TABLE OF CONTENTS The Object Management Group's OMG SysML [1] is a general-purpose graphical modeling language for representing systems that may include combinations of hardware, software, data, people, facilities, and natural objects. SysML supports the practice of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) that is used to develop system solutions in response to complex and often technologically challenging problems.
This chapter introduces the systems engineering approach independent of modeling concepts to set the context for how SysML is used. It describes the motivation for systems engineering, introduces the systems engineering process, and then describes a simplified automobile design example to highlight how complexity is addressed by the process. This chapter also summarizes the role of standards, such as SysML, to help codify the practice of systems engineering.
The next two chapters in Part I introduce model-based systems engineering and provide an overview of SysML. The language overview includes a simplified SysML model of the automobile design example introduced in this chapter.
Whether it is an advanced military aircraft, a hybrid vehicle, a cell phone, or a distributed information system, these systems are expected to perform at levels undreamed of a generation ago. Competitive pressures demand that the systems leverage technological advances to provide continuously increasing capability at reduced costs and within shorter delivery cycles. The increased capability drives requirements for increased functionality, interoperability, performance, reliability, and smaller size.
The interconnectivity...
