Model-based systems engineering: Evaluating perceived value, metrics, and evidence through literature

Although Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is quickly becoming adopted in Systems Engineering (SE), there have not been many studies evaluating literature to determine the perceived value of implementing MBSE. This research first identifies and discusses previous studies on the justification or rejection of MBSE. This study investigates how the SE community perceives the value of MBSE by coding and analyzing positive and negative descriptions of MBSE; perceived benefits and drawbacks of implementing MBSE; and the evidence and metrics used to substantiate and measure each claim about MBSE. From 60 academic sources, this study collected and coded over 2900 claims on MBSE. Our findings determine the most positive attributes of MBSE to be Verification & Validation Capability, Consistency, Reasoning, and Risk & Error Manageability, while the most negative attributes were Approach Understandability, Acceptability, Familiarity, and Approach Complexity. The most-stated benefits were Reduced Time, Better Communication/Information Sharing, Reduced Costs, and Better Analysis Capability. The most claimed drawbacks were Increased Costs, Increased Time, Increased Effort, and Worsened Capability. A large share of claims (47%) about MBSE was based on author opinions. Most claims (86%) were not substantiated by a metric.