As Model-Based Systems Engineering enters the mainstream, an increasing number of integration solutions (IS) have been proposed, causing some confusion particularly among new adopters. In the first three parts of this blog series, we laid out some of the issues that should be considered in picking an IS for your organization. In the next three parts, we will use our Syndeia interoperability platform as an example of how such an evaluation might look. We begin by considering how it supports the four objectives of integration outlined in Part 1.
Syndeia is a framework for system model integration by connecting model elements in different domain models and version-managing those connections. Initially released in 2014, it has evolved in close collaboration with government and private organizations leading the development of MBSE practices for real large-scale projects and is now available commercially in version 3.2.
Yes, Syndeia can create and save “reference” connections between model elements in any of the domain tools supported. These can be used to open the connected elements directly if the user has the correct permissions, accounts and licenses.
Yes, Syndeia can create and save “model transform” connections by dragging model elements in one domain into another. This can include element attributes and relationships.
No, Syndeia does not support comment/approve/reject workflows for collaboration.
Yes, model transform connections support compare and update operations between the linked model elements, assuming the user has the correct permissions, accounts and licenses.
Syndeia Cloud, the server/cloud-based repository for connections between models, allows sophisticated graph pattern-matching queries to discover extended chains of connections across the federated models.
Yes, Syndeia can recognize changes in the connected element version or content and generate difference tables for analysis.
Yes, Syndeia can generate tables and diagrams of the federated models based on the connections between them. More generally, the open API for Syndeia Cloud allows external applications such as OpenMBEE or Jupyter notebooks to access, display and document this information in a variety of user-friendly formats.
No, Syndeia does not orchestrate multiple simulations by pipelining outputs and inputs between analysis models.
Syndeia can share property values using model transforms, but does not automatically import those values into analysis models during simulations.
No, Syndeia does not perform optimization or DOE for simulations.
Yes, Syndeia can support validation of the system through checking for connection patterns, e.g. is each requirement satisfied by a system element and verified by a testcase? Automation is provided through external applications that store and execute the validation queries.
No, Syndeia does not support automated requirements verification.
Yes, Syndeia Cloud provides a dashboard displaying metrics for the federated models.
Yes, queries to Syndeia Cloud provide the content of the documentation, while external applications such as OpenMBEE provide the automation and formatting.
Figure 1 Syndeia scoring against Objectives
One approach to visualizing the results of this part of the evaluation, as shown in Figure 1, shows the four objectives as four quadrants. Syndeia meets many of the needs for Collaboration and Definition and these quadrants are shown as green. The simulation area is red; Syndeia does not have the features to support the orchestration of multiple analyses with optimization and design of experiments. Other integration solutions, e.g. ModelCenter (Phoenix Integration), Simulia (Dassault Systemes) and others, may be a better fit for users with that objective. Workflow is shown as yellow; Syndeia supports many of the standard tasks but may require outside scripting for task automation.
In the next two posts in this blog series, I will evaluate our Syndeia interoperability platform with respect to Technical Approaches and Other Requirements, following the outlines in the earlier Parts 2 and 3.
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