NIST ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SERIES 100-1 

A Summary Report on the 

Model-Based Enterprise Capability 

Index and Guidebook Workshop 

Prepared for 

Allison Barnard Feeney 

Thomas Hedberg, Jr. 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Gaithersburg MD 20899 

Prepared by 

Joan Pellegrino 

Yannick Tamm 

Energetics Incorporated 

Columbia MD 21046 

This publication is available free of charge from: 

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-1 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NIST ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SERIES 100-1 

A Summary Report on the 

Model-Based Enterprise Capability 

Index and Guidebook Workshop 

Prepared for 

Allison Barnard Feeney 

Thomas Hedberg, Jr. 

Systems Integration Division 

Engineering Laboratory 

Prepared by 

Joan Pellegrino 

Yannick Tamm 

Energetics Incorporated 

This publication is available free of charge from: 

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-1 

June 2016 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Penny Pritzker, Secretary 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Willie May, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director 
 

 

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER 

This report was prepared as an account of work co-sponsored by National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of 

NIST. Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document to 

illustrate a point or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or 

endorsement by the NIST, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are 

necessarily the best available for the purpose. 

National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Series 100-1
 

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. AMS 100-1, 27 pages (June 2016)
 

This publication is available free of charge from:
 

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-1
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

Table of Contents
 

i 

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................1
%

1.1. Overview ..............................................................................................................1
%

1.2. Workshop Scope and Objectives .........................................................................2
%

2. Review of Capabilities Index and Assessment ...........................................................4
%

2.1. Capability Index Suitability and Gaps...................................................................4
%

Suitability of Use......................................................................................................................... 4
 

MBE Goals.................................................................................................................................. 6
 

Current Experience with the MBE Capabilities Index ................................................................. 6
 

2.2. MBE Capabilities Index Applications....................................................................7
%

Internal Uses for the MBE Capabilities Index ............................................................................. 7
 

External Uses for MBE Capabilities Index .................................................................................. 8
 

3. Guidance Needs and Requirements...........................................................................9
%

3.1. General Guidance Needs.....................................................................................9
%

3.2. Guidance Needs Specific to Design, Engineering, and Planning.......................12
%

4. Recommendations ....................................................................................................13
%

4.1. Recommendations for Governance, Format, and Outreach ..............................13
%

4.2. Recommendations for Guidebook Content ........................................................15
%

5. Appendices ...............................................................................................................16
%

A. Workshop Agenda ................................................................................................17
%

B. Participant List ......................................................................................................18
%

C. Acronyms..............................................................................................................19
%

D. References ...........................................................................................................20
%

Notes

Nomenclature and	acronyms are not defined	in	the body of the text. Refer to	Appendix 5.C for	a list	of	all

nomenclature and	acronyms.

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1. Introduction
 

1.1. Overview 

A	Model-Based Enterprise (MBE) is “an integrated and

collaborative	environment, founded on 3D product

definition	shared	across the enterprise, enabling rapid,

seamless, and affordable deployment of products from

concept to disposal,” (Model Based Enterprise, 2014).

When an	organization	operates under an	MBE,	their

divisions, branches, etc. operate under a single source of

truth: the product	model. The model could be an

annotated computer-aided design (CAD) model or a

model-based systems	model defined	in	SysML.	Regardless

of the model’s form, an organization operating under	

these conditions could eliminate	the	inefficiencies and opportunities for errors of recreating	domainspecific	or “silo-ed” drawings. A	study showed	that a MBE approach	results potentially in	a 75% average

reduction in cycle-time over	a drawing-based	approach	(Hedberg Jr, Lubell, Fischer, Maggiano, &

Barnard	Feeney, 2016).	In addition to bringing products to	market quicker and	cheaper, an	additional

benefit of MBE is the ability to potentially

reduce the cost	of	supporting and

maintaining the product throughout its

life (Model Based Enterprise, 2014)

Model-Based Enterprise 

is an	integrated	and collaborative

environment, founded on 3D product

definition	shared across the

enterprise,	enabling rapid, seamless,

and	affordable deployment of

products from concept to disposal.	

