Measuring Progress and Defining Productivity Metrics in Model-based Engineering

An RT-332 survey identified that there are no established, industry-wide standard processes and metrics for measuring the progress and productivity of a model-driven engineering process.

MMI definitions, measured in discrete levels of 100, 200, 300, 350, 400, 500, and 600, help measure maturity of the model, by modeling discipline, as a function of what is modeled and the quality of the data used to create the model.

Through a set of MMI-based questionnaires and by accounting for the relationships between model disciplines, a Model MRI Toolkit easily and quickly determines the MMI levels for each model discipline, by its location in the project's Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

RT-332 developed this Excel tool as a proof of concept, but a spreadsheet cannot offer the functionality that the team envisioned. The actual benefit of the project findings would only be available if a company implemented the findings in its modeling tools. The Excel file shows the categories of disciplines and components that could be used in a more sophisticated model, but an Excel file cannot interact with your company’s modeling tools.

The Model MRI Toolkit is available for CII member download from the Related Resource link below.

The addendum helps project teams to adopt and adapt the MMI definitions and the Model MRI toolkit to suit their project needs, and to set clear expectations on the maturity of the model deliverables at each project milestone.

The applicability of the RT-332 research was extensively validated via several charrettes with industry experts. An example project is provided in Final Report 332, to help project teams adopt and adapt the guidelines based to their projects’ specific needs.