Introduction to the Agile Systems Engineering Life Cycle MBSE Pattern

Engineered and other systems are under pressure to adapt, from opportunities or competition, predators, changing environment, and physical or cyberattack. Ability to adapt well enough as conditions change, especially in presence of uncertainty, is valued. Systems (including developmental and life cycle management) that adapt well enough, in time, cost, and effectiveness, are sometimes called “agile”. As environmental change or uncertainty increase, agility can mean survival. Agile systems and agile systems engineering are subjects of an INCOSE 2015‐16 discovery project, described elsewhere. This paper introduces the underlying MBSE‐based Agile Systems Engineering Life Cycle Pattern being used to capture, analyze, and communicate key aspects of systems being studied. More than an ontology, this model helps us understand necessary and sufficient conditions for agility, different approaches to it, and underlying relationships, performance couplings, and principles. This paper introduces the framework, while specific findings about methods and practicing enterprises studied will be reported separately.