Written by John Coleman, Ph.D. (Email John.Coleman@Engility.com)
Edited by Karen Register (Email karen.g.register.ctr@mail.mil )
Submitted November, 9, 2018

A quantitative and qualitative representation based on model formalisms that characterizes the exchange of digital artifacts between various roles and organizations in the engineering domain.

The Digital Engineering Information Exchange Model (DEIXM) is a representation of the quantitative and qualitative characterization of the exchanges of digital artifacts in the Model-Based Engineering (MBE) domain between various roles and organizations. The DEIXM for the MBE domain addresses the exchange of both graphical and non-graphical information found in model-centric digital artifacts. The MBE domain represents the methods, processes, tools, environments, and roles that one organizes to conduct MBE operations for the full lifecycle of systems or products. The DEIXM is a prescriptive model of the concept of operations, scenarios, use cases, and information required to exchange model-centric digital artifacts between disciplines and organizations. The DEIXM uses formalisms and semantics to describe the relationships, constraints, rules, and operations required to exchange MBE information. The DEIXM may represent a descriptive information exchange model that characterizes the current approach to exchange engineering domain information. Alternatively, the DEIXM may represent a prescriptive information exchange model that characterizes some future version of the means by which an engineering community exchanges information.

The International Council on Systems Engineering’s (INCOSE) International Workshop (IW) 2017 highlighted the need to establish an accepted set of Digital Artifacts to help the Systems Engineering (SE) practice transform to a more model-based discipline. At the INCOSE IW 2017, the participants made requests to the INCOSE SE Transformation Team and the Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Initiative to start a more enduring “Digital Artifacts” effort. INCOSE recommended standing up a Digital Artifacts Challenge Team for the INCOSE IW 2018 event. The United States (US) Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) collaborated with INCOSE to establish and conduct this Digital Artifacts Challenge team. As a result, to implement some of these concepts for standardizing digital artifacts exchanges, INCOSE, DoD (OSD), and National Defense Industry Association (NDIA) agreed to stand up a Digital Engineering Information Exchange (DEIX) Working Group to define information exchange requirements, models, standards, and terminology. This ConOps and Information exchange models for a DEIX enable a marketplace where participants in a global supply chain can offer, request, and exchange digital artifacts efficiently.

The Digital Engineering Information Exchange Model (DEIXM) provides a way to articulate the exchange of graphical and non-graphical digital artifacts among diverse stakeholders using digital technologies. The DEIXM describes how governments, industries, and academia offer, request, and exchange digital artifacts. The DEIXM also describes how the engineering community defines, creates, uses, and exchanges MBE digital artifacts during the full life cycle management of its systems and products. For any producer or consumer of engineering information, the DEIXM describes a way to leverage new digital technologies to visualize, communicate, and deliver MBE information to stakeholders. According to McDermott, et. al., the successful fulfillment of this purpose allows MBE information suppliers to insert their models into the buyers’ contextual framework and establish mutual agreements and comprehension of the components interfaces, interactions, and emergent behavior [1].

The DEIX Modeling Process uses the Federal CIO Council’s Information exchange package documentation (IEPD) lifecycle for participants of the NEIM [2] and Robert Suzie and Choong-ho Yi’s approach to progress from Information Exchange Requirements (IER) to an Information Exchange Model (IEM) [3]. Based on these two approaches, the DEIX Modeling process can include 1) Use case for information exchange relationships, 2) Elicitation & formalization of Information Exchange Requirements (IER) models, 3) Creation of Information Exchange Elements (IEE), 4) Mapping IEEs to Information Exchange Standards (IES), 5) Building and validating the new IEM, and, 6) publishing and implementing an IEM. [See glossary for definitions]

During the course of an OSD chaired Digital Engineering Working Group (DEWG) meeting, the community of federal agencies, industry, and academia discussed four use cases for exchanging MBE information. These use cases for MBE information exchanges are as follows [4]:

The MBE Information Access Use Case gives stakeholders the ability to review the original MBE information in its native location by way of remote or onsite access to MBE information files and software. Under the Access Use case, the creators and owners maintain the primary source of the MBE information as an authoritative source of truth. The owners also, have authority to enter into binding agreements on the type and scope of access granted to its stakeholders. The stakeholders’ may use internet technology, information network technology, cloud technology, or any of the above to gain remote access to the source of MBE information. This allows the Creators and owners to grant access on a need-basis; thus, protecting their Intellectual property. Alternatively, the stakeholder has access to any MBE information for which both parties establish agreements. The access may include the ability to interactively manipulate, modify, or copy any MBE established by agreed terms and conditions.

The synchronization use case allows the MBE information owners and creators to have one or more stakeholders with static versions, dynamic versions, interactive versions, or replicate versions of the MBE information. The parties agree to frequency and type of MBE information that they synchronize with its stakeholders’ systems. The MBE Information files may allow either unidirectional or bidirectional file synchronization. Again, unidirectional synchronization allows the creator and owner to manage the configuration of all of its replicate versions held by its stakeholders. Alternatively, it allows the stakeholders to have the most current “as-of-date” version of the files. The stakeholders may have “file reader’ versions of the software, API to convert the files to their software applications, or the duplicate version of software used by creators and owners. Bidirectional synchronization of files allows the creators, owners, and stakeholders to collaborate on MBE Information. However, it requires more rigorous processes and technologies to manage configuration control.

The use case for file transfers allows the owners to transfer MBE information files with the use of computer network technologies or delivery of digital media formats. In this use case, the stakeholders and the owners maintain the configuration control of their own files and take responsibility for the use and decisions made with their files. In this approach, the parties will agree on the content and file formats before the transfer. In most cases, if parties requests any updated files from another party; then, they will likely treat the requests as separate transactions.

The Third Party Management use case allows that MBE information owners to deliver all MBE and related software to a trusted third party that can manage access, transfers, or synchronizations in perpetuity. This allows the stakeholders or system buyers to have unfettered access to the MBE information during the lifespan of the products or systems, and in some cases, beyond the system’s lifespan for historical reference or reuse in other systems. In the third party managed use case, the owners may receive royalties and all parties that use the MBE information release them from any liability associated with the future use of the information. All users of the MBE information subscribe to services for the use of the MBE information.