Valispace - Focus on hardware

Software is eating up the world - but if we dig deep enough, we will eventually come across hardware again. And this is where a reformation is overdue. At least that's the opinion of Valispace, a company founded in 2016. Valispace's aim is to radically accelerate the hardware development process, as is already the case with software.

I took a closer look at Valispace - company and tools.

Update: In the meantime, Valispace Acquired by Altium.

Valispace was founded by three European engineers and received one million euros in 2018 from the HTGF receive. The product itself is web-based, and with just a few clicks it is possible to access a demo account. But more on that in a moment.

Why?

The way of working that is still often found in hardware development is sometimes hair-raising and makes reuse and collaboration difficult. This includes Excel spreadsheets sent by e-mail, filed PDFs and similar working methods. However, the founders explicitly exclude areas such as CAD, where very mature solutions already exist.

The real problem is that many concepts familiar from software development are simply not possible: In particular, collaboration in the context of centralized data storage, as well as efficient reuse, are missing. Platforms such as gitHub and gitLab have made this possible since the mid-2000s. In addition Open Source has rapidly accelerated the development of complex systems. Even if there are similar initiatives in the hardware sector, these are currently niche phenomena.

The following image shows how Valispace positions itself in the market:

Central idea: Parameterization

The co-founder Marco Witzmann lamentsthat SysML and similar MBSE approaches are too academic and too complicated. A I asked a similar question recently. Whereby there are now good solutions in many areas of development, be it Jama for requirements or Onshape in CAD. These solutions are web-based, like Valispace, and complementary in terms of content. This fits in with my thesis that the future will be the integration of best-of-class software solutions.

The central idea behind Valispace is the parameterization of content. This can be seen in the following screenshot. Valispace makes it possible to store mathematical models, such as the unloading curve in the center below. Other information, such as the weight (left), can be summarized via the component tree.

Requirements...

Valispace looks very promising so far. But how does it perform in practice? Space travel dominates the customer base. That is understandable: On the one hand, the founders come from this industry, and on the other, there is a lot of savings potential there since SpaceX turned the market upside down.

Since I am in this field, I first looked at how Valispace handles requirements. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any attribution or formatted text here. That's a shame, but not surprising, as the focus is elsewhere. Hopefully this will be expanded in the medium term. I found it more interesting that DOORS is supported via OSLC. In theory, any RE tool that supports OSLC should be able to be connected.

... and components

But the heart of Valispace is the component tree. These can be given any number of parameters, including formulas and matrices. And these can then also be used for calculations.

The work is then organized around these components. This includes analysis, collaboration, task lists and of course, very importantly, simulation. The picture above shows what is possible.

Integration is essential

I haven't had a really in-depth look at Valispace yet, but my first impression is good. The web interface looks modern, even if it is difficult to use without reading the documentation. The central part of the tool - the parameterization - seems to quickly create tangible added value. In other words, a minimal viable product.

This is a remarkable achievement for a four-year-old company. There are existing customers such as Airbus and ESA that prove the value of the solution. The challenge now is probably to move into the mainstream. This is only possible if other disciplines are also integrated, such as requirements management (AM). Here, too, it is pleasing that OSLC has been chosen. This seems more promising to me than further expanding the built-in AM.

I will keep Valispace on my radar and wish this young company every success.

Image source: Valispace press kit