We are proud to announce the upcoming webinar with Dr. Michael Jastram on pragmatic interface management with SysML. Register now for free to participate on September 25, 2025 at 16:00 CET online.
Why is interface management important? It’s often the little things that make the biggest difference when introducing Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) into an organization. Among them, interfaces stand out as one of the most overlooked yet powerful catalysts for change. They play a crucial role in communicating with key stakeholders, like design teams, testers, suppliers, and many others. While MBSE delivers a level of precision and consistency that traditional documents simply can’t match, these benefits often remain out of reach for many stakeholders because of cultural habits, technical barriers, or limited access to modeling tools.
What is an interface anyway?
According to ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-6, an interface is “the point at which two or more logical or physical system elements interact with each other”. In short: this is where data, energy or signals are transferred and where it is decided whether parts will later interact seamlessly or whether expensive improvements will have to be made.
Due to the software-heavy nature of systems, the relevance of interfaces has increased considerably. In particular, software interfaces require different management than mechanical or electronic interfaces.
Don’t forget to register!
Interface descriptions: From document to model
Traditionally, interfaces are used in Interface Control Documents (ICDs) are recorded. This works well for document-based work. However, maintaining ICDs (and other documents) is extremely time-consuming.
However, when used correctly, ICDs also work for agile working. This has Joe Justice in his ReConf presentation explained. What was interesting here was that the ICDs were used to divide up the work: Joe had disassembled the entire vehicle with only seven ICDs, each ICD was only one page long.
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There’s also a Video and a Whitepaper
This work is the result of a collaboration with Formal Mind and SodiusWillert. In addition to the webinar, we produced a 9-minute video and a whitepaper, showcasing these concepts with IBM Rhapsody and Power Pack from SodiusWillert.
Why you should join the webinar
Modeling interfaces instead of describing them with documents helps to master the complexity in systems engineering. If we do not want to impose the entire model on all stakeholders, the interface descriptions are one of the first elements that are of great benefit to others. We should therefore make these available first, and in a way that has a high level of acceptance. And these are documents.
If you would like to know more, and in particular ask questions, register for the webinar on 25.09.2025.