(Model Based	Enterprise, 2014)

The National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST)	held	a “Model-Based	

Enterprise Summit”	from April 12 – 14,

2016.	The goal	of the summit was to

identify challenges, research,

implementation	issues,	and	lessons

learned in	manufacturing	and	quality

assurance	where	a	digital threedimensional (3D) model of the product

serves	as	the authoritative information

source for	all activities in the product's

lifecycle. This 3D model is considered a	

model-based	definition	(MBD) and	acts as

MBE 3D Drawing 

Example of a model-based definition	acting as the

authoritative information source for all activities in

the product’s lifecycle. (Model Based Enterprise,

2014)

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a	“digital thread1”	of sorts to weave and link	all the phases of the product lifecycle together. The U.S.

Department of Defense (DoD)	and NIST developed	a tool to	help	organizations assess whether they are	

ready for an MBE or smart manufacturing platform.	The tool was named: “MBE	Capability Index

Assessment Tool.”	As part of the summit, NIST was also interested in collecting	input specific	to	the MBE

Capability Index Assessment Tool and	the consideration for developing a guidebook for the tool.

1.2. Workshop Scope and Objectives 

NIST hosted the Measurement Science for Model-Based-Enterprise Capabilities Workshop on	April 15,

2016 to better	assess	the MBE Capability Index and gather input for a potential guidebook. The

workshop brought together experts from industry, government, and academia	to identify the	barriers,

needs, and	recommendations for developing a MBE Capability Index Assessment Tool guidebook. The

purpose of the guidebook	is	to help	an	organization navigate and	effectively use the MBE Assessment	

tool. This includes assessing MBE capabilities, interpreting assessment results, determining actions the	

organization	could take, and outlining a	minimum set of requirements to qualify as a model-based	

enterprise.

MBE Capability Index & Guidebook Workshop 

Participants of the Measurement Science for Model-Based-Enterprise Capabilities	Workshop (April 15,

2016) pose with the discussion storyboards.

1 The digital thread is a	concept for linking all phase of the product lifecycle together using 3D model-based	

definitions. In	a manufacturing context, all of the machines would	use the same set of digital instructions,

errors would be	caught automatically, ensuring	the	end result matches the	intended design. For more

information on the digital	thread visit:	https://youtu.be/iGtM8VGLn5M.

Model-Based Enterprise Capability Index and Guidebook Workshop Summary Report 
 

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

		

3 

Participants of the	workshop convened on NIST’s Gaithersburg campus	to participate in a facilitated

discussion. The discussions were organized	into	four sessions:	

• Capability Index

• MBE Capabilities Assessment

• Guidebook Needs

• Recommendations

The first two sessions primarily focused on evaluating the MBE Capability Index, itself, while the latter

two sessions addressed needs and recommendations for	developing a	guidebook for	the index.	

Participants were	asked to write their ideas	for	each	session	on cards, which were then pinned to a

storyboard at the front of the room. Similar ideas were categorized under appropriate topics to	keep	the

discussion	outcomes organized and transparent.	The	results	of this exercise for	all sessions are	captured

in	this	report.	

The MBE	Capability Index tool is available for	free download at:

https://github.com/usnistgov/DT4SM/tree/master/MBE-Capabilities-Assessment

This publication is available free of charge from: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-1 

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2. Review of Capabilities Index and 

Assessment 

The workshop discussions began	with	a brainstorming session	to	get participants to	think critically about

the MBE Capability Index.	Each participant was given an opportunity to share	their ideas and engage	

fully in the discussion. The outcomes are summarized in the following sections.

2.1. Capability Index Suitability and Gaps 

Subject-matter experts from	the DoD	and NIST brainstormed on focus areas prior to the workshop. The

“Capability	Index	Suitability	and Gaps” session included four	guiding topic questions from the

brainstorming:	

1.	 Does the Capability Index meet your needs for measuring and assessing MBE capabilities and

gaps in facilities?

2.	 Are the index capability goals appropriate, based	on	your experience?

3.	 Do you have suggestions for improving or revising the goals and baseline?

4.	 Has anyone developed their own assessment method using this index?

Suitability of Use 

Discussions focused on the suitability and usability of the tool and mitigating factors such as clarity,

complexity, terminology, definitions, etc.	The tool was noted as suitable by the workshop	participants

for	the following uses:

•	 Baselining current practices in	MBE,	i.e., a	reference that	an organization would built upon.	

•	 Providing a	consistent baseline that	an organization would use to assess how capabilities	have

improved	over a	period of time.

•	 Starting point for focused discussions	on MBE to help	identify the current state of MBE in an

organization.

