Practical Model-Based Systems Engineering

This text provides an excellent introduction to the complex topic of MBSE for novice systems engineers and other stakeholders. The extensive practical examples in Chapters 8-10 do a great job of illustrating and illuminating concepts that are often treated only abstractly. All chapters are well-researched with a number of references, which provide a good starting point for practitioners and researchers wanting to delve more into the supporting literature on a given subject. The questions that conclude most of the chapters are a good combination of reinforcement of and practice in applying key concepts; these will be valuable for both self-study and higher education courses.

As an expert in the field, I can only state the authors Jose L. Fernandez and Carlos Hernandez can get peace of mind knowing that this book very soon will become an obligatory and unique reference for all systems engineering community and practitioners worldwide. Professor Fernandez has been a recognized pioneer in promoting teaching and research in systems engineering both nationally and internationally. This book is a rich legacy of all Fernandez’s wisdom with a long career behind in systems engineering and requirements engineering methodologies. It is much more than purely theoretical providing real examples for the readers without any doubt an evident advantage over other numerous publications.

The book is a detailed and practical application of the methodology ise&ppooa in examples made by collaborators who are professionals in these matters, see fixed-wing drones, robotics and electric power generation. It can be used as textbook by MBSE course students. It emphasizes the development of functional architecture and the use of heuristics to develop the physical architecture or architecture of the solution, driven by requirements. The focus on the functional architecture guarantees the quality of the core properties of the resulting systems.

Fernandez and Hernandez have written an engaging and creative book that provides a solid understanding of the history, theory and applications of Model Based Systems Engineering and its relationship with other disciplines. Read this book, and learn about Model Based Systems Engineering from original systems thinkers.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the increasingly important topic of model-based systems engineering. It provides systems engineers and practitioners with the analytic, design and modelling tools of the widely-used ISE & PPOOA methodology. It also covers subjects such as trade-off analysis, model checking, and agile development. The book will be useful not only for practising systems and specialty engineers, but also for teachers and students of systems engineering in both basic and advanced courses.

This book reflects the authors’ deep knowledge and practical experience in the field of Systems Engineering (SE). The first seven chapters describe in detail the first author’s ISE-PPOOA methodology. This approach is inspired by modern Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), but keeps also valuable tools from classical SE best practices. The main difference between this book and other MBSE manuals is its focus on the systems functional analysis as the core of the methodology. Although SysML is profusely used, one of the main advantages of the ISE-PPOOA approach is that it is language agnostic, so that any future change in the standards will not impact negatively or will change its structure. Chapter 6 about heuristics in MBSE is a particularly clear and valuable example of the style of this book. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 are examples of application of ISE-PPOOA to three interesting real cases. The main purpose is clarity, without being trivial or excessively complex. It can be said that this goal is admirably accomplished. However, this is not an introductory book about SE or MBSE. It is conceptually dense and some previous exposure to the subject is necessary in order to fully understand it and use it to its fullest potential. The last chapters provide some additional material and guide for future developments. In brief, an excellent book with a particularly clear, detailed and structured approach to MBSE which will be useful to both academics working in MBSE methodology and practical systems engineers.