bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Use of MBSE in Infrastructure Projects ‐‐ An MBSE Challenge Team Paper
Authors: Hause Matthew , Buitelaar Jaco , van de Ven Marcel , Burgers Eric 
Published: October 2015

AbstractLarge infrastructure projects are complex, difficult and expensive. They are found in the transportation, energy, and communications sectors. These include projects for aerospace, and construction of public works and utilities, airports, sea ports, rail, highways and bridges, among others. They are subject to the requirements of a multitude of stakeholders, take many years to build, are often influenced by politics, and can lack focus or involve scope creep. They are also subject to laws and regulations, operational concepts, site conditions, external interfaces and utilities, industrial codes and standards, operator needs, the public interest and other influences. Projects often suffer several types of problems caused by inadequately determining, engineering and managing requirements. For example, contractual and regulatory commitments can be overlooked. Requirements do not flow down to subcontractors or suppliers. Requirements are incomplete, unclear and subject to widely varying interpretations. Projects have difficulty demonstrating requirements were met. Examples of projects where virtually all of these problems occurred include the Millennium Dome in the UK which was bankrupt shortly after opening (Projects, 2012), and the Freedom Tower (New World Trade Center) in New York City (Time, 2005). Solving these and other issues drive the need for more formal approach to managing these projects. There is a significant advantage to be gained by the adoption of systems engineering methods within the remainder of the infrastructure sectors. The INCOSE Infrastructure Working Group was formed to demonstrate how systems engineering can assist with infrastructure projects. As a part of that effort, we have created a drawbridge model to demonstrate how Model‐Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) can assist engineers in defining clear requirements, defining scope, demonstrating regulatory compliance, identifying stakeholders, etc. It uses the Unified Profile for DoDAF and MODAF (UPDM) and the Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This paper will describe the model and demonstrate how the different aspects of MBSE help infrastructure projects. The model contains close to 100 diagrams and reports, so size constraints of the paper mean that only selected parts of the model can be described. For the complete model, visit the IWG area of the INCOSE website. http://www.incose.org/practice/techactivities/wg/infrastructure/
Architecture Definition ‐‐ A New Process in the ISO International Systems Engineering Standard
Authors: Martin James N 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe ISO international standard on systems engineering practices has lacked a process for architecture definition that was separate from the process for system design definition. It had a process called architectural design, which was not deemed to properly cover the full purpose and scope of architecture definition. There were a number of reasons why architecture and design needed to be separated into different processes in the standard. This paper provides the reasons for this approach and describes the new Architecture Definition process in the updated standard that was published in 2015. It is expected that this process will be incorporated into the next version of INCOSE's Systems Engineering Handbook and in the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge.
Use of Systemigrams to Identify Emergence in Complex Adaptive Systems
Authors: McDermott Tom , Nadolski Molly , Sheppard Lindsey 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis paper presents the application of a sociotechnical modeling framework to capture emergent patterns and regional dependencies in the international natural gas market in context with the larger global energy marketplace. Soft systems methods were used to produce conceptual models of flow and interaction in order to inform the design of analytical models. First, this research project captured and analyzed the flows of natural gas in international markets by developing a conceptual model of the global natural gas infrastructure and future growth options at the regional level. Policies, players, infrastructure, and markets all exist at the global, regional, and national level to make up the present‐day natural gas landscape. Second, the research team worked to model the overall global natural gas sociotechnical enterprise and its future growth options to understand the regional versus global interdependencies and their likely effect on the changing natural gas landscape. The results capture emerging trends in the system that may not be obvious without a systemic analysis.
INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook Version 4: Updating the Reference for Practitioners
Authors: Walden David D. , Roedler Garry J. , Forsberg Kevin 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe objective of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Systems Engineering Handbook (SEH) is to describe key process activities performed by systems engineers and other engineering professionals throughout the life cycle of a system. It also describes a wide range of fundamental system concepts that broaden the thinking of the systems engineering practitioner, such as system thinking, system science, life cycle management, specialty engineering, system‐of‐systems, and complex systems. This handbook defines the discipline and practice of systems engineering for students and practicing professionals alike, providing an authoritative reference that is acknowledged world‐wide.This paper provides an overview of the SEH Version 4 that was released in 2015. It describes the overall impetus for change, highlights changes from the previous versions, and describes the new content added for this version. The primary purpose of this paper is to inform the systems engineering community of the changes incorporated into SEH Version 4.
