Product development is progressing rapidly with advanced software and technology. However, keeping up with growing demand presents many change management challenges for engineers. This is particularly true for systems engineers, who spend about a quarter of their time managing changes.
What if there was a way to fully integrate your PLM system so you could follow the entire component and product lifecycle, anticipating change impacts and addressing potential issues? Enter model-based systems engineering (MBSE)—a vision that integrates your systems so everything connects seamlessly.
The traditional approach
Many organizations follow a traditional, reactive approach when dealing with change. Consider a scenario where a regulatory change requires an autonomous vehicle to reduce its emergency braking distance. Typically, this would trigger a series of meetings where experts from various departments would try to analyze the impact.
This often leads to:
- Delays as teams analyze the change
- Assessing the risks and creating a change package
- Missed impacts and unforeseen problems
- Crossing your fingers and hoping for the best
This process can be slow, inefficient, and costly. It is also prone to errors and can lead to issues later in development or even after the product reaches the customer.
The MBSE approach
With an integrated MBSE model, the same change scenario becomes significantly different. Imagine having a virtual vehicle with an integrated system model. When a change, such as the braking distance requirement, is introduced, the model can instantly highlight every area that is potentially impacted:
Watch this video for an in-depth walkthrough of how each element in this image will be impacted by a regulatory change.
Key MBSE benefits
The value of an integrated MBSE model is in the following:
- Speed: Problems can be identified and addressed quickly.
- Efficiency: The development process can be sped up, and effort spent on fixing problems later is reduced.
- Reduced risk: Unforeseen issues and cascading effects can be discovered early.
- Cost savings: The costs associated with late fixes, recalls, and reputation damage can be avoided.
Summary
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) recognized the need for MBSE in the 1990s. They understood this type of integrated model is essential for developing solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s pressing problems.
By adopting an integrated MBSE approach, organizations can transform their development process from a reactive approach to a proactive, informed, and efficient one. The value of knowing now versus later cannot be overstated. This approach helps not only your organization but also your entire supply chain.
Want to learn more about MBSE? Visit our resource page or get your MBSE maturity score.