in industry and research. Read now
Standards & Methods, Knowledge
IEC 61508: Foundation for safety
March 30, 2023
IEC 61508 is an international standard that deals with the safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic systems. The standard is applicable to a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, railway, medical technology, as well as energy and process industries. Since IEC 61508 has spawned many derived industry-specific standards, it is worth looking at them in a little more detail. Read now
Artificial intelligence, events
Aligning requirements and system model with AI
March 23, 2023
With AI, we can create MBSE models from text and compare requirements and system models. But there are still problems. Read now
Artificial intelligence, Methods
The reward function: the linchpin of AI systems
March 16, 2023
When we develop systems for people, we have to make important decisions: Who are the users? What is important to the users? What is valuable to them? What problem will the system solve for these users, and how do we solve it? How do we know if we are ready? We need to answer all these questions, regardless of whether the target system uses AI or not. However, if it is an AI-based system, then the reward function plays an important role. Why this is the case and how we use it is the subject of the following section. Read now
Modeling & MBSE, Tools
Low-code - isn't that just modeling?
March 9, 2023
Low-code is a concept that promises to drastically simplify software development. Instead of programming with a programming language, domain experts can create functioning software, often through drag-and-drop. What the user creates in this process is a model. The following answers the questions: What are the similarities and commonalities between low-code development and modeling? What are the possibilities and limitations? And: Is low-code really new and useful? Or just another hype that's selling old wine in new bottles? Read now