With the free formalmind Studio, it is finally possible to do professional requirements engineering, without having to invests thousands in a tool that offers far more than the typical user needs.  While we’re working on improving the documentation, getting started can be a challenge.  But fear not, help is on the way.

Canceled Free Workshop: Pragmatic Requirements Engineering (Munich, October 14, 2014, in German)

Together with our partner MixedMode, Dr. Michael Jastram will hold a free workshop on requirements engineering.  It covers the basics – why are requirements needed, and how can they be elicited?  Using a hands-on example, and ProR/formalmind Studio as the tool, participants will learn about the management of requirements, traceability and change management.

Sign up here >>

EclipseCon Europe: Eclipse for Teaching Systems Engineering (Ludwigsburg, October 28-30)

System Engineering is taught, both in industry and academia. The availability of open source tools creates a lot of interest for using those tools in teaching. But, to date, initiatives have not been coordinated.  At EcipseCon Europe in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, Michael Jastram will talk about Eclipse in Systems Engineering.

Model-driven Systems Engineering with Eclipse (Bremen, November 12, 2014, in German)

As part of the “System Engineering Day” by the German chapter of Incose (“Tag des System Engineering”), Dr. Michael Jastram will offer a tutorial on Systems Engineering with Eclipse.  Eclipse is now a mature systems engineering environment that is used in production environments.  The major components for Systems Engineering in the Eclipse Ecosystem will be presented, loosely aligned with the V-Model. There will be a focus on ProR (requirements) and Papyrus (UML/SysML) as examples of mature components.

As a visitor of the conference, the tutorial is free.

Open Up: How the ReqIF Standard for Requirements Exchange Disrupts the Tool Market

If you don’t have time to visit either of the above events, we can offer you at least some free reading: The free RE-Magazine from IREB just published an article by Michael Jastram on the history and impact of the ReqIF-Standard.  If there are questions about the ReqIF Standard that you always wanted to ask, but never dared, you may find the answers in this article.

Read now >>

We Offer Training

If you don’t have time to visit either of the above events, fear not: We will come to you. We are experts on various aspects of Systems Engineering – whether you use traditional appraoches, model-driven SE or even formal specifications.  We currently offer the following four standard trainings on your premises:

• Requirements Engineering with formalmind Studio. This workshop provides a solid introduction to requirements engineering that is suited for novices and advanced participants alike.  There will be a strong focus on using tools effectively, which is important for collaboration and scalability.
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• Systems Engineering with Eclipse. While open source does not always provide the same quality of industry tools, the price is unbeatable, and the flexibility unseen in commercial applications.  In addition, the risk of long term support is significantly lower than for commercial tools.  This means that the use of Eclipse tools can make sense, and it could even be a strategic decision, as it is for companies like Airbus or Ericsson.
  Learn more >>
   
• Formal Methods – how to do that anyway? An overview of formal methods in the context of standards like IEC 61508 or ISO 26262.  This course helps decision makers to understand where the use of formal methods can make sense, and provides technical staff with a high-level overview on what methods are available.
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• ReqIF is here – the Requirements Interchange Format. An introduction to the Requirements Interchange Format.  This training provides technical staff with all they need for implementing the standard, and decision makers information for a cost-benefit analysis.
  Learn more >>

New Initiative: SE Teaching

While Systems Engineering is taught in universities, there are huge differences between institutions and the material is not always relevant.  We see a huge opportunity for open tooling to act as a catalyst.  It allows the material to be taught in a vendor-neutral way, and the tools to be adapted to the methods used.  Tooling also allows projects to scale, thereby making the work more relevant to industry needs.

We recently initiated a discussion on the use of open tooling in education.  In a short while, 130 comments accumulated, and slowly, a plan is emerging.  We are currently recruiting activists from academia and industry to collaboratively build up a case study, specifically for teaching.  The materials will be made available for everyone to use under an open license.

We are particularly interested in engaging everybody who teaches systems engineering (teachers, trainers, consultants, professors), so please contact us if this fits your profile, or forward this information to your colleagues.

Join the discussion >>

Sneak Preview: New fmStudio Features

We spent the summer working hard on making formalmind Studio better.  We’re not quite ready yet, but nevertheless just put an updated version on our download site.  You may particularly like that we now have a Quick Search feature in the toolbar, which searches the open specification as you type (shown to the right).  The selection dialog for multi-value enumerations also got improved.  A more elaborate update will follow in a few weeks.

Note regarding updates: We made some significant changes to our update architecture.  Depending on what version you use, updating via Help | Check for Updates may not work.  In that case, please download a fresh copy of formalmind Studio.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  Updates should work reliably from now on.

Beta-Testers wanted!

A month ago, we announced that we will soon publish a commercial component that supports the HIS Exchange Process.  In a few weeks, we will start beta-testing.  We already signed up a number of testers. Respond here if you would like to participate in the beta test.

Team Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Book Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net