About This Release

Welcome to the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) build of our new System Architecture Modeler (SAM).

The Ansys Ansys SAM is a general-purpose system architecture modeling tool based on SysML v2. It is currently in the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage, meaning that it is not yet feature complete, but advanced enough to provide value and utility to our customers. You are invited to try it out and give us your honest feedback: What do you think about the current state of the modeler? What do you like? What do you not like? What features should we prioritize developing next? What features are a must have for you to consider using it in the future? What external tools will you want to integrate with the Ansys SAM?

Why SysML v2?

We chose SysML v2 for our modeler because we believe that it will be significantly easier to learn, easier to use, and more powerful than SysML v1. Compared to SysML v1, SysML v2 was designed to be:

  • More precise
  • More expressive
  • More intuitive and regular
  • More consistent
  • Have better interoperability with other engineering models and tools

SysML v2 is grounded in formal semantics and includes a very powerful API.

Note that SysML v2 is a completely new language compared to SysML v1, not a minor evolution. This means that there will be some important differences between the new modeler and older modelers that you may have used before, such as Cameo, Rhapsody, EnterpriseArchitect, and SCADE Architect.

The standardization and definition of the SysML v2 language is still in a state of development, with not all aspects of the language completely defined. For more information about SysML v2, including a comparison to SysML v1, refer to the document at the following link:

https://github.com/Systems-Modeling/SysML-v2-Release/blob/master/doc/Intro%20to%20the%20SysML%20v2%20Language-Graphical%20Notation.pdf

Key Differences in SysML v2

As you begin working in the new modeler, you will notice some obvious differences from previous SysML v1.x modelers due to differences in the new language. While details are given in the guide listed above, see the Appendix for an outline of the essential differences.

Key Characteristics of the Ansys SAM

Cloud-based The Ansys SAM will be capable of being installed on a public cloud such as AWS or Azure, or installed on an on-premises server. It will be accessible to any user from a standard web browser (if they have the proper log-in credentials and permissions). This means that our modeler will be scalable to a large number of users.

Real-Time Collaboration A key feature of the Ansys SAM is real-time collaboration. Multiple users will be able to work on model development at the same time, and each user will be able to see in real time what other users are doing.

Note: Note that real-time collaboration is only available in the context of an organization space and for organization projects.
Integrations The Ansys SAM will be tightly integrated with:
  • SCADE One for designing embedded software
  • medini analyze for system safety analysis
  • ModelCenter for general analysis, requirements verification, and optimization (both structural and behavioral). This means that you will be able to use any software tool (third-party or homegrown) to verify requirements and optimize your system design.
  • Ansys multi-physics and mission engineering tools The entire Ansys product suite can be integrated with the Ansys SAM via ModelCenter

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The Ansys SAM MVP is not feature complete. The focus on development to date has been on:
  • Structural Modeling (as opposed to behavioral modeling)
  • Graphical modeling (but will support SysML v2’s textual syntax in the future)
  • Requirements Modeling SysML v2 requirements modeling. Ability to import (with limitations – see below) requirements from DOORS NG and codebeamer.

In addition, the Tech Preview includes a limited ability to import SysML v1 models from Cameo. The conversion from SysML v1 to SysML v2 is not yet fully defined by the OMG, but the existing conversion should be sufficient to give you a head-start on SysML v2 if you have already started with SysML v1.

MVP Features and Capabilities

The following features and capabilities are included in the MVP build of the Ansys SAM:
  • Action diagrams (Actions, Accept Actions, Send Actions, Assignment Actions, Start/Done Actions, Items, Decision/Merge/Fork/Join control nodes).
  • Block diagrams (Parts, Items, Attributes, Ports, relationships such as Connectors, Enums, Requirements)
  • Annotations (Comments, Metadata, Images)
  • Use case diagrams (Use Cases, Actors, Subjects, Included use cases)
  • Features (multiple-)inheritance (Definitions, Specializations, Redefinitions, Subsets)
  • Model Validation (UI with basic rules. Validation is categorized as Error, Warning, or Info.)
  • Model Explorer (Tree view) expression filter
  • Diagram (View) Features (Display related elements, show/hide element relationships, copy/paste graphical elements, delete from model vs hide from view...)
  • Generic table editor (first version)
  • SysML2 standard libraries (for currently supported elements)
  • User Libraries with versions
  • Single file SysML2 textual importer (for currently supported elements, excluding user libraries)
  • SysML2 standard Rest API (list projects, list elements, read/write element, simple query)
  • Basic connectors for ModelCenter, Scade One, Medini
  • Docker based deployment packaging
  • Full web editor (no plugins required)
  • Live collaboration
  • Online repository of organization projects
  • Access rights management
  • Web Portal with organizations, organization members, teams and project management
  • Model versioning
  • Full modification traceability
  • Live view HTML pages automatically (on demand) generated based on model content
Known Limitations and Features Still Under Development
  • Full SysML v2 API not yet complete
  • Full textual syntax not yet supported
  • Behavior Modeling (Sequence views, Action flow views, State transition views, etc.)
  • Behavior Execution (Performances of Actions and States)
  • Action views are incomplete
  • Requirements import and SysML v1 conversion continue to be refined.
  • SysML v2 analysis cases are not yet supported
  • Change visualization (diff) not yet supported
  • Variants are not yet supported
  • Python API not yet supported
  • Requirements importers (DOORS NG and codeBeamer) have limitations
  • Importer for Cameo SysML v1 models has limitations
  • Full featured Table Editor (view/filter/edit sort) not yet complete
  • Excel import not yet supported
  • DSL (Domain Specific Languages) not yet implemented
  • Review and Consistency checker not yet implemented
  • Creation of Reports not yet implemented
  • Offline work mode not implemented
  • Model review features not yet implemented
  • Enhanced configuration management (branch/merge) not yet implemented
  • Constraint usages in packages are not available
  • Visualization of connection definitions
  • Expressions are simple text only (for example, in constraints)
  • The SysML standard library is not complete
  • Editing models & collaboration may not work if web sockets are blocked by a firewall
  • Attributes, Constraints and Items cannot be moved (or shown) in another model element container
  • Feature Inheritance is not yet fully supported
    • Currently only the block diagram and a subset of the action diagram and use case diagram are supported