Systems Engineering Camp June 2018 in Erlangen

The first Systems Engineering Camp in Erlangen took place on June 28, 2018, and was a complete success. In this article, I would like to provide an overview of the event for all participants, as well as those who were unable to attend.

The idea for the camp

The basic idea behind the event was to establish a regular, regional exchange on the topic of systems engineering in the Northern Bavaria region. The Barcamp format was used for this purpose. Unlike previous Systems Engineering Barcamps, this was an evening event instead of a full-day event. This allowed participants to attend the event without taking vacation or having to use the weekend. The idea for the camp originated, as you would expect, at another Systems Camp. Daniela Kaiser (Krones AG), Jan Vollmar (Siemens AG), and I (Goran Madzar) wanted to exchange ideas more regularly without having to travel long distances. We organized the event together.

The participants

With 23 participants, the first Systems Camp in Erlangen was well attended. The event was announced three weeks in advance via the blog, newsletter, social media, word of mouth, and XING. Participants were able to write down information about themselves on a flip chart.

The Agenda

The official part of the event ran from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. I gave a short welcome presentation and explained what systems engineering actually is. Most participants had never been to a Barcamp before, so the format and Barcamp rules were introduced. Following this, there was information about the program and organizational aspects. Together, we defined the topics for the sessions. The first session was reserved for presenting the concept of the regular regional exchange on systems engineering. The other two sessions were chosen by the participants. At the end, there was a retrospective and farewell, with the unofficial part lasting until shortly before midnight :-)

The location

The first Systems Engineering Barcamp in Erlangen was held at our company's premises. Meatloaf, pasta salad, rolls, pretzels, and local beer specialties were well received :-)

The topics for the sessions

Participants had the opportunity to make suggestions, which were then collected and grouped on a wall. Each participant then voted on the two topics they were most interested in, and the two sessions were selected.

Session 1 – Systems Engineering Working Group Bavaria Northeast

A regular exchange about systems engineering without long travel times and on a regular basis. This idea was the focus of the first session. Such an event could be held four to six times per year. Participants favored an evening event. The majority suggested a start time of 5:00–6:00 p.m. A review of whether this working group should be hosted under the umbrella organization of the GfSE or the VDI is currently underway.

Session 2 – Handling Changes / Inconsistency Management

The topic of dealing with system changes and consistency checks was considered very interesting by the participants. Therefore, we addressed this topic in Session 2. First, we established that there are both intentional and unintentional changes to the system. Intentional changes can be planned and thus easily tracked, for example, through test cases, use cases, and misuse cases, through the implementation of interdisciplinary teams, and a sufficiently thorough definition of the system engineering system. Wikispeed was cited as a good example of interdisciplinary, agile teams. Unintentional changes cannot be planned and must therefore be made manageable in order to make the impact on processes and technical components visible. Adapting the company's infrastructure is an important preparation for this. Traceability options should also be utilized, and good stakeholder management should be established.

To manage changes, it is essential to capture, validate, and verify requirements at the beginning of a project. A change can impact various systems within the company—both technical and physical and organizational.

Session 3 – Design techniques of systems engineering

In Session 3, design techniques for system models were discussed. Participants expressed a desire for a modeling kit with proven solution approaches. A good way to visualize such patterns and establish them within the company is to use posters that collect the kit components. An important aspect was that the models should not remain solely in the tools (e.g., Enterprise Architect), but should also be printed out and displayed on the walls.

Models out of the tools and up onto the walls.

Models are not an end in themselves and are best created and used by a team. There are also methods for involving the customer without requiring any SysML background knowledge.

However, it has also been discovered that detailed models pose a danger. The architect falls in love with his architecture and perceives the client or developers as a nuisance when they propose changes that affect the architecture. The danger lies in the fact that the model is viewed as the "truth" and is reluctant to question.

The connection between architecture and agility was also discussed. Architecture is particularly important in agile projects. Even with an agile approach, it's important to ensure that the architecture doesn't change as much as possible. Otherwise, you might have to start development from scratch (e.g., airplane instead of car). Therefore, it's important that the architecture addresses aspects that are difficult to change.

There were two literature recommendations in the session:

• Design It!: From Programmer to Software Architect by Michael Keeling

• arc42 in action: Practical tips for architectural documentation by Gernot Starke and Peter Hruschka

The feedback from the participants

Participants’ feedback was collected using a starfish diagram.

My personal conclusion

It was a fantastic event, and I received a lot of positive feedback from the participants. Many people also told me they'd like to be there next time. So, there will definitely be another event in the not too distant future. I'll provide information about it on the blog, in the newsletter, and on Xing. I'm already looking forward to it.

Best regards

Goran Madzar