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Technical Report

WRT-1036: Transforming Systems Engineering Through Model-Centric Engineering

    Systems Engineering and Systems Management Transformation

Report Number: SERC-2021-TR-012
Publication Date: 2021-08-03
Project: Transforming Systems Engineering through Model Based Systems Engineering-NAVAIR
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Mark Blackburn

Co-Principal Investigators:

Abstract

This is the final technical report of the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) research task WRT-1036, which represents Phase 7 of these SERC research tasks conducted over the last seven (7) years. This research task (RT) addressed research needs extending prior efforts under RT-48/118/141/157/170/195 and WRT-1008 that informed us that Model-Centric Engineering (MCE) is in use and adoption seems to be accelerating. The vision stated seven years ago expected the capability of MCE and more broadly Digital Engineering (DE) to enable mission and system-based analysis and engineering that reduces the typical time by at least 25 percent from what is achieved today for large-scale air vehicle systems. To provide historical context, the overarching timeline from the start of the research until today is:

  • 2013-2015: Global scan of most holistic approaches to MCE/DE
  • 2015: NAVAIR leadership decides to move quickly to keep pace with other organizations that have adopted MCE by Transforming, not simply evolving, in order to perform effective oversight of primes that are using modern modeling methods for mission and system engineering
  • 2016: NAVAIR leadership accelerates the SET based on a SET Framework concept
  • 2017: Systematic planning develops six (6) Functional Areas, including SERC Research
  • 2018: Phase 1 of Surrogate Pilot experiments complete with mission, systems models and a model for the Request for Proposal (RFP) Response from Surrogate Contractor for Surrogate Pilot experiments resulting in:
    • Characterized SET Framework concept and approach to Model-based Acquisition
    • Implementation and usages for an Authoritative Source of Truth (AST)
    • Demonstrated art-of-the-possible doing “everything” in models using new operational paradigm between government and industry in a Collaborative AST
    • Surrogate contractor RFP response refines mission and system models with detailed design and analysis information using multi-physics and discipline-specific models
    • Digital Signoffs for Source Selection technical evaluation completed directly in RFP response model
    • Surrogate Pilot Phase 1 results and models provide evidence/examples of unclassified models being used to develop workforce development and training
  • 2019: Surrogate Pilot Phase 2 experiments aligned with evolving SET priorities:
    • Aligned Mission and System models with NAVAIR Systems Engineering Method (NAVSEM)
    • Outreach to industry to participate in Phase 2 experiments for other mission and system scenarios using an AST for government and industry collaboration
    • Demonstrated how Digital Signoffs in AST can transform Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs) and Data Item Descriptions (DIDs)
    • Created Capability Based Test & Evaluation and Model-Based Testing Engineering modeling methods for Mission and System models
    • Demonstrated the use of models for capturing Statement of Work (SOW) language
    • Phase 2 results provide more unclassified models for workforce development and training
  • 2020: Surrogate Pilot Phase 3 provide demonstrations that can be deployed to programs

    • Continued aligning Mission, System and Surrogate Contractor RFP models with NAVSEM modeling method evolution
    • Created Stakeholder Analysis Model for Airworthiness that aligns with Skyzer Technical data in Mission and Systems models
    • Created Stakeholder Analysis Model for MBSE Cost Model that aligns with Skyzer Technical data in Mission and Systems models
    • Continued outreach to industry to inform about Phase 2 experiments for other mission and system scenarios using an AST for government and industry collaboration
    • Created example using Model Curation criteria applied to Skyzer Models
    • Presented research results at Navy Cross SYSCOM meetings
    • Presented research at three SERC Navy Tech Talks events
  • 2021: Continued evolution of MBSE Cost Modeling Stakeholder Analysis Model using Skyzer Models, including aligning the model with the Future Vertical Lift (AURA) Cost Model

    We also supported additional efforts that evolved in 2020, such as:

    • Support for the Cyber Ontology Pilot and potentially broader roll-out of the cyber ontology for other programs, including SERC Navy Tech Talk on Ontologies
    • Support for the Cross SYSCOM Mission Engineering Schemas
    • Support the role of the Surrogate Contractor
    • Support based on standardization of View and Viewpoints for the Naval Style Guide
    • Investigated how Digital Signoffs can contribute to a new form of technical Baselines Progress Measures
    • Correlated Digital Engineering Success Measure (DESM) Categories with lessons learned benefits observed during the NAVAIR Surrogate Pilot

      The SET team continued roll-out aligned with six Functional Areas represented in Figure 1 of the report:

        • SET Research (conducted by the SERC, and discussed in this report)
        • Workforce & Culture
        • Integrated Modeling Environment
        • Process & Methods
        • Policy, Contracts and Legal
        • SET Enterprise Deployment (and Surrogate Pilot Experiments)

          Skyzer Pilot Context: In 2017 NAVAIR leadership decided to conduct multi-phase surrogate pilot experiments (now up to Phase 3) using evolving set of use cases to simulate the execution of the new SET Framework, shown in Figure 2 of the report as part of the SET Enterprise Deployment. The broader impacts of this research to the other sub functions of SET are also reflected by the dash boxes shown in Figure 1 of the report. This research provided analyses into NAVAIR enterprise capability and builds on efforts for cross-domain model integration, model integrity, ontologies, semantic web technologies, multi-physics modeling, and model visualization that extend RT-157/RT-170/RT-195 and WRT-1008 research addressing evolving needs and priorities of SET.


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