Model-Based System Architecture, 2nd Edition

6Model-Based Systems Architecting

Digital engineering is a new upcoming discipline with a broader scope than model-based systems engineering (MBSE) [219]. It does not only include models but also other digital artifacts and covers the whole system life cycle, including the digital artifacts of all involved disciplines. Digital engineering is defined as “an integrated digital approach that uses authoritative sources of systems' data and models as a continuum across disciplines to support lifecycle activities from concept through disposal” [54]. Digital engineering will be the enabling technology to enable digital threads and digital twins, which in turn pave the way for the use of artificial intelligence technologies [169].

Model-based engineering (MBE) is a kind of digital engineering combining product lifecycle management (PLM) and MBSE approaches. The German chapter of INCOSE defines MBE “as the resulting concept of combining lifecycle spanning management of product data (PLM) and formal description of systems (MBSE)” [90]. The distinction between digital engineering and MBE is quite blurred, and both terms are also used as synonyms (for example, [181]). Nevertheless, we list both here since both are in circulation. In the following, we prefer using the term digital engineering.

The discipline MBSE is a kind of MBE focusing on systems engineering processes. INCOSE defines MBSE as “the formalized application of modeling to support system requirements, design, analysis, verification, ...