Abstract
Digital engineering at scale requires model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to remain traceable while multidisciplinary analysis and optimization (MDAO) evolves rapidly across distributed teams and tools. Direct tool to tool links create conflicting ‘sources of truth’ because MBSE typically holds system level requirements while MDAO environments hold subsystem and component level data. This paper introduces a tool agnostic framework that resolves this conflict by establishing an authoritative source of truth (ASOT) outside the MBSE and MDAO environments. The ASOT is a version-controlled, unit and type aware data schema with stable identifiers. MBSE and MDAO artifacts are synchronized with idempotent read/write APIs, enabling seamless data transfer. A demonstration developed under NASA s Sustainable Flight National Partnership automatically instantiates and updates a system model from the ASOT, preserving structure, identifiers, and units. A concrete mapping between The Boeing Company’s Aircraft Data Hierarchy and the SysML modeling language is enabled by open-source adapters (Jython for Magic System of Systems Architect, Python for OpenMDAO), which implement the synchronization and produce auditable change logs. The resulting weak coupling reduces training/licensing burden and supports distributed collaboration while maintaining traceability required by emerging digital engineering guidance. The framework, API code, and workflow patterns are reusable for coupling other MBSE and MDAO environments.
Paul Mokotoff
PhD Student and Graduate Research Assistant
Paul Mokotoff is a graduate student research assistant in the IDEAS Lab at the University of Michigan.