While deemed suitable for use in	some ways, and that the latest	version is	an	improvement, a	number

of issues and challenges were	identified.	The main points that arose include the need for	better defining

terms;	understanding,	setting, and interpreting the	different capability levels accurately;	navigating	the

usability of the tool, given	its complexity; and gaps	in the existing framework	of the tool. Table 2-2	

summarizes	the discussions	and some	useful improvements.

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Table 2-1. MBE Capability Index Suitability and Gaps 

5 

MBE Levels Definitions and 

Terminology 

Complexity Gaps 

• Current index is 

high level, needs 

more detailed 

definitions and 

descriptions, 

explanations and 

interpretation 

• Logistics and 

change 

management 

aspects should be 

included in levels 

• Tool does not 

account for length 

of time required to 

be at a given level 

• Levels are helpful, 

but expert help is 

needed to 

understand how to 

get to future state 

• How to get to future 

state or next level is 

unclear 

• Specific details are 

lacking (too 

ambiguous) 

• Hard to describe the 

tool and its uses (e.g., 

for training staff) 

• Not enough detail is 

provided to identify 

gaps; more detail is 

required in boxes 

• Tool is not selfexplanatory; lacks 

overall definitions 

• Product definition 

standard is incomplete 

and ambiguous 

• Lacks clarity – difficult 

to gain consensus on 

the outcomes 

• Extensive text is 

hard to follow 

• Too complex 

• Too complicated 

for a simple 

capability 

assessment 

• Useful, but really 

need SMEs to do 

an assessment (no 

experts on staff) 

• No option for N/A 

• Geared toward a 

specific type of 

company (suits 

large 

manufacturers 

rather than small 

shops/R&D 

companies) 

• Lacks 

assessment for 

product 

architecture 

(system 

engineering) 

• Does not address 

customized 

applications, like 

ship repair 

• Ability to cover 

multi-programs, 

new designs 

• Dynamic options, 

e.g., has to be a 

living document 

as technology 

changes 

Suggested Improvements 

• Detailed questions to make steps clearer 

• Survey questions to interview people (detail lacking) 

• Meta model (to support well-defined relationships) 

• Use fewer levels to reduce complexity 

• Definitions, instructions, and details to make it easier to use; you have to be knowledgeable to selfassess 

• Explanation/interpretation for scores – score can have shock value 

• More graphics and data visualization – especially when incorporating supply chain aspects 

Model-Based Enterprise Capability Index and Guidebook Workshop Summary Report 

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MBE Goals 

The goals discussion focused on the appropriateness of the goals as currently defined in the tool. Goals

were deemed to be generally appropriate, but not customizable	to individual situations. Some	of the	key

issues	and	improvements	identified	are	shown	in Table 2-2.

Table 2-2. Suitability of MBE Capability Index Goals 

Assessment of Performance/Economics Customization of Goals 

• Potential to apply goals to ROI 

• Use results / goals to develop ROI metrics 

• Goals should assess both capability and 

performance 

• Could identify business and operational 

drivers, and connect to goals, e.g.: 

o Standardizing processes 

o Aligning with value chain 

o Assessing agility and adaptability to 

change 

o Data reuse 

• Tool does not allow the assessor to tailor goals to 

the organization’s situation 

• Actual goals are very industry specific and are 

dynamic; this could change as more companies 

adopt MBE 

• Goals should be designed to vary by supplier tier 

• Goals are suitable, but must be taken granularly 

and considered within the specific business 

environment 

• Goals currently do not capture enterprise needs or 

downstream re-use 

• Work collaboratively with key suppliers to take 

assessment 

Suggested Improvements 

• Current commercially available tools cannot achieve level 6; would be good to use this to improve 

software 

• Write goals more as a capability 

• Goals are organization dependent, not definitive; a guide is needed for how a company should set 

their MBE goals 

• Could use another level to make comparisons between companies or facilities (although not the 

intended use) 

• Better ability for customization to specific facilities or business models 

Current Experience with the MBE Capabilities Index 

A	number of organizations indicated	they had	used	the tool and	developed	a methodology in	their

facility. Successful use	cases included:

•	 Action	Engineering – used	the tool to develop	an	action	plan	for MBE; developed	a	tailored

method

•	 Honeywell – used	the tool in	its current state; created	a management level chart to convey

levels	and	issues

•	 Mitutoyo America Corporation – As a supplier, used the tool in its current	state

