How to use MBSE to deliver effective solutions in the Telecom domain? Everyone depends on secure and robust communication networks. Nowadays communication service providers need to adapt more quickly, with increasing network complexity and financial pressure. It is often necessary to deploy the latest technology to keep up with competitive and capacity demands but, without a systems approach, one still risks user frustration, projects overruns and market delays. In such an environment, how does one develop communication network solutions that satisfy stakeholders? There is strong evidence that a model-based systems approach effectively manages complexity and reduces risk. The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) provides a worked example for communication service providers to achieve competitive advantage.

1. Effective Communication
Network Development
through a Model-Based
Systems Approach
Fabrice Lestideau
Thinksystems Pty Ltd
fabrice.lestideau@thinksystems.com.au
John Risson
Anacom Pty Ltd
johnrisson@anacom.com.au
with special thanks to Stéphane Lacrampe fromMay 27/28, 2020

2. Outline
Communications Service Providers solve the world’s biggest
communication problems. These are complex,
transdisciplinary problems. Model-based systems approaches
help.
We demonstrate how the Arcadia method aids
communication network development. It communicates
consistent, complete, validated, engineered end-to-end
network solutions.
Question and Answer
2

3. 3

4. Network Development is Complex
4
Communication Service Provider
Customer InvestorCompetitor
Regulator Threat
Infrastructure ProviderVendorLaw Enforcement and Public Safety
Value and complexity comes from diverse and changeable interactions
between a Communication Service Provider, its stakeholders and its environment

5. Networks are Complicated
5
Complication arises from the number and variety of
network parts and their interfaces
• Capacity demands and cost constraints
drive network and network
management upgrades
• Devices are seldom removed from the
network as the business case usually
concludes, “Sweat the asset”
• Point operational issues lead to more
tools and functions
• Network virtualization, disaggregation,
security, 5G, Internet-of-Things, edge
computing and artificial intelligence
increase component, interface and
function counts
Network Metric Number
Customer devices Billions
Network element variants
per service provider
Hundreds
Support systems
per service provider
Hundreds
Network functions Hundreds
Business functions Hundreds

6. Network Development is Transdisciplinary
6
To get the best outcomes, optimize decisions across disciplines.
This requires communication across disciplines.
Developers
• Users
• Operators
• Network engineers
• Software developers
• Network and IT architects
• Testers
• Facility engineers
Specialists
• Security
• Business process
• User experience
• Data science
Managers
• Project
• Business
• Product
• Regulatory
• Finance

7. A Music Analogy
7
Music also depends on composition, practice and
performance across many disciplines.
• There are key concepts common across disciplines
• They can express complexity
• They are communicated across disciplines in ways
that enable reuse, improvement, refinement and
very rapid decisions
We need key concepts that integrate network disciplines despite complexity

8. A Systems Approach Integrates Network
Disciplines and Copes with Complexity
System concepts integrate the
network disciplines:
• Systems with attributes,
state, processes and
dynamic behaviour
• External interactions
between the system and its
environment
• Internal system elements,
with interactions and
hierarchic relationships
between them
• Hierarchy and abstraction
cope with network
complexity
8
By investing 7% of development budget on a systems approach - much less
than typically spent on fixing faults – the average development cost drops by
over 20% and likelihood of delivering on time increases by 50%.
Honour, E.C., “Systems engineering return on investment”, PhD Thesis, University of South Australia, Jan 2013.

9. Complete Consistent Models have Multiple
Benefits
9
Reduced
risk
Improved cost
estimates
Early & on-going
simulation & automatic
verification
Improved systems
assurance
Fewer errors during
integration & testing
Improved
quality
Improved specification
& allocation to
subsystems
Early identification of
requirements issues
Improved traceability
Enhanced system
design integrity
Consistency within &
across projects
Increased
productivity
Improved impact
analysis of changes
Improved
communication across
disciplines
Reuse for design &
technology evolution
Automated generation
of documentation
Changes are made in
fewer places
Models help to fix problems earlier

10. Models give Better Solutions in Less Time
Reduce specification, architecture & verification
time
Avoid wasting funds on unprofitable upgrades
Lower the risk of late, high-impact design flaws
10
Solve problems with network development incrementally.

