Architecture-Driven Engineering

Model creation using GENESYS from Vitech provides the ability to connect to Zuken’s E3.series solution for wire harness design and manufacturing.  Following design guidelines, while utilizing GENESYS provides a programmatic path to implementation while maintaining model relevance through the product life cycle.

For the purpose of realizing the model in the electrical and electronic domains, the model must be decomposed into E/E subsystems. These subsystems are further decomposed into functional elements as Electronic Control Units (ECU), sensors, busses, and connections.

Realizing the model in the electrical and electronic domain requires a logical structure of design elements with the associated behavior and requirements. The model does not typically contain specific component identification such as part numbers.

When the design transitions from System Engineering to the implementation team, a design envelope must be clearly defined. The design team then knows what are the acceptable parameters in terms of cost, weight, size, power, etc.

Once the design envelope is defined for the cables, the architecture composed of blocks and interfaces transfers to E3.series. The requirements, constraints, and diagrams are exposed and viewable from E3.series.

The design team will be able to see diagrams, requirements and parameters from E3.series.  The data is not transferred to E3.series to preserves the single source of truth of the model.

Architecture verification is a design step prior to detailed design where a partial detailed design is used to verify model requirements can be met at a high confidence.  If a requirement can not be met at this phase, Systems Engineering must alter the model in the context of the entire system to enable a realizable implementation of the mode

The model must remain relevant through the product development process. This is accomplished through verification gates which are comprised of a set of verification requirements. The design can not proceed to the next development phase until the gate requirements are satisfied.  This insures the product is consistent with the model.

As the design moves through each verification gate, the model must be updated to reflect the verification requirement status. This allows Systems Engineering to monitor the design progress in terms of meeting verification requirements. As the design progresses through the implementation process, Systems Engineering has a window into its model consistency.

Throughout the Digital Engineering process, discussions that lead to decisions must be recorded and retained for traceability. The Digital Thread provides the mechanism to hold those critical digital conversations.