®

What is
Systems Modeling and Simulation?

THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ENGINEERING

MODELLING, ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION COMMUNITY
What is Systems Modeling and Simulation?
B
usiness growth depends on developing new and improved products and technologies, and
getting these to the market ahead of the competition. The digitalization of our lives today is
driving an ever faster-paced environment. Developing products based on skills and capability
in specific engineering domains is no longer sufficient. The demand for system-level solutions is
driving a need to merge systems engineering and engineering simulation at a new level.

Systems Modeling and Simulation relies on an integrated use of engineering models to fill this
need. Following is a basic definition:

Systems Modeling and Simulation: The use of interdisciplinary functional, architectural, and
behavioral models (with physical, mathematical, and logical representations) in performing MBSE
to specify, conceptualize, design, analyze, verify and validate an organized set of components,
subsystems, systems, and processes [1].

The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) defines Model-Based Systems

Engineering (MBSE) as the formalized application of modelling to support system requirements,
design, analysis, verification and validation activities beginning in the conceptual design phase and
continuing throughout development and later life cycle phases [2]. The emphasis of MBSE is on
leveraging virtual representations of a system to support the various engineering and business
activities throughout the life cycle of a product.

Modeling and Simulation

Modeling is the act of building a physical or digital model that represents an entity of interest (a
system). A simulation is the process of using a model to predict and study the behavior or
performance of the system or process in question. One purpose of a simulation is to study the
operational characteristics of a system by manipulating variables associated with the model that
are not easily controlled in the real system. This approach provides data that supports technical
and business decision-making to optimize a product and its performance without actually testing
the system in the real world. It should be noted that the two words (modeling and simulation)
are sometimes used interchangeably; however, they clearly refer to two distinct activities.

Systems Engineering has recognized the importance of models in a wide range of roles. Early in
the development of a system, models may be used to understand the user domain, to define
functions and concepts, and to capture system requirements across the levels of a system
architecture. Such models may specify functional, interface, performance, and physical
requirements, as well as other nonfunctional requirements such as reliability, maintainability,
safety, and security.

Engineering Simulation has been an essential part of product development engineering across
many industries and disciplines for decades. This work is typically performed by technical
specialists with deep knowledge in their respective domains, and with expertise in specialized
mathematical and analytical tools. A definition of Engineering Simulation is the use of numerical,
physical or logical models of systems and scientific problems in predicting their response to
different physical conditions [3].

The use of Engineering Simulation is being driven by the increasing sophistication of models and
tools to predict a wide range of physical phenomena. Many kinds of analysis are highly mature,
from analysis of physical structures to computational fluid dynamics to dynamic system behavior.
Increasingly, such models can be integrated across physical domains at multiple scales and levels

What is Systems Modeling and Simulation?

 Figure 1: Model-based integration across multiple technical disciplines.

of fidelity, and with software and controls that drive dynamic behavior. Growth in Engineering
Simulation is also being driven by the increasing availability and affordability of high-
performance computing, through both local and cloud-based forms of parallel computing.

Benefits of Systems Modeling and Simulation

Product development is a collaborative activity across organizational processes and
development responsibilities. Combining the modeling and simulation perspectives of both
Systems Engineering and Engineering Simulation can improve communications and
coordination across the product development life cycle. Figure 1 illustrates the use of a central
hub of MBSE models to integrate many specialized technical disciplines in a model-centric
approach to product development.

Integrating the models of MBSE and Engineering Simulation offers significant advantages to
both communities. Systems Engineering typically relies on a progression of models from
requirements to functions to logical architectures that emphasize the problems to be solved
rather than committing prematurely to particular solutions. Engineering Simulation relies on
predictive models to complete more detailed analysis, optimization, and verification of specific
designs.

Requirements come from the customer, knowledge of the industry, and internal business
objectives. Requirements are always changing, and as such need to be actively managed and
propagated continuously throughout a program over its entire life cycle. Functions specify
what a system must do to satisfy the requirements. At the functional level, there is no
commitment on how a function is to be accomplished, only that it must be performed to
 Figure 2: Iterative product development with systems engineering
and simulation (derived from the NDIA MBE Final Report [4]).