•	 Sandia	National Laboratory - Used for design,	as internal	document (Concept	of	Operations),	

and to generate	roadmap and baseline; added product architecture

• MBC360 LLC – Added	detail and	descriptions first	to allow scoring by category

Cases where issues arose in	use or the tool proved	insufficient included:

•	 The U.S. Navy Shipyards – found the tool was not	detailed enough, and rows would need

different dimensions; this facility’s environment was too radically different to utilize	the	tool

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2.2. MBE Capabilities Index Applications
 

7 

The applications discussion included the following topic questions:

1. How will you use a completed MBE assessment?

2. What knowledge do you expect to gain from a completed MBE assessment?

3. How will you apply	the results of a completed assessment to help your facility achieve	MBE?	

4. Will you apply the results beyond internal use, for example, to customers and supply chains?

Results of the discussion	are presented	in the following sections.

Internal Uses for the MBE Capabilities Index 

A	number of useful applications were identified	for the MBE Capabilities Index.	In addition to bringing

organizations up	to	MBE requirements, the tool could	potentially be used	to	justify investments in	MBE,

communicate MBE considerations	to management, enable organizations to measure	progress toward

MBE goals, and to assess the MBE capabilities of suppliers. Some improvements are needed	to	enable

the more wide-ranging applications. Table 2-3 summarizes	the highlights	of discussions.

Table 2-3. Applications of MBE Capabilities Index Results 

MBE Uses and Internal Application of Results 

Program Management and

Communications 

• Communicating to management on MBE actions, goals, and investment requests 

• Identifying, justifying, and legitimizing areas for investment 

• Supporting documentation for ROI for reaching next level (not currently in tool) 

• Educating others on what MBE is and where we need to be; educating value-stream subject 

matter experts and management via the assessment process 

• Better understanding MBE scope progression 

• Creation of unified vision for MBE initiatives 

• Build consensus of MBE goals 

• Inter-facility communication on all aspects of MBE 

• Documentation of processes, tools, common methods, media training and facility 

• Prioritization of tasks for MBE 

• Establishment of metrics for MBE and analysis of progress toward goals 

• Rating facility capability versus practice 

• Consensus and team building on MBE aspects; create impetus and understanding of need for 

cultural changes 

• Improving digital thread of big data development plan for facility 

Baselining or

Benchmarking

• As a driver and record for measuring progress 

• Documentation of current state 

• Baseline process for MBE; also as a baseline to develop ROI metrics 

• As a dual view of MBE assessment: bottom up – capabilities; top down – practices 

• More complete understanding of internal system capabilities 

• Framework for a benchmark used in the acquisition of a new CAD/PDM/PLM system 

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MBE Uses and Internal Application of Results 

Roadmapping / 

Implementation

• Roadmapping - how to reach to next MBE level (i.e., reach the desired level, given the baseline 

or current state) 

o Identifying/ investigating obstacles to reaching the next level (social, technological, etc.) 

o Plan and strategy (goals and objectives) for reaching next level 

o Identifying needs, resources, and actions/next steps for MBE implementation 

o Understanding the right progression of steps 

• Educating decision makers on plan/steps to reach the next level 

Gap 

Analysis

• Analysis of gaps between current and desired states 

o	 Facility-level 

o	 Enterprise-level 

o	 Between programs 

•	 Comparison of roadmap goals and plan for achieving goals (where gaps exist) 

External Uses for MBE Capabilities Index 

A	few external uses were identified	for the MBE Capabilities Assessment tool, primarily for	the

assessment of suppliers. These include:

•	 Supplier and partner readiness for MBE

o	 Working directly with	partners, going through	the assessment and	gaining agreement on	

levels	and	objectives

o Using results for	downstream partner	alignment	and assessment

o Identifying	where and	how to	improve the external supply chain	

o	 Identification	of	supplier	capabilities	during	MBE	pilot	projects	to	optimize	project

activities

o Benchmarking among similar manufacturers / suppliers

o Assessing the ability of supply chain to	accept 3D models

o Supplier software	selection

•	 Communications – providing common	terminology for discussions with	suppliers; data

exchange	could be	an issue.

