“What is MBSE?” Featuring Mark Sampson
In this episode of the Applied Imperative podcast, we explore the world of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) with Mark Sampson, an MBSE evangelist at Applied CAx. Mark shares his journey and offers insights into how MBSE offers better engineering solutions.
About Mark Sampson
Mark’s career began with a computer engineering degree from Brigham Young University. After graduation, he landed a role at Texas Instruments, working on automation for electrical systems and circuit boards. His ability to tackle complex challenges quickly earned him a spot on a tiger team—a specialized group tasked with solving critical, cross-disciplinary problems in chemistry, reliability, and safety.
One particularly memorable challenge involved a cell phone chip that failed at 90 days. Mark and his team traced the issue to boron contamination in the chipsets, which was causing corrosion. Digging deeper, they discovered that the boron filters were not being replaced as frequently as needed, a result of outsourced maintenance decisions made by purchasing agents to lower costs.
This example highlights the importance of understanding how seemingly small decisions can have far-reaching consequences across an entire system.
This experience was Mark’s introduction to systems engineering and sparked his decision to pursue a degree in the field at the University of Southern California. Equipped with this expertise, he has become a leading advocate for MBSE, helping engineers and organizations apply this vision to complex projects.
Why the industry is moving toward MBSE
MBSE emerged as engineers realized that many of their challenges were systems problems, which are issues that require a coordinated balance between multiple domains, including electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing.
In the past, when systems were smaller and teams were more contained, engineers relied on text-based documentation to keep everyone aligned. But as technology evolved, so did the complexity of engineering projects. Today, with millions of lines of code, traditional text-based methods no longer scale.
This is why the industry is shifting toward model-based approaches. Instead of relying on paper documents, teams collaborate around a central mode where they can continuously update and refine it in real time.
This ensures teams across domains remain aligned, leading to better communication and integration.
“We can no longer be a document-based kind of practice. It has to be a model-based practice, and that’s where they’re moving to.”
-Mark Sampson
Discover how MBSE is revolutionizing engineering by accessing the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.