In the world of model-based systems engineering (MBSE), there is still a fair amount of confusion around what makes a good—or even acceptable—MBSE model. George E. P. Box, the English statistician, famously observed, “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” He further clarified that idea with this expansion, “Remember …

Although modeling has always played a role in engineering, it has become a central focus with the advent of model-based systems engineering. While we as engineers are focused on engineering and building systems, sometimes the topic of modeling, as both an art and a science, still gets short shrift. If …

Commonwealth: May it please the Court, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. The defendant in this case, Commonwealth v. Systems Engineer, stands charged with the modelslaughter of the system model. The deceased model in this case is not an ancillary or limited representation of some aspect of the system, but …

The Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge* defines a model as “a simplified representation of a system at some particular point in time or space intended to promote understanding of the real system.” There is broad acceptance that models are limited or simplified representations of a reality of interest. There is …