On The Holistic Nature of MBSE

Preamble

Interestingly, variants of MBSE/MDSE acronyms put the focus on the duality of the concept, software on one side, systems on the other.

MBSE is by nature a two-faced endeavor (Sand Painting Navajo Rug)

As that duality operates for models, systems, and organizations, MBSE offers a holistic view on enterprise architecture.

Models and Software

Models are symbolic representations of actual contexts in line with specific purposes: requirements analysis, simulation, software design, etc. Software is a subset of models characterized by target (computer code) and language (executable instructions). Based on that understanding, MBSE should not be limited to DSLs silos and code generation but employed to bring together and manage the whole range of concerns and artifacts.

Systems and Applications

The hapless track record of Waterfall and the parallel ascent of Agile have clouded the grounds for phased development processes. But whereas agile schemes are the default option when applications can be developed independently, external dependencies prevent their scaling up to system level. That’s when system engineering takes precedence on applications development, with MBSE introduced to manage shared models and support collaboration between teams.

Organization and Projects

As epitomized by agile development models, projects can be driven by specific business needs or shared architecture capabilities. Whereas the former are best carried out iteratively by autonomous teams sharing skills and responsibility, the latter entail collaboration between organizational units along time. MBSE provides the link between standalone projects, phased processes, and enterprise organization.

MBSE provides a holistic view of organisations and systems.

By providing a holistic view of changes in organizations, systems, and software, MBSE should be a key component of enterprise architecture.

Further Reading

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