The Systems Engineering Vision for 2035 (SE2035), defined by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), sets the engineering vision to direct investments, foster greater collaboration, and advance the systems engineering discipline. SE2035 sets the North Star to enable systems engineers to timely respond to key trends including digital transformation, sustainability, smart systems and complexity growth.
Technology advancements in modelling, simulation, and visualization provide practitioners with decision-making data that is more representative of a system of interest than ever. The combination of these technologies and their utilization is referred to as Digital Engineering. However, the misconception that digital engineering can only be utilized if adopted early in the system lifecycle inhibits its adoption in operation/sustainment phases of a system’s lifecycle.
Transformation programs require the deliberate and staged planning and implementation of significant changes to a system of interest. The number of stakeholders, suppliers and other interested parties grows exponentially if that system is a System of Systems (SoS) and that SoS is a complex enterprise. In these circumstances, careful consideration needs to be given to how these enabling technologies integrate, how they interoperate, and how data sovereignty is preserved and enforced between organizations.
This presentation discusses an approach to adopt digital engineering in a complex transformation program. The approach uses Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) techniques as the ‘conning tower’ for planning and decision making which brings together input from Integrated Project Teams (IPTs), supply chains and consumer groups whilst preserving data sensitivity constraints. This presentation outlines the experiences of an adopting organization using MBSE practices for engineering change management and digital transformation planning in a heavy industry context.