ModProd 2011

It's this time a year again... Modprod Linköping 2011 is coming up.
I think that we in the Modprod board have managed to put together a rather interesting program.
Hopefully we see each other during the two days or maybe at the evening dinner even?

More info and registration at http://www.modprod.liu.se/

The vampire's gaze

Why is it that models seems to entice us engineers to use a means for simplification and just make things more complicated? Too often we forget the most important part of modelling - the Why! Instead we get caught up in discussions such as:
- Tools
- Model structure
- More tools!
- Process and roles

... and in the end we seem to crank as much information we can into one big model and hope for the "one size fits all" wonder.

But really we should just repeat why why why and try to use models to fit that purpose.

Say you work with the electrical system of a car, how would you apply modelling to:
- Vizualise dependencies between components?
- Analyze power consumption?
- Structure the software of your engine controller?

Would you use the same model? Would you use the same modelling language and technique? Would you consider a table/matrix to be a model? It all depends on the why.

Being interested in software/system architecture I seem to be forgetting the why a lot myself, or at least in the past. The most common pitfall I've seen in different industries is architects becoming "trigger happy" in models and get caught up in details that really shouldn't be their concern.

Don't get me wrong and think that I blame the models, I do believe MBSE is necessary in order to keep a competitive edge but we need to be a bit less amazed with the beautiful "pictures" we draw and a bit more focused on... Why.

Modprod 2010

So Modprod 2010 has come to an end and as last year I enjoyed the conference. Besides the obvious networking, highlights for me were the Requirements Modeling session with Kristian and the keynote by Hilding on Modellica for embedded systems. With regards to “our” performance I’ve only heard positive feeback on Gunilla’s tutorial “MBSE in a Lean context” and I think my 20-minute talk on Information Platforms was ok but next time I will put more emphasis on “what” rather than “why”.
During Kristian’s session we had a discussion around the difference between abstraction and design… arguably sometimes obvious but still he drew a quick example serving as a good mental reminder.

Regardless how obvious it is what’s abstraction and what’s design above I think mistakes are common in practice.

Aircraft systems modeling

Just wanted to recommend a licentiate thesis for anyone interested in an overview of MBSE. Been reading it a bit on and off the last week and it serves as a good and broad introduction.

It's called: Aircraft Systems Modeling - MBSE in Avionics Design and Aircraft Simulation written by Henric Andersson from Linköping University / SAAB.

Registration is open

Yesterday the draft program for the coming MODPROD conference was released along with the online registration site.

So if you'd like to hear me talk about information platforms or maybe learn Lean from my manager Gunilla go ahead and sign up already.

MODPROD 2010

A no escape conference

The presentation submitted JIT a couple of weeks ago with respect to Modprod 2010 just got accepted. This means I have to transform that beta-caterpillar into some sort of insect. A lot of time left but I love the fact that the pressure is on, there is no escape: We have to formulate a message and not just keep it in our heads.

So in Feb 2010 you can see me discuss how to build leverage for model-based systems engineering… and why we should bother.

Modprod Conference 2010

MBSE. Why?

I've been discussing this question a bit during the week with regards to a presentation in the making. The presentation high-lights a, I would say, successful project we’ve been running at Know IT TM where we push an organization towards model based engineering. However, the presentation will fall quite flat if we can’t agree that a push in that direction is of good and not evil.

So yesterday, during the long Win7 installation, I scribbled a lot of comments on a piece of paper, analog, compiling my own thoughts with the good suggestions I got from my colleagues. The process was quite swift and I haven’t read the paper so not sure if they are good or bad… but hey, if they are stupid ideas I can count on YOU correcting me so I learn the right path, or?

As you know, good ideas are only good until someone finds a flaw.

So let me write down what’s on that paper, I will not edit it, where’s the fun in that?

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Why MBSE?

+ Ability to spread knowledge and increase understanding
+ Increased transparency in solutions when they are not hidden in bulky text
+ Simplified handovers
+ A shift in focus from documentation towards design/engineering
+ Simplified communication towards suppliers
+ With MDA added you can use automated transformations to navigate through your solution
+ Executable/Testable models will give you the possibility for earlier verification loops (and if we work with executable models for both design &simulation we will avoid inconsistencies)
+ Ability to structure your information in a better way
+ Improved reusability (reusing a model beats cut/paste text)
+ Decreased lead-time in system design – hopefully

You might increase your quality… but that really depends and is not a given.

- You might remove a lot of freedom from the supplier, compare to build-to-print. This can of course be a good thing but can also be strange if you ask your supplier to dazzle you with innovation and then you handover a finished design. There are a lot of different use cases with this respect and a lot of angles so let’s just agree that when introducing MBSE you have to consider this aspect.
- Initial cost educating everyone in modeling
- Moving focus towards engineering/design will show potential weaknesses in staffing (which is good) and addressing it will be painful
- To move towards MBSE can be costly and difficult depending on how you address it


Some general points with regards to an MBSE introduction…
* Choose where to start and realize that you can build Rome in one day… everything will not fall into place immediately.
* Consider decentralized modeling (conquer the world one island at a time) but use coaches that are controlled centralized (can e.g. be your architects if they are proficient in MBSE).
* Don’t “over model”. You can model in infinity if you want get every last detail perfect.
* Engage everyone in a design team so the model isn’t a product of just one person but a collective effort
* Setup work-shops where different disciplines come together around the design model (e.g. get the early comments from your A&V-team… and at the same time increase the A&V-team’s knowledge about the system)
* The coaches/architects need to “push” themselves out in the organization but prepare for a “pull” mentality when things start to get settled
* Let architects find patterns etc to solve problems that emerge in multiple systems

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That was that. Win7 is installed and good to go. There’re a lot of different opinions about Windows but it is quite awesome that you can upgrade your OS in 30 minutes without as much as touching the computer… and it works flawlessly for so many different hardware setups. Compared to the embedded world it is remarkable.