SysML Parametric Diagrams in Business Applications

Abstract

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been extensively used in the systems engineering domain. It has become a commonly accepted standard. However, not all expectations of system engineers have been met by UML. Therefore, a new language, based on UML but strongly supplemented by notions specific for the systems engineering field, has been proposed by the International Council on System Engineering (INCOSE) and Object Management Group (OMG). New types of diagrams specific for the technical spheres of systems engineering have been proposed and included in a standard set of 9 types of SysML diagrams. While they are successfully used in systems engineering, systems analysts have gone the opposite way—they have experimented with the appropriateness of SysML diagrams for applications in business and administration organizations. In this chapter, a case study of inventory control systems in industrial and commercial organizations, originating from business principles, theory of prognosis and operations research, is used to verify the usefulness of one of the leading and most characteristic SysML diagrams, i.e. the Parametric Diagram. Following the Introduction, the role of SysML in the development of inventory control systems is outlined. In Sect. 3, a Block Definition Diagram as a basis for parametric analysis is specified. Section 4 provides selected case study results. The chapter is finalized with Conclusions.