Peter Lieber: "MBSE cannot be realized without vision"
What do we need to bring Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) into the mainstream? Or is MBSE already mainstream? On January 9, 2023, I had a conversation with Peter Lieber and Daniel Siegl from LieberLieber on this topic. As an evangelist, sales partner of Sparx Systems (Enterprise Architect) and manufacturer of product extensions, LieberLieber has a clear opinion on the current state of affairs.
LieberLieber & Sparx Enterprise Architect
Many engineers know the tool Enterprise Architect (EA) from Sparx Systemone of the most popular modeling tools on the market. Many EA users are also familiar with DearLovera company whose products are based on EA.
I had a conversation on the subject of MBSE with Peter Lieber, Daniel Siegl.
Peter Lieber (pictured left) is the founder of LieberLieber and CEO of Sparx Systems Software GmbH, which is responsible for the distribution of Enterprise Architect in Europe. The parent company Sparx Systems was founded in 1996 by Geoffrey Sparks and is based in Australia.
Daniel Siegl (pictured right) is responsible for business development at LieberLieber and is an evangelist for MBSE and systems engineering. Among other things, he has already made two appearances at the MBSE podcast by Tim Weilkiens and Christian Muggeo.
Rüdiger Maier is responsible for public relations at LieberLieber and coordinated this interview - thank you very much!
Will MBSE become mainstream this decade?
The reason for this interview was a recent article published by SE-Trends, which arose from conversations with Andreas Willert, Will Streit and Danilo Beuche: Will MBSE become mainstream this decade? The result, at least from the discussions, was that the tendency was no, but the time for MBSE will come.
In this interview with Peter Lieber and Daniel Siegl, we delved much deeper into the topic.
What is MBSE?
In order to answer the question about the mainstream of MBSE, we first need to clarify the scope of MBSE (here is my definition). It was surprising how different the definitions of the interviewees were:
MBSE is the end-to-end, holistic capture of the system in models, right down to the code level if you like. MBSE cannot do without model transformations and requires a living vision that continuously drives the maturity of MBSE in the organization.
Peter Lieber
Peter qualified that there are also companies that practice MBSE despite a lack of vision and develop it further through continuous improvement processes. Formal processes can be the driver for such scenarios. However, the effectiveness of MBSE without a vision suffers considerably as a result.
We already have MBSE at the first link in Polarion.
Daniel Siegl
In contrast to Peter's definition, Daniel is prepared to use the term MBSE even in the first approaches to understanding modeling, such as traceability between requirements.
Both definitions are legitimate, but have very different implications regarding the question of the mainstream of MBSE. If we use the first definition, then perhaps only our grandchildren will see "MBSE mainstream". With the second definition, we may already have MBSE mainstream today. But what exactly do we mean by mainstream?
When will MBSE become mainstream?
There are industries for which MBSE is already mainstream today. Compliance is often one of the most important drivers here. Examples of this are aviation and rail, which have done pioneering work in the area of MBSE.
MBSE is mainstream when it is accepted as "state of the art".
Peter Lieber
There are also other drivers, for example the problems arising from the different development speed of hardware and software result. The semiconductor industry is struggling with the challenge that hardware is completed much faster than firmware. Without model-based work, development would be impossible. In this area, we are already on the threshold of the mainstream, as there is no other way.
Another driver is the still comparatively low level of reuse. In addition, the software-heavy nature of some areas means that development without MBSE is no longer possible.
The question is not whether MBSE will become mainstream, but when.
Peter Lieber
MBSE is not necessary for every organization. However, when organizations for which MBSE makes sense no longer question its use, then we have reached the mainstream. Both engineers and decision-makers must accept MBSE as the state of the art.
MBSE and other innovations are driven by standards and norms.
Peter Lieber
Some sectors are moving slowly, others faster. Peter cited a few examples. In the automotive sector, he estimates the speed at which new ideas and approaches are adopted at 10 years. Aviation is much more conservative, which is why he would estimate 30 years there and much longer in the government sector. Regulations are the most important drivers for new approaches in general and MBSE in particular. This is the reason why, despite the conservative pace, aviation has already implemented MBSE at an early stage.
For which companies is MBSE essential for survival, today and tomorrow?
Not surprisingly, all participants see the topic of safety as one where it is no longer possible without MBSE.
MBSE is a must when it comes to human life, where mistakes can result in liability with the threat of imprisonment.
Peter Lieber
Especially for safety-critical requirements (ASIL D / SIL 4, etc.), modeling is already strongly recommended by the regulations, and in practice it is actually a must. Over the next few years, legislators and users will gradually raise the bar.
For classic commercial applications, MBSE will probably remain a "nice to have" for the time being. But in the classic "industrial tech" sector, MBSE is sure to come. These companies are often slower, but more sustainable.
What do organizations need for the successful use of MBSE?
We all agreed that MBSE requires a certain level of maturity in order to be successful. Word has long since gotten around that tools alone do not guarantee success. The team also needs methodological maturity and, as a rule, training and coaching.
It would help if people would stop painting!
Daniel Siegl
Peter had therefore thought about creating a "Model Maturity Model". Such a model would make it possible to measure the maturity of a team in order to then start in the right place to systematically build maturity. That reminded me a bit of the SYSMOD Intensity Model (even if this has a slightly different focus).
