Implementing model based systems engineering in South Africa

Abstract

In Systems Engineering (SE), modelling is applied to capture and represent the mental models of the systems’ stakeholders. These models, consisting of various viewpoints on the system structure and behavior, can be used to derive requirements for system concept development. The INCOSE SE Vision 2020 sees Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) as part of a long-term trend toward a model-centric approach which is expected to replace the document-centric approach. MBSE is expected to provide significant benefits such as enhancing productivity and quality, reducing risk, and providing improved communications among the system development team. Implementing MBSE for the South African environment requires a process suited for the local environment and scale of projects. This paper builds on research and reports of MBSE implementations by the international SE community to provide a guideline for MBSE implementation in South Africa.