•	 Benchmarking among similar manufacturers / suppliers, or outside organizations

•	 Compliance with	regulatory entities (e.g., UL,	FAA)

•	 Assessment to	meet sponsor date or other requirements (e.g., government)

•	 Sustainment,	e.g.,	government purchase	of spare parts, to sustain the product	as far	as

possible

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9 

3. Guidance Needs and Requirements
 

The third session, titled “Guidance Needs and Requirements” encouraged a	deep-dive to collect input

for	developing a guidebook for	the MBE Capability Index. The facilitator introduced this session with

three new guiding topic questions:

1.	 What kind of general guidance do you think will be most useful to	you?

2.	 What further guidance is needed to enable effective use of the capability index?

3.	 Can	you	identify needed	guidance requirements specific to	Design, CM/DM Activities,

Manufacturing Planning, Quality Requirements/Planning, and	Enterprise Activities?

Results of the discussion	are	presented	in	the	following	sections.	

3.1. General Guidance Needs 

Additional guidance is needed	to	effectively implement the MBE Capability Index	as	an	assessment	tool.	

A	number of key areas were identified where guidance would be especially valuable. These include

definitions, use cases and	examples of best practices, how to	best implement the assessment process,

explanation and interpretation of levels, and how to effectively connect the	assessment to MBE	

investments.	A	key consideration	is how to	tailor and	apply the tool to	various types of organizations.

Highlights of discussions in each of these areas are provided in Table 3-1Table 2-3.

Table 3-1. Suggested Inputs to the MBE Capabilities Assessment Guidebook 

Guidance Needs 

General

Guidance 

• Concise and well-written 

• Searchable 

• User-friendly, understandable by nonexperts, cover all levels of users 

• Checklist and other templates 

• Publish a new index (quickly, not 

perfect) 

• Rules and controls 

• Ease of use 

• Relevant information is provided 

• Capability to null out a line item 

• Acknowledge PMI levels 

• Work toward 80% completion of the 

guidebook (it need not be perfect on first go) 

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Guidance Needs 

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Definitions/ Descriptions 

• Definitive explanation of terms and 

processes 

• Survey to aid in answering questions 

• Interviews (e.g., day in the of life of a 

part) 

• Unambiguous directions / instructions 

for use 

• Well-described levels with constraints, 

attributes, definitions, and goals 

• Description of the lifecycle phases of 

MBE: 

o Assessment 

o Analysis of assessment 

o Roadmap for implementation 

o Evaluation of changes and impacts 

• Well-defined meta model XMI (e.g., OMG) 

• Definition/description of MBE 6 consensus 

• Purpose and non-purpose – what the 

assessment is intended to accomplish, as well 

as its limitations 

• Expanded descriptions with data visualization 

• Better descriptions of levels and goals 

• Layered information and details 

o Top layer = high level bullet points 

o 2nd layer = definitions and explanations 

o 3rd layer = examples 

o 4th layer = to be defined (e.g., graphics) 

Examples/ 

Use Cases 

• Representative assessment results 

(but ensure this does not drive 

outcomes) 

• Best practices 

• Use cases 

• Recommended practice for each 

category in the tool, within the scope 

• Specific examples for each individual field 

• Representative infographics and reports 

• Examples of technology for reaching each 

level to inform the novice 

• Use case templates for differing downstream 

uses 

Planning Guidance 

• How to design assessment process 

o Scope – identify what is in/out of 

scope 

o Guide to help companies set 

individual goals, determine level 

appropriate to business model 

o Guide for different industry types 

o How to create architectural map with 

data elements, consumption 

framework 

o Typical stakeholder list (entire 

enterprise) 

• Process implementation 

o Who to include (internal staff, stakeholders) 

o Audit plan and schedule – pre-audit data 

gathering 

o Suggested ways to brief management and 

technical staff 

o Plan for measuring performance and 

progress (metrics), data requirements; 

leverage other facility metrics 

o Assessing change management impacts 

Next Steps, Advancing Levels 

• Easy way to assess your baseline to 

incremental assessments along the way 

• How to proceed after gaps are 

identified, including prioritization of next 

steps 

• Next step guidance: steps to go from 

one level to another; identifying gaps, 

then creating milestones, project plans, 

tasks; how to build an actionable plan 

based on assessment outcomes 

• Examples of how to move up to the 

next level for each category 

• Guidance for selecting the appropriate 

future state level 

• Sample roadmaps and expected 

challenges to get from level to level 

(e.g., from 1.5 to 4.5 overall) 

• Guidance on how to interpret the results (e.g., 

work toward reasonable goal) 

