A MATTER OF COURSE
virtually every international automaker in the world. Te primary instructor for the course was Macam Dattathreya, Ph.D., chief engineer at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center, which is co-located at the Detroit Arsenal with the NGCV CFT.
Te first iteration of the model-based requirements digital engi- neering course was held at the Detroit Arsenal in February 2024 and brought together about two dozen personnel for the instruction. Te course focused on the following concepts:
TOUCH POINT
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment participate in a virtual experiment at the Detroit Arsenal. The Soldiers were providing input on possible crew configurations for the XM30 Combat Vehicle. (Photo by Dan Heaton, NGCV CFT)
source of truth, a single centrally maintained model that is managed throughout a program’s life cycle.
• Model-based acquisition. • Model-based requirements. • Modeling a functional architecture. • Use cases and use case diagrams.
Model-based acquisition “is the technical approach to acquisi- tion that uses models and other digital artifacts as the primary means of information exchange, rather than document-based information exchange,” according to the model-based acquisi- tion standards published by the Object Management Group, a professional industry forum.
“One thing that the Army knows how to do well is to identify a challenge and then develop training to build the skill set necessary to meet that challenge.”
To assist Army engineers and technicians in closing the knowledge gap