Engineering Decisions in MBSE: Insights for a Decision Capture Framework Development

TL;DR

This paper explores integrating decision capture into MBSE workflows by representing decision alternatives as system model slices, aiming to improve knowledge reuse and reduce effort in engineering design decisions.

Contribution

It proposes a lightweight framework for decision capture in MBSE using model slices, addressing key challenges with preliminary solutions.

Findings

Decision slices facilitate decision documentation within models.

The framework reduces effort compared to traditional decision capture.

Preliminary solutions address key challenges in decision integration.

Abstract

Decision-making is a core engineering design activity that conveys the engineer's knowledge and translates it into courses of action. Capturing this form of knowledge can reap potential benefits for the engineering teams and enhance development efficiency. Despite its clear value, traditional decision capture often requires a significant amount of effort and still falls short of capturing the necessary context for reuse. Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) can be a promising solution to address these challenges by embedding decisions directly within system models, which can reduce the capture workload while maintaining explicit links to requirements, behaviors, and architectural elements. This article discusses a lightweight framework for integrating decision capture into MBSE workflows by representing decision alternatives as system model slices. Using a simplified industry example from aircraft architecture, we discuss the main challenges associated with decision capture and propose preliminary solutions to address these challenges.