2021-11-20: Introduction to MBSE using Cameo (Medina)

Date: Saturday, November 20, 2021

Speaker: Mr. Casey Medina

The day-long tutorial on a Saturday in November presented by Casey Medina of Studio SE was a huge success.  There were approximately 40 attendees at the event.  After instructing the students to set up Cameo, Casey started off with a top-level question about MBSE (Model-Based Systems Engineering): “What do I need to get started?”  That question led to a serious discussion on understanding the “why” of what we do as SEs.  Next, the class learned what questions we needed to ask and how to model in order to get the answers for our customers. He then asked 4 follow-up questions:

  1. What do I need to learn?

  2. What questions am I trying to answer?

  3. What process do I need to follow?

  4. Who needs to receive information contained in my model?

The session then moved onto the startup of the Cameo tool.  Even novices were able to follow Casey’s instruction as this was their first time using the tool.  Casey fielded multiple questions during the tutorial and was usually able to answer to the student’s satisfaction.  During the exercise, he covered all nine of the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) diagrams while building the sample model.  He ended up demonstrating one of the ultimate goals of using MBSE by displaying trade study analysis and simulation using Cameo.

This tutorial was a very condensed version of SE Studio’s 6-day Master Class. The Chesapeake Chapter is planning to hold specialized classes for interested parties in the MBSE journey. Additionally, the chapter is setting up an MBSE blog area to answer questions and to serve to be a place that can assist those who are in rough spots in using tools that support MBSE.