A Novel Methodology for the Application of Middle‐Out, Model‐Based Systems Engineering Techniques for City Waste Management Systems Development
Authors: Bouch Christopher J. , Kenny Richard , Hunt Dexter , Wallace Tommy , Rogers Christopher D. F. , Lee Susan 
Published: October 2015

AbstractA holistic approach to urban development is required to meet global sustainability goals. Part of the challenge involves finding an effective response to the increasing volumes of solid waste being generated in cities. The European Commission has developed a thematic strategy, and issued directives, on the prevention and recycling of waste. The United Kingdom has introduced legislation in line with these, and is working to develop its own waste management strategies against a very complex background. This paper describes a novel methodology for the application of middle‐out, model‐based systems engineering techniques to help with this, using the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom as an example. The methodology creates repeatable and objective models of existing waste management systems and links them to city management accounts to provide a foundation for the design of new and improved systems and business models.
An MBSE Approach to Support Organisational Reform of the Royal Australian Navy
Authors: Do Quoc , Gahan Malcolm , Davidson Colin 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis paper presents a unique MBSE approach to enterprise modelling using a combination of IDEF0 functional modelling method. This approach has been applied to the modelling of the engineering and administrative processes of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The developed model is named Materiel Seaworthiness Functional Master Set (MS FMS). Importantly, the MS FMS initiative is being driven from the top‐down by the Head of Navy Engineering, Rear Admiral Mick Uzzell AM, so that he can be assured that all organisational entities in the large and complex environment of Navy, Defence Groups and Industry are performing the right functions in a coordinated way to continuously deliver seaworthy materiel (i.e. ships, submarines and support items). To further the quest to balance effective delivery with efficient resource allocation, an analytical capability using the well established Multi‐attribute Value Analysis (MVA) method is being piloted, and is named the FMS Traffic Light System which aims to facilitate “what if” analysis, ascertain functional health status, and inform high‐level organisational resource allocation and strategic planning.
A Business Process view of Software: An effective measurement model to assess the operations readiness of software under construction
Authors: Ramakrishnan Ramesh Kumar 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis paper introduces the concept of a business process based measurement framework to assess completeness and correctness of an IT platform (software) for business operations readiness. Conventional software development methods do not provide the development status in a manner that reflects the business operations readiness perspective, especially when the development is outsourced. Conventional methods report in terms of the requirements developed and the number of test cases passed. In a typical operations production setup, the operations team executes the business process and hence is able to better appreciate the state of the software under construction in terms of business process. Business users validate the business process during the acceptance testing phase, but this is a post development completion activity. Consider the common scenario where a large software development project is close to its planned development end date (that is, pre user acceptance testing phase), and there is a delay as per schedule. Now, the business needs to take a call: Go Live / Not to Go Live with the business change, as planned. This decision is critical when the business change is “time‐to‐market” sensitive. To take such a call, the business needs to have a clear understanding of the level of readiness of the software from a business operations perspective; whereas the standard measures applied to report the completion status of a software development project is the number of requirements developed and the number of test cases passed. Such a report does not provide the business with a view of the operations readiness of the software. In this paper, the author has made an attempt to provide a mechanism by which the level of completion of the software can be represented using a business process view and that in turn can measure the relative business operations readiness of the software, at any given point in time. This view can further be used as a feedback mechanism to prepare and execute the revised production rollout strategy for the software.
Structural Modeling Framework
Authors: Simpson Joseph J. , Simpson Mary J 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe ability to effectively and efficiently identify, model and communicate information about systems is becoming more valuable. Given an unstructured context populated with unknown and/or poorly understood systems, the application of structural modeling techniques will assist in the identification of unknown systems as well as the proper structuring of these systems. The authors expand John N Warfield's structural modeling techniques to include a well‐defined, structural integration modeling process. The primary contribution of structural integration modeling is to align basic structural modeling with interpretive structural modeling. This paper provides an overview of the previous work of the authors in this area, establishes connections between cognitive complexity reduction and structural modeling, and presents an example application. The example application demonstrates the system concepts, methods and processes identified in this paper. References to online, open‐source computer code are included that can be used to verify and validate the presented work and are located at https://github.com/jjs0sbw/bsmp. All interested researchers are encouraged to use this code to facilitate independent verification and validation of the research presented herein.