Especially when compliance is involved, it is important for customers that the tools used work. Open source does not usually play a role here, quite the opposite. Customers want tools that work and are professionally maintained. For Sparx, this has always been an important driver for sales.
How can we accelerate the adoption of MBSE?
Peter and Daniel have identified two important starting points for this question: Starting at management level and community building.
Peter already said at the beginning that MBSE does not work without a vision. However, the vision must drive the management. It is therefore important that organizations understand and implement this point.
One problem is that MBSE initially devours "more" of everything: more time, more money, more effort, more expertise. The value proposition comes very late. That's why the lived vision is so important in order to go the (possibly long) way.
MBSE's performance promise comes surprisingly late and when it comes is very individual.
Peter Lieber
Managers associate architecture and MBSE with technology and engineering, and delegate the topics to the technicians. There still needs to be a rethink here, as many MBSE initiatives come to nothing at the technical level. Incidentally, this is also where INCOSE that very specifically addresses managers with its vision.
This brings us to the second aspect, community building. Sparx has been practicing community building for many years, which is reflected in a very active community site is reflected. Community building is of course also a very central topic for INCOSE. Although its focus is initially only on systems engineering, MBSE is an important part of the INCOSE Vision 2035.
Community building also includes the topic of teaching and educationwhich we did not address further in the conversation.
Is MBSE possible without advice?
Sparx Systems and LieberLieber see themselves as tool manufacturers and not as consultants. This sets them apart from large providers such as IBM, Dassault or Siemens. This raises the question of how important consulting is in bringing MBSE into the mainstream.
LieberLieber solves this dilemma in two ways. The community building just mentioned is one part of it, the second is cooperation with consultants.
Due to the large number of users, there are many successful users who in turn carry out missionary work. These can be consultants, but also users who sooner or later change companies and thus spread their knowledge further. This is a slow process that takes years or even decades, but is very sustainable. It works particularly well in family-run companies because they generally also have sustainable, cross-generational visions.
Enterprise Architect has around one million active users worldwide. Roughly a quarter of these users are practicing MBSE.
Peter Lieber
In short, MBSE is not possible without advice. But this can also come from within the company or from partners, not necessarily from the tool manufacturer.
Is MBSE an enabler for the digital twin or agile working?
The digital twin (Digital Twin) is another buzzword that is currently the subject of much discussion. The digital twin is a digital representation of a system from the real world. And such a digital representation is - of course - a model. MBSE is therefore naturally an enabler for the digital twin. Or rather: the MBSE model can itself be the digital twin.
But that is still too short-sighted. The important question is: Does MBSE enable the use cases for the digital twin? And this is where things often go wrong. Because one of the most important applications of the digital twin is working with change, i.e. Agility. A working method with feature branches for the model is necessary in order not to pollute the "master" with all possible ideas and attempts.
In practice, there is a lack of methods and tool support for what has long been standard in software development: branching and merging. For this important use case, LieberLieber has developed LemonTree developed for Enterprise Architect.
The "150% variant model" is too short-sighted for the Digital Twin because it is not able to model rapid experimentation as well. Modelers have to work on their own industries.
Daniel Siegl
There are a number of use cases for branching and merging. One is dealing with Variants. There are solutions in MBSE that work here, for example via "150% variant models" and component libraries. Some tools support this natively, others use external tools such as Pure Systems, Big Lever or LemonTree.
However, solutions geared towards variant management are often so heavyweight that they are not really suitable for agile working and experimenting with a digital twin. The widespread approach in software development of "just" creating a branch and then transferring it to the main branch if successful or deleting it if not is extremely rare and cumbersome in MBSE. This is due to a lack of tool support, but also to a lack of methodology.
What does SysML v2 mean for Enterprise Architect?
The conversation was about the future of MBSE. But of course I was also very interested in what we can expect from EA in the future.
Enterprise Architect has a solid architecture that can handle different modeling languages (and their versions) very well. Over the years, this has enabled Sparx to quickly support new modeling languages (and their versions) without compromising the compatibility of existing models.
In this context, many readers will no doubt be asking themselves when which tools SysML v2 will support and how quickly. Sparx Systems hopes to be the first provider of SysML v2 on the market. This also includes the corresponding SysML API. However, many details have not yet been determined, such as the system level at which the API will be implemented.
We hope to be the first provider of SysML v2 and Sparx plans to launch within months of the release.
Peter Lieber
Sparx EA has also continuously developed in other areas. About the Sparx Pro Cloud Server integration with other tools outside the Windows ecosystem has also become easier. In principle, Sparx has been trying for some time to reduce the dependencies in the code on Microsoft. However, a GUI for other operating systems (apart from Windows) is not planned. Nevertheless, EA runs on Mac or Linux, as Sparx pays attention to compatibility via CrossOver or WINE. In addition, there is now also an EA SaaS offer, where Enterprise Architect runs directly in the browser.
Conclusion: MBSE does not work without vision
Today, development no longer takes place in isolation. Successful product companies must cooperate and be open. Organizations must be able to cooperate, platforms are springing up everywhere. Models are an important piece of the puzzle to make this possible. In addition, MBSE will increasingly become the driver of agile working, including the confident handling of digital twins.
We all agreed that MBSE would eventually become mainstream. But the process will still take decades. But every journey begins with a first step: less painting and more modeling is a good start!
Image source: DearLover