meet the program requirements. The decomposed functions can then be allocated to the
elements of proposed solutions, and to their corresponding engineering disciplines, to create
and apply a variety of architectural models. MBSE recognizes that all these kinds of
specifications can be captured in formalized models, even when this information is purely
descriptive.
Once proposed solutions are sufficiently detailed, a further step is the creation of engineering
models that are comprised of mathematical and physical descriptions of the system. These
models could include the CAD geometry of each component in an assembly, as well as the
system response characterized, for example, by finite element analysis, computational fluid
dynamics, or dynamic system models, and possibly enhanced with software and control logic.
For technical specialists who develop and verify detailed designs of subsystems and
components, Systems Engineering can offer clear boundaries of problems to be solved without
overly constraining the freedom of possible designs. Both systems engineers and designers can
explore combinations of technologies and solutions that map to capabilities of a system in
effective and flexible ways. As Systems Engineering becomes more widely adopted for the
development of complex products, larger numbers of discipline-specific engineers will need a
basic familiarity and literacy of MBSE models to integrate their work into a larger whole.
System engineers will need to develop a familiarity with a wide variety of system simulation
capabilities, including those of Engineering Simulation. An early reliance on simulation can
enable agile approaches in which prototypes and visualizations contribute to elicitation and
refinement of expectations and alternatives in collaboration with system stakeholders.
Simulation throughout the product life cycle can reduce risk, more thoroughly explore
alternative solutions, and reduce costs over physical testing.

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The Systems Engineering “Vee” Diagram is widely used to depict the process of decomposing a
system into subsystems and then validating the successful integration of partial solutions back
into the larger whole. Figure 2 illustrates how simulation can contribute to rapid iteration at
each stage in this process.
Systems Engineering encourages the use of modeling and simulation throughout the early
stages of the specification and development of a system [5]. During these early stages,
simulation can provide a means to analyze complex dynamic behavior of systems, software,
hardware, people, and physical phenomena. These early-stage simulations may take many
different forms, such as agent-based, discrete-behavior, stochastic, and interactive simulations,
and the integration of many such simulations may occur [6].
These operational simulations of a system can provide key inputs to the purely physical layers of
a system. Data specific to different usage scenarios and operating conditions can be fed into
engineering simulations of physical structures and components. Duty cycles from either
requirements or other simulations can provide time histories of loads and other boundary
conditions. At the physical layers, coupling of simulations across multiple kinds of physics, and
at different scales and levels of fidelity, may be required for detailed analysis, and to optimize
designs across multiple alternatives.

Systems Modeling and Simulation Working Group (SMSWG)

To explore the benefits of Systems Modeling and Simulation, and to promote specific
technologies, practices, and standards which enable them, NAFEMS, the International
Association for the Engineering Modelling, Analysis and Simulation Community, and INCOSE,
the International Council for Systems Engineering, launched a joint working group on Systems
Modeling and Simulation under an Memorandum of Understanding in 2012.
The mission of the NAFEMS / INCOSE Systems Modeling & Simulation Working Group (SMSWG)
is to develop a vendor-neutral, end-user driven consortium that not only promotes the
advancement of the technology and practices associated with integration of Engineering
Simulation and Systems Engineering, but also act as an advisory body to drive a strategic
direction for technology development and standards in the space of complex engineering.
The Further Reading links below serve as a living document to cover more detailed activities and
focus areas of the SMSWG in support of Systems Modeling and Simulation.

Further Reading
Home page for NAFEMS-INCOSE Systems Modeling and Simulation WG at NAFEMS:
nafems.org/about/technical-working-groups/systems_modeling/
Home page for NAFEMS-INCOSE Systems Modeling and Simulation WG at INCOSE:
wiki.omg.org/MBSE/doku.php?id=mbse:smswg

References
[1] SMS Terms & Definitions. [Online]. [29 November 2018]. Available from: nafems.org/about/technical-
working-groups/systems_modeling/
[2] INCOSE MBSE Wiki. [Online]. [29 November 2018]. Available from: wiki.omg.org/MBSE/
[3] NAFEMS. The NAFEMS Glossary. [Online]. [29 November 2018]. Available from:
nafems.org/publications/glossary
[4] Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge Wiki. Final Report of the Model Based Engineering (MBE)
Subcommittee. [Online]. [17 January 2019]. Available from:
sebokwiki.org/wiki/Final_Report_of_the_Model_Based_Engineering_(MBE)_Subcommittee
[5] Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge Wiki, sebokwiki.org. Representing Systems with Models.
[Online]. [29 November 2018]. Available from:
sebokwiki.org/wiki/Representing_Systems_with_Models
[6] Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge Wiki, sebokwiki.org. Types of Models. [Online]. [29 November
2018]. Available from: sebokwiki.org/wiki/Types_of_Models

What is Systems Modeling and Simulation?

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