Model‐Based Optimization of Learning Curves: Implications for Business and Government
Authors: Madni Azad M. , Paulson Courtney , Spraragen Marc , Richey Michael C. , Nance Marcus L. , Vander Wel Michael 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMajor corporations such as Boeing spend substantial amounts annually on workforce training and development. They typically have a fixed budget to allocate to different learning options (e.g. online learning, in‐person instruction) available at different geographic locations. Currently, these organizations do not have the means to quantify and optimize the impact of their investments on employee time‐to‐proficiency and organizational learning curves. This paper presents an integrated model‐based framework that combines parametric curve‐fitting, portfolio optimization, system dynamics, and agent‐based modeling for learning curve sensitivity analysis and optimization. The framework enables assessment of the sensitivity of learning curves to changes in budget and learner allocations to the available learning options. Learning curves optimization takes into account the “forgetting” behavior that results from disruptions such as interruptions in learning arising from temporary re‐assignment of learners to take care of other organizational needs. Limited pre‐test and post‐test data from a lecture‐based course on composites pilot offered by Boeing overseas was used for model calibration and learning curves optimization. The ability to optimize learning curves for a specified budget and learning options has wide applicability in production engineering, operations, and customer‐facing functions. Future data collection is expected to include data from intermediate tests or responses to questionnaires in addition to pre‐test and post‐test data to achieve a more accurate curve‐fit.
Applicability of Industrial Test and Evaluation Practices to Future Nuclear Weapons
Authors: Young Sharissa 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis report presents trade study methodology for alternative test and evaluation (T&E) strategies that provides some early indicators of efficacy by application of the method to future nuclear weapons (NWs). Identification of strategies for trade studies can be hampered by subjectivity or incompleteness, effectively limiting the scope of such studies by unconscious bias. This methodology seeks to formalize the identification process by which alternatives, evaluation criteria and weighting factors are derived. The method identifies characteristics specific to the example system, identifies products or engineered systems that share some of those characteristics and a description of the T&E strategies used by these industrial analogues. Application of industry paradigms to NW T&E results in some obvious challenges, given the distinct business environments and product requirements involved in the nuclear weapons enterprise. However, a framework for performing trade studies can be generalized for use by others using the methodology developed for this study.
Whole Systems Trade Analysis
Authors: Edwards Shatiel , Cilli Matthew , Peterson Troy , Zabat Michael , Lawton Craig , Shelton Liliana 
Published: October 2015

AbstractGround vehicles are complex systems with many interrelated subsystems – finding the sweet‐spot among competing objectives such as performance, unit cost, operations and sustainment (O&S) costs, development risk, and growth potential is a non‐trivial task. Whole Systems Trade Analysis (WSTA) is a systems analysis and decision support methodology and tool that integrates otherwise separate subsystem models into a holistic system view mapping critical design choices to consequences relevant to stakeholders. WSTA projects are highly integrated and collaborative efforts which generate holistic systems and Multiple Objective Decision Analysis (MODA) models. The related tool captures and synthesizes subsystem and system level analyses into trade‐space visualizations designed to facilitate rapid and complete understanding of the trade‐space to stakeholders and provide drill down capability to supporting rationale. The approach has opened up trade space exploration significantly evaluating up to 1020+ potential system configurations to then return a handful of configurations which best meet design and programmatic criteria.
Minimizing the Complexity of Systems through Structural Optimization and Variability Reduction
Authors: Jackson Scott , dos Santos Ricardo Moraes 
Published: October 2015

AbstractScholars have focused on two primary characteristics that reflect the complexity of a system: the structure of the system and in the variability in the relationships between the elements. This paper discusses both aspects of the system and shows that they can be treated separately during development to reduce complexity. The first part treats the structural aspect of complexity by employing the cluster analysis of (Hitchins 1993, 135‐147) and (Hitchins 2003, 143‐148; 449‐457). This method optimizes the architecture of the system and minimizes the number of sub‐elements by determining which elements have the maximum amount of functional affinity. The second part deals with the variability of the relationships between the elements also called information entropy defined by (Shannon 1948). However, this concept can apply to the relationships among the elements of any type of system. The application of both of these methods it is believed will result in a significant reduction in complexity.
Using SysML to Automatically Generate of Failure Modes and Effects Analyses
Authors: Hecht Myron , Dimpfl Emily , Pinchak Julia 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis paper describes a method for automated generation of Failure Modes and Effects Analyses from SysML models containing block definition diagrams, internal block diagrams, state transition machines, and activity diagrams. The SysML model can be created in any SysML modeling tool and then an analysis is performed using the AltaRica language and modeling tool. An example using a simple satellite and ground user shows the approach.
Systems Engineering in a Cyber Security Engineering Program
Authors: Brouse Peggy 
Published: October 2015

AbstractGeorge Mason University Volgenau School of Engineering (VSE) introduced a new undergraduate degree in Cyber Security Engineering (BS/CYSE) starting in Spring 2015. This program, the first cyber security engineering program in the country, prepares graduates for a successful career in cyber security engineering. Cyber security engineering is the proactive engineering design of physical systems with cyber security incorporated from the beginning of system development, creating cyber‐resilient systems. Cyber security engineering is an important quantitative design methodology to be used in all industries. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of cyber security engineering, systems engineering principles played an important role in the formulation of the BS/CYSE curriculum. Cyber security engineers must become part of the solution by developing appropriate, effective, and affordable systems with security engineered in from the concept phase, through design, and into implementation and deployment. There is the need for giving a strong background in engineering and providing extensive communication skills. Such background and skills allow ready consultation with colleagues either in engineering or in the given application domain. This paper will discuss the new BS/CYSE and the systems engineering influence on the program.
The Role of Requirements In Agile System Realization
Authors: Ann Rosser Larri 
Published: October 2015

AbstractRequirements play a fundamental role in the realization of systems, regardless of the methodology used. Current understanding of requirements usage is strongly influenced by traditional program lifecycle paradigms. This paper highlights the fundamental contribution of requirements to system realization, reviews typical requirements usage, quality attributes and assumptions, and identifies areas where a different perspective on requirements usage can enhance agility.
The Challenge of 21st‐Century Literacies
Authors: Burnett Cathy , Merchant Guy 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn the second edition of their influential bookNew Literacies: Everyday Practices and Classroom Learning, Lankshear and Knobel argued that engagement with these practices was “largely confined to learners’ lives in spaces outside of schools.” That was nearly 10 years ago, and in some respects, very little has changed. In many classrooms, there is a lot more technology than there was back then; for instance, the provision of interactive whiteboards, desktops, laptops, and portable devices is better, and there is a greater variety of software and hardware on offer. Yet, even when equipment is available, up to date, and in good working order, problems of curricular integration still arise. Despite all the rhetoric about the importance of new or digital literacies in education, recent curricular reforms and their associated assessment regimes have tended to privilege traditional literacy skills and printed text. An expansive view of new literacies in practice seems hard to realize. Why should this be the case?
Low‐Dose Actinomycin‐D Induces Redistribution of Wild‐Type and Mutated Nucleophosmin Followed by Cell Death in Leukemic Cells
Authors: Brodská Barbora , Holoubek Aleš , Otevřelová Petra , Kuželová Kateřina 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTSpecific mutations involving C‐terminal part of the nucleolar protein nucleophosmin (NPM) are associated with better outcome of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy, possibly due to aberrant cytoplasmic NPM localization facilitating induction of anti‐NPM immune response. Actinomycin D (actD) is known to induce nucleolar stress leading to redistribution of many nucleolar proteins, including NPM. We analyzed the distribution of both wild‐type and mutated NPM (NPMmut) in human cell lines, before and after low‐dose actD treatment, in living cells expressing exogenous fluorescently labeled proteins as well as using immunofluorescence staining of endogenous proteins in fixed cells. The wild‐type NPM form is prevalently nucleolar in intact cells and relocalizes mainly to the nucleoplasm following actD addition. The mutated NPM form is found both in the nucleoli and in the cytoplasm of untreated cells. ActD treatment leads to a marked increase in NPMmut amount in the nucleoplasm while a mild decrease is observed in the cytoplasm. Cell death was induced by low‐dose actD in all the studied leukemic cell lines with different p53 and NPM status. In cells expressing the tumor suppresor p53 (CML‐T1, OCI‐AML3), cell cycle arrest in G1/G0 phase was followed by p53‐dependent apoptosis while in p53‐null HL60 cells, transient G2/M‐phase arrest was followed by cell necrosis. We conclude that although actD does not increase NPM concentration in the cytoplasm, it could improve the effect of standard chemotherapy in leukemias through more general mechanisms. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 1319–1329, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.