PivotPoint FAQ: What is the Agile MBSE 6D Enterprise Architecture Framework™?
PivotPoint FAQ: What is Agile MBSE 6D Enterprise Architecture Framework™ (Agile MBSE 6D EAF™)?
Although the traditional System-V Model may be useful for summarizing Systems Engineering (SE) System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) concepts and terminology for practitioners, it fails to do much more than that. Given its numerous shortcomings (e.g., it is inherently sequential, whereas real-world SE processes tend to be concurrent or pipelined; it is inherently 2D and flat, whereas real-world SE Systems-of-Systems tend to be multi-dimensional and fractal), it has lived long past its usefulness. Indeed, one could argue that it is causing more harm than good since it gives Systems Engineers a naive and misleading concept about how to manage the size and complexity of Systems-of-Systems, which are increasing at an exponential rate (see Augustine's Law XVI).
Whereas the traditional SE System-V model is conceptual, architecturally-ignorant, ad hoc, 2-dimensional, and waterfall-sequential, the Agile MBSE 6D Enterprise Architecture Framework EAF™ (Agile MBSE 6D EAF™) is detailed, architecture-centric, pattern-based, multi-dimensional, and concurrent. The Agile MBSE 6D EAF offers 4 abstraction-level projections («views») on the left-hand side (LHS) tetrahedron for transitive requirement traceability patterns, and 3 abstraction-level projections («views») on the right-hand side (RHS) tetrahedron for Verification & Validation (V&V) patterns.
LHS TETRAHEDRON PROJECTIONS
The «view» projections for the LHS tetrahedron are best thought of as top-down or Requirements-driven and include: Requirements Analysis «view», System Analysis «view» (a.k.a., Operational «view»), High-Level System Design «view», and Low-Level System Design «view», with the Implementation «view» at the bottom, shared by both tetrahedrons. The LHS «views» facilitate a transitive requirements trace pattern in that any arbitrary Functional Requirement in the Requirements Analysis «view» can be satisfied by one or more simulatable Activity functions in the System Analysis «view», which in turn can be traced to one or more simulatable Interactions (Sequences) in the High-Level System Design «view», which can subsequently be traced to one or more detailed Interactions in the Low-Level System Design «view», that can be further refined into one or more Implementation Interactions in the bottom Implementation «view» shared by both tetrahedrons.
LHS-TETRAHEDRON-PATTERNS IN THE AGILE MBSE 6D EAF
In the Agile MBSE 6D Enterprise Architecture Framework (EAF) (https://ptcorp.com/faq/what-is-agile-mbse-6d-eaf.html), the "LHS-Tetrahedron-Patterns" can be understood as the product of two sets of patterns:
1. CORE PATTERNS (integrated structural-behavioral patterns within the object paradigm):
• Requirement Cluster Pattern
• SVO Pattern + Object Tetrad Pattern (where V represents Behaviors)
• Architecture Skeleton Pattern
2. TRANS-META PATTERNS (cross-cutting patterns across abstraction levels):
• Multi-View Pattern
• Transitive Trace Pattern
So overall:
LHS-TETRAHEDRON-PATTERNS =
CORE PATTERNS x TRANS-META PATTERNS =
{Requirement Cluster Pattern, {SVO Pattern, Object Tetrad Pattern}, Architecture Skeleton Pattern}
×
{Multi-View Pattern, Transitive Trace Pattern}
Here, "×" denotes the structured interaction or composition of the two sets of patterns, similar to a Cartesian product, but not meant as a literal mathematical cross product.
RHS TETRAHEDRON PROJECTIONS
The «view» projections for the RHS tetrahedron are best thought of as bottom-up (in reverse; cf. push stack on the LHS, and pop stack on the RHS) or Test-driven and include: Unit Test Case «view» at the bottom, Integration Test Case «view» in the middle, and System Test Case «view» at the top. The RHS «views» facilitate a transitive V&V pattern in that any arbitrary black-box and white-box Unit Test Case is rolled up into a black-box/white-box Integration Test Case, which in turn is rolled up into a black-box/white-box System Test Case.
For more information about the Agile MBSE 6D EAF and how it can help scale and simulate your MBSE or Digital Engineering project, contact us.
Whereas the traditional SE System-V model is conceptual, architecturally-ignorant, ad hoc, 2-dimensional, and waterfall-sequential, the Agile MBSE 6D Enterprise Architecture Framework EAF™ (Agile MBSE 6D EAF™) is detailed, architecture-centric, pattern-based, multi-dimensional, and concurrent. The Agile MBSE 6D EAF offers 4 abstraction-level projections («views») on the left-hand side (LHS) tetrahedron for transitive requirement traceability patterns, and 3 abstraction-level projections («views») on the right-hand side (RHS) tetrahedron for Verification & Validation (V&V) patterns.
LHS TETRAHEDRON
The «view» projections for the LHS tetrahedron are best thought of as top-down or Requirements-driven and include: Requirements Analysis «view», System Analysis «view» (a.k.a., Operational «view»), High-Level System Design «view», and Low-Level System Design «view», with the Implementation «view» at the bottom, shared by both tetrahedrons. The LHS «views» facilitate a transitive requirements trace pattern in that any arbitrary Functional Requirement in the Requirements Analysis «view» can be satisfied by one or more simulatable Activity functions in the System Analysis «view», which in turn can be traced to one or more simulatable Interactions (Sequences) in the High-Level System Design «view», which can subsequently be traced to one or more detailed Interactions in the Low-Level System Design «view», that can be further refined into one or more Implementation Interactions in the bottom Implementation «view» shared by both tetrahedrons.
LHS-TETRAHEDRON-PATTERNS IN THE AGILE MBSE 6D EAF
In the Agile MBSE 6D Enterprise Architecture Framework (EAF) (https://ptcorp.com/faq/what-is-agile-mbse-6d-eaf.html), the "LHS-Tetrahedron-Patterns" can be understood as the product of two sets of patterns:
1. CORE PATTERNS (integrated structural-behavioral patterns within the object paradigm):
• Requirement Cluster Pattern
• SVO Pattern + Object Tetrad Pattern (where V represents Behaviors)
• Architecture Skeleton Pattern
2. TRANS-META PATTERNS (cross-cutting patterns across abstraction levels):
• Multi-View Pattern
• Transitive Trace Pattern
So overall:
LHS-TETRAHEDRON-PATTERNS =
CORE PATTERNS x TRANS-META PATTERNS =
{Requirement Cluster Pattern, {SVO Pattern, Object Tetrad Pattern}, Architecture Skeleton Pattern}
×
{Multi-View Pattern, Transitive Trace Pattern}
Here, "×" denotes the structured interaction or composition of the two sets of patterns, similar to a Cartesian product, but not meant as a literal mathematical cross product.
RHS TETRAHEDRON
The «view» projections for the RHS tetrahedron are best thought of as bottom-up (in reverse; cf. push stack on the LHS, and pop stack on the RHS) or Test-driven and include: Unit Test Case «view» at the bottom, Integration Test Case «view» in the middle, and System Test Case «view» at the top. The RHS «views» facilitate a transitive V&V pattern in that any arbitrary black-box and white-box Unit Test Case is rolled up into a black-box/white-box Integration Test Case, which in turn is rolled up into a black-box/white-box System Test Case.
For more information about the Agile MBSE 6D EAF and how it can help scale and simulate your MBSE or Digital Engineering project, contact us.
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