11. Mobile and Broadband Communication
Communication Network Solution
Digital
Storefront
Network Service Manager
E2E Service
Management
Management
Domain(s)
Network
Access
Network
Edge
Network
Core
Network
Transmission
Network
Facilities
11
“Models are defined independent from the implementation of the
managed entities in order to facilitate portability, reusability and to
allow vendor-neutral management”
- ETSI Zero-touch network and Service Management (ZSM) Reference Architecture, August 2019

12. Model-based systems approaches
help
Communications Service Providers
solve the world’s biggest
communication problems –
complex,
transdisciplinary problems
The Expected Outcomes
12

13. 13

14. The Method: ARCADIA
14
Developed and applied successfully by Thales since 2006
Adopted by major companies & universities in different domains globally

15. ARCADIA Phases
15

16. ARCADIA Key Concepts
16
Is described by
involves
involves
implements

17. The Tool
17
• Open Source
• Collaboration
• Support from Obeo

18. Diving in the system
18

19. The Context of the Case Study:
Mission and Capabilities
19
Capability :
Operate Communication Solution
Functional Chain:
Customer get service
Capability :
Deliver Communication
Functional Chain:
Customer uses Service

20. 20
The Context of the Case Study:
Involved Actors
Capability :
Operate Communication Solution
Functional Chain:
Customer get service
Capability :
Deliver Communication
Functional Chain:
Customer uses Service

21. System Functions
21

22. Interactions between Customer
and System
22
Functional Chains: Customer get service
Customer uses service

23. Diving in the system
23

24. System Components
24

25. Functions Decomposition
25

26. Dive into the System:
Customer get service
26

27. Dive into the System:
Customer uses Service
27

28. Diving into the system
28

29. Network Components
29

30. Customer Get Service
30

31. Customer Uses Service
31

32. Different perspectives
32
Multiple views for free
Update one, update all

33. Different perspectives
33
Complementary views check model completeness

34. 34

35. Cost Reduction & Time to Market
35
• Functional Analysis linked to requirements
requirement
requirement
requirement
Updating the model Updating the requirement set

36. Cost Reduction & Time to Market
36
• Functional Analysis linked to requirements
R
R
R
Test Procedure
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case
Test Case

37. Improving Resilience
37
Security: Threat Analysis

38. Other Benefits
38
• Interface generation
• Simulation
• Trade-off analysis
• Impact analysis
• Safety analysis
• Requirements generation
• Document generation

39. Identifying the Best Approach
Use
Model
Frame
Problem
Design
Method
Collect
Data
Create
Model
Deploy
Model
Determine:
• Uses and users
• Scope and context
• Information and data
to be captured
• Views and products
to be built
39
Start here
Do not
start here
Martin, J., “Problem Framing: Identifying the Right Models for the Job”, 29th INCOSE Int’l Symposium, Florida, July 2019
The model-based systems approach is a journey

40. International Council on Systems Engineering
Telecommunications Working Group
Purpose
• To improve delivery of
telecommunications solutions by
enhancing the systems
engineering body of knowledge
for telecommunications
applications
Stakeholders
• Critical and emergency services
personnel
• Federal and municipal
governments, utilities and
transportation agencies
• Enterprise and consumer users of
commercial telecommunications
services
Projects
• Commercial communication
networks
• Critical communication networks
Events and Publications
• International Wireless
Communications Expo IWCE2020
• INCOSE International Symposium
• INCOSE International Workshop
• Weekly working group
40
To engage with the INCOSE Telecommunications Working Group,
please email johnrisson@anacom.com.au
incose.org

41. Conclusions
• We demonstrated the Arcadia method and its functional chains for a
commercial communication solution.
• The approach can be applied to network communication solutions
more generally.
• We believe model-based systems approaches enable competitive
advantage in the telecommunications industry, just as it has in other
industries.
41

42. Questions
42
Thankyou
Fabrice Lestideau
Thinksystems Pty Ltd
fabrice.lestideau@thinksystems.com.au
John Risson
Anacom Pty Ltd
johnrisson@anacom.com.au