• Funding requirements, ROI templates 

• Guidance on how MBE/results links to ROI 

• Add a level migration that includes: 

o Replacing 2D static drawings with 3D 

interactive viewable documents (aka 3D 

PRC-PDF) used for human consumption 

• Emphasize quality as important as upstream 

processes 

• Add level migration that include capabilities 

enabling quality functions: 

o Metrology standards (e.g., QIF) 

o Use of BoC (Bill of Characteristics) 

o Computer readable 

o Human readable 

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Guidance Needs 

Commun

ication 

• MBE communication strategy at all 

levels 

• How to convince executives, 

employees, partners, software vendors 

that MBE is worthwhile investment 

• Robust messaging for MBE 

• Consensus building amongst designers and 

implementers of intentions and use of tool 

Interactive

Guidance 

• Describes technologies that help with 

implementation 

• Structure tool and guidebook similar to 

TurboTax® – have a structured 

“interview” guide to lead companies 

through the tool and answer questions 

• Dynamic and interactive document 

• Incorporate web links, 3D PDFs 

• Use WiKi – identify pages that need work 

(could be crowd-sourced) 

• Live interactions – WiKi type forum 

• Identify potential technical issues for software 

vendors, e.g., data conversion of semantic PMI 

Trainings/

Information

Exchange• Training on how to use the guidebook; 

certified MBE guidebook instructors 

• Contact information for questions (and 

a mechanism for such assistance) 

• Help in identifying the appropriate and 

qualified facilitators or experts 

• Workshops among different disciplines to 

share needs, concerns, understand big picture 

Resources

• List of references (standards) that the 

guidebook is referring 

• How standards can be applied to help 

with advancing MBE capabilities 

• Industry references, such as MBE, PLM, etc. 

• Cyber-physical security 

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3.2. Guidance Needs Specific to Design, Engineering, and Planning 

A	number of guidance	requirements specific to Design, Change Management (CM) and Data	

Management (DM) Activities, Manufacturing Planning, Quality	Requirements and Planning, and

Enterprise Activities were identified. These results can be seen in Table 3-2,	organized	by	function.

Table 3-2. MBE Guidebook Needs for Design, Engineering, and Planning 

Manufacturing 

Planning 

Quality 

Requirements / 

Planning 

Enterprise 

Activities 

CM / DM 

Activities 

Design 

Guidance 

• Manufacturing and 

Quality – share in 

detail how to design 

models to be 

machine-interpretable 

• Incorporate new 

technology, e.g., 

additive 

manufacturing, into 

manufacturing design 

• Revision and change 

control guidance 

• Synchronization of 

data 

• Tracking and 

progressing toward 

levels 

• Dependency mapping 

between areas 

• Conducting quality 

requirements 

planning 

concurrently with 

design and 

manufacturing in a 

virtual MBE 

environment 

• Ways to 

computer-enable 

reading and 

generating the 

quality BoC 

• Matching products 

to characteristics 

• How to 

communicate 

information back 

to management 

dashboards/ 

maps 

• Product field 

LoTAR 

surveillance to 

meet regulations 

(how to 

incorporate 

information in a 

MBE) 

• Feedback on as 

is, as used, end of 

life, etc. 

• Needs to be 

more 

granular; 

more detail 

for this 

category 

• How to 

assess 

changes, 

conduct 

impact 

studies 

• Change 

control 

aspects 

• Convey design 

intent for 

downstream 

consumption 

“break down 

the brick wall” 

• Working MBE 

into product 

architecture 

• Levels of PMI 

that are more 

expressive 

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4. Recommendations
 

13 

The guiding	question for	this session focused on pulling a final set	of	recommendations for	developing

an effective	guidebook:

1.	 What overall recommendations do you have for developing a useful, effective Guidebook for

assessment of MBE	capabilities?

Recommendations were generated	in	two	basic categories: 1) overall governance, format, and	outreach	

for	the guidebook, and 2) guidebook content. These	are	described in the	following sections.

4.1. Recommendations for Governance, Format, and Outreach 

Five	overall recommendations were identified, as shown in Tables 4.1 – 4.5. These illustrate the

importance	of	collaboration	among	stakeholders in developing	the	guidebook; the	need for oversight

and governance	in general; and the	need for improvements to create	an effective, customizable, and

usable MBE Capabilities Assessment tool.

Table 4-1. MBE Guidebook Recommendation #1 

Recommendation #1:	Develop	a	collaborative	website	connected	to	a	core	

information	center and	subject	matter	experts.

Platform Ideas General Guidance Strategy 

• Wiki 

• Google docs 

• Must be connected to core information 

center and/or subject matter experts 

• Snapshot in time of issues / solutions 

• Public-facing 

• Develops rules for consensus 

• Must be encrypted 

• Requires some control/standards 

• Public / expert opinion carries weight 

• Individual working group for each 

category 

• Editable documents on the site by 

working group members 

• Declare successes by letting 

community modify it 

Table 4-2. MBE Guidebook Recommendation #2 

Recommendation #2:	Organize a	discussion	working group	with governance.

Structure Process for Consensus 

• Public forum with rules on final consensus/ 

censorship 

• Moderated group who says yes/no 

• Governing Board provides weight to opinions 

• Includes 4-5 basic concepts 

• Self-sustaining (at some point) 

• Define metric for consensus (e.g., 1,000 

people?) 

• Popular vote-based (not rigorous consensus) 

• Send to Governing Board for final decision 

• Make sure no conflicts are present 

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Table 4-3. MBE Guidebook Recommendation #3 

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Recommendation	#3:	Develop guidebook	with inputs	from original	developers,	using an

interactive TurboTax®-like format.

Structure Resources 

• In the public domain 

• Build guidebook similar to 

TurboTax® user interface and 

guidance 

• Include apps 

• NIST to develop governance 

policy 

• NIST to give weight for adoption 

• Initial draft in one year 

• Information from original developers 

• Input from more SMEs (e.g., quality) – plus core SMEs for each 

domain 

• Supplement with working groups 

• Aggressively pursue information 

• Find a champion/shepherd 

• Elevate to authoritative document 

Table 4-4. MBE Guidebook Recommendation #4 

Recommendation #4:	Establish	an	oversight	entity.

Structure 

•

•

•

•

Formalize structure/ground rules for contributing content and adjudicating 

Develop a roadmap for the guidebook 

Create a release schedule, as well as an update and maintenance schedule 

Avoid analysis paralysis – work toward “a minimally viable product” 

Table 4-5. MBE Guidebook Recommendation #5 

Recommendation #5:	Develop	a	multi-media communications and	outreach	plan.

Outreach Methods 

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Connect/raise awareness at conferences, trade shows, through professional societies, and via web 

presence 

YouTubeTM videos 

Interviews with industry 

Manufacturing minute podcast 

Messaging in all media 

Broadly disseminated 

MBE collaborative website (needs a sponsor) 

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4.2. Recommendations for Guidebook Content
 

15 

Table 4-6	summarizes the	recommendations that relate	to guidebook content. These combine many	of

the ideas expressed throughout	the prior	working sessions,	but	are	not	all-inclusive.

Table 4-6. Additional MBE Guidebook Recommendations from Previous Sessions 

Recommendation Details 

1. More detail and better definition of 

requirements 

• Better define requirements, terms, and levels in 

the tool 

2. Leverage examples, case studies and 

infographics 

4. Guidance to tailor tool to different types of 

organizations 

•	 Best practice examples 

•	 Recommended practice for each category in the 

tool 

•	 Use case templates for differing downstream uses 

•	 Have guide to help company set individual goals 

•	 Guidance for determining the appropriate level for 

a given business model 

•	 Meta model XMI 

3. Simplify Index • Recommend using fewer levels in the tool 

5. Instructions for next steps and interpreting 

results 

• How to interpret the results and build an 

actionable plan from the assessment 

6. Communications guide • Include MBE community strategy at all levels e.g., 

management, staff, etc. 

7. Guide should include additional resources -

references and standards 

• List of references 

• How standards can be applied to help advancing 

MBE capabilities 

8. Well defined meta model with well-defined 

relationships 

• Well-described level with constraints attributes, 

definitions, goals, etc. 

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5. Appendices
 

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A. Workshop Agenda
 

17 

MBE Summit 

MBE Capability Index & Guidebook Workshop 

NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 

Friday, April 15, 2016 

Time 

0830-0840 

Topic 

Welcome and Overview 

Speaker(s) 

Allison Barnard Feeney and 

Tom Hedberg, NIST 

Facilitated Sessions 

0840-0940 

Capability Index 

• Does the Capability Index meet your needs for 

measuring and assessing MBE capabilities and gaps in 

facilities? 

• Are the index capability goals appropriate, based on 

your experience? Do you have suggestions for 

improving or revising the goals and baseline? 

• Has anyone developed their own assessment method 

using this index? 

• What further guidance is needed to enable effective use 

of the capability index? 

Joan Pellegrino and 

Yannick Tamm, 

Energetics Incorporated 

(Facilitators) 

0940-1040 

MBE Capabilities Assessment 

• How would you define/describe what an assessment is? 

• How will you use a completed MBE assessment? 

• What knowledge do you expect to gain from a 

completed MBE assessment? 

• How will you apply the results of a completed 

assessment to help your facility achieve MBE? 

• Will you apply the results beyond internal use, for 

example, to customers and supply chains? 

1040 1050 Break 

1050-1150 

Guidebook Needs 

• What kind of general guidance do you think will be 

most useful to you? 

• Can you identify needed guidance requirements specific 

to Design, CM/DM Activities, Manufacturing Planning, 

Quality Requirements/Planning, and Enterprise 

Activities? 

1150-1220 

Recommendations 

• What overall recommendations do you have for 

developing a useful, effective Guidebook for 

assessment of MBE capabilities? 

1220-1230 Next Steps and Adjourn 

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B. Participant List
 

Name Affiliation 

Allison Barnard Feeney NIST 

Frank Bilek Pratt & Whitney 

Curtis Brown Honeywell FM&T 

Rush Carter UTRS/AMRDEC 

Mark Deisbink Newport News Shipbuilding 

Dan Dezarov Elysium Inc. 

Rick Eckenrode RECON Services 

Katie Farris Newport News Shipbuilding 

Lyle Fischer CAPVIDIA 

Denise Fitzgerald MIT Lincoln Laboratory 

Bob Goosen Purdue MEP 

Andrew Hall Rolls Royce 

Greg Harris U.S. Army/DMDII 

Thomas Hedberg NIST 

Don Hemmelgarn ITI 

Jennifer Herron Action Engineering 

Anthony Holden U.S. Army 

Paul Huang NIST/ONR 

Hui-Min Huang NIST 

Lorenzo Landin Boeing 

Ben Kassel U.S. Navy 

Kong Ma Rolls Royce 

Larry Maggiano Mitutoyo America 

Adrian Miura Sandia National Laboratories 

Ram Pentakota Johnson Controls 

Gene Peppe Naval Air Warfare Center 

Jason Presler Rockwell Collins 

Michael Shaw Rolls Royce Corp. 

Atsuto Soma Elysium Co. Ltd. 

Genevieve Teel U.S. Army/IRTC 

Phil Teuscher NAWC WD China Lake 

Denise Welch Honeywell FM&T 

Mike Werkheiser PRATT & Whitney 

Roy Whittenburg MBD360 

Brent Woodhouse Newport News Shipbuilding 

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C. Acronyms
 

19 

Acronym Definition 

3D Three Dimensional 

BoC Bill of Characteristics 

CAD Computer-Aided Design 

CAO Conception Assistée par Ordinateur (French: Computer-Aided Design) 

CM Change Management 

COP Conference of Parties 

DM Data Management 

DoD Department of Defense 

FAA Federal Aviation Administration 

LoTAR Long-term archival and retrieval 

MBD Model-Based Definition 

MBE Model-Based Enterprise 

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology 

OMG Object Management Group 

PDF Portable Document Format 

PDM Product Data Management 

PLM Product Lifecycle Management 

PMI Product and Manufacturing Information 

QIF Quality Information Framework 

R&D Research and Development 

ROI Return on Investment 

SME Subject Matter Expert 

SysML Systems Modeling Language 

UL Underwriters Laboratories 

Wiki A website that allows collaborative editing 

XMI XML Metadata Interchange 

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D. References
 Hedberg Jr, T. D., Lubell, J., Fischer, L., Maggiano, L., & Barnard Feeney, A. (2016, June). Testing the

Digital Thread in Support of Model-Based	Manufacturing and	Inspection. Journal of Computing	

and	Information	Science in	Engineering, 16(2), 1-10.

Model Based Enterprise.	(2014).	Retrieved from Model	Based Enterprise: http://model-basedenterprise.org/model-based-enterprise.html

This publication is available free of charge from: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AMS.100-1 

Model-Based Enterprise Capability Index and Guidebook Workshop Summary Report