Introducing Model-Based Systems Engineering into a cabin-pressure systems development organisation — without disrupting ongoing operations
Project details
Customer: Nord-Micro GmbH & Co. KG
Branch: Aviation
Service Period: 02/2023 – 12/2025
The challenge
A manufacturer of cabin-pressure management systems for commercial aircraft wanted to introduce MBSE into a development organisation built around traditional document-driven systems engineering.
The structural risk was clear: a methodological change that appears to be an engineering decision, but ultimately succeeds or fails at the interface between the new MBSE world and the existing process landscape.
Cooperation
Together, we built the organisational change required for the methodology to succeed. The work began with a needs and gap analysis that anchored the initiative in the realities of the organisation.
Based on these findings, we developed an MBSE concept using Simulink, CAMEO and SysML, which was piloted within a selected subsystem rather than across the entire portfolio. In parallel, we established the quality assurance and process bridges needed at the interface with the existing development approach, allowing the organisation to continue operating while the new methodology was introduced.
The result was not MBSE according to a textbook standard, but an MBSE approach tailored to the organisation’s specific context.
What we have achieved
Outcomes that remained after the engagement:
Tailored MBSE approach
A pilot project validated which aspects of MBSE worked in the organisation’s specific context — and which did not. The organisation gained evidence instead of assumptions.
Clarified interfaces
The interfaces between MBSE and traditional systems engineering were clearly defined, enabling smooth implementation while preserving valuable existing processes.
A sustainable change approach
A project-management framework for methodological change that successfully guided the team through two and a half years of transformation and changing stakeholder constellations.