David Long , Vitech

Bio: For 25 years, David Long has focused on helping organizations increase their systems engineering proficiency while simultaneously working to advance the state of the art across the community. David is the founder and president of Vitech Corporation, where he developed CORE™, a leading systems engineering software environment. He co-authored A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering, and is a frequent presenter at industry events around the world. A committed member of the systems community and ESEP, David is the immediate past president INCOSE.

James Hummell , MBSE Solutions

Bio: James Hummell has been working in Modeling for over 20 years. Beginning his career in Aerospace building up design elements necessary for certification using UML. Building simulation, and process environments for customers. He’s worked on integrations for modeling tools, and worked to make the modeling environments easier to adopt. He’s worked on the SysML Specification since v1.0 of the specification and has authored a couple of the chapters in the specification. He’s also worked with the RTCA in the Do178C specification for model based software and systems design and verification. He’s spent the last 8 years doing SysML training and consulting. Providing training & consulting services for all the major brands of SysML tools in the market place including but not limited to PTC Integrity Modeler, NoMagic Cameo Enterprise, and IBM Rational Rhapsody.
Positions:
1. Modeling tools don't give you everything you need.
There is always a need to add your own Domain Specific Language (DSL) creating the right environment for your organization.
Systems Engineering doesn't start and stop with SysML it's only a part of the work flow so creating the integrations to the tools used during the course of the SE's job, automating as much as possible makes the use of SysML/MBSE more palatable.
Just having the right reports, the right integrations, ease of use utilities built in makes it so much easier to do the job.
The tools get you 80 percent there but I'm as a consultant am always having to help that last little bit to narrow down and help create something specific that makes it really work for the Engineers.
2. SysML takes a bit of getting used to.
It's not Visio nor Powerpoint, it has structure and rules on how to construct it.
Systems engineers have to learn the tool eccentrics and learn the language making it hard to get things started.
In my experience hiring an expert to help guide them on their way always gets them quick started and on their path with a much easier adoption.
Conclusion: Hire a knight to slay the dragons, don't take it on yourself.

David Walden , Sysnovation

Bio: David D. Walden, ESEP, is co-owner and principal consultant for Sysnovation, LLC, an SE consulting and training firm he formed in 2006. Previously, Mr. Walden was with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems for 13 years and McDonnell Aircraft Company for 10 years. Mr. Walden was the PM of the INCOSE Certification Program from 2007-2013. He is an INCOSE liaison to ISO/IEC JTC1/SC7 Working Groups 10 and 20 and the lead editor of the INCOSE SE Handbook Fourth Edition. He has an M.S. in Management of Technology (MOT) from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Valparaiso University in Indiana. Mr. Walden was one of the first to earn the INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) credential in 2004 and was awarded the INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP) credential in 2011.
Positions:
MBSE is Useless without a Solid Understanding of SE.

Matthew Hause , PTC

Bio: Matthew Hause is a PTC Engineering Fellow and MBSE Technical Specialist, the co-chair of the UAF group a member of the OMG Architecture Board, and a member of the OMG SysML specification team. He has been developing multi-national complex systems for over 35 years. He started out working in the power systems industry. He has experience in military command and control systems, process control, manufacturing, factory automation, communications, SCADA, distributed control, office automation and many other areas of technical and real-time systems. His roles have varied from project manager to developer. His role at PTC includes mentoring, sales presentations, standards development, presentations at conferences, specification of the UAF profile and developing and presenting training courses. He has written over 100 technical papers on architectural modeling, project management, systems engineering, model-based engineering, human factors, safety critical systems development, virtual team management, product line engineering, systems of systems, systems and software development with UML, SysML and Architectural Frameworks such as DoDAF and MODAF. He has been a regular presenter at INCOSE, the IEEE, BCS, the IET, the OMG, AIAA, DoD Enterprise Architecture, Embedded Systems Conference and many other conferences. He was recently a keynote speaker at the Model-based Systems Engineering Symposium at the DSTO in Australia. Matthew studied Electrical Engineering at the University of New Mexico and Computer Science at the University of Houston, Texas.
Positions:
In history, mythology and legend, dragons represented several things. In the Hobbit, the dragon jealously guarded a store of gold preventing others from gaining access. In SE, these dragons are the reluctance to innovate and adopt new technology, the “Not Invented Here Syndrome”, and “But we’ve always done it this way”. Change is inevitable and those who resist change will be left far behind. We need to be bold, experiment and fail early and fail often. That is what SE is all about. In ancient cartography, uncharted waters would be marked with the phrase, “Here Be Dragons”. This would indicate the unknown or more specifically unknown dangers. When people eventually sailed into these waters they found no dragons, but instead found exciting, rich and fertile lands. SE is a skill and capability that is learned by doing. We need to exercise and challenge these new techniques, technologies and processes to learn how to best use them and push ahead. In the more recent Game of Thrones (GoT), the dragons are a dangerous weapon that when not effectively controlled caused unforeseen and tragic consequences. These dragons are the lack of training and mentoring for systems engineers. In MBSE this is particularly costly. Bad models, large and useless models, poorly executed models and models created for the wrong audience have given MBSE a bad name and discourage adoption. We need to use the MBSE tools correctly or they will end up being dangerous project killers. Training and adoption of best practices is the only way to do this. Finally, Saint George was the hero who slew the dragon and rescued the beautiful maiden. So, in the manner of St George let us all don our armor and slay the dragons that prevent us from achieving the INCOSE 2025 vision. Who know, we might also win the fair lady as well. And since the number of female systems engineers is finally starting to increase, dashing gentlemen may also be won.

Eric Alexander

Bio:
As a member of the systems architecture team at TARDEC, I am responsible for leading and supporting architecture developments for small and large programs & projects across the organization. I am also involved in efforts to integrate and develop best practices in systems architecture in order to enhance the TARDEC system architecture capability as a unified front. This involves coordinating and participating in TARDEC architecture working group and contributing to the development of a common library of reusable model elements to streamline and standardize system models across TARDEC. As a system architecture lead on a project, I am responsible for creating & maintaining an integrated system model that describes the entire system structure and behaviors as well as perform analysis on the system model to generate meaningful metrics to key stakeholders. In order to maintain a well-integrated and comprehensive model that is useful to the project, I interact daily with subject matter experts, military operations specialists, requirements engineers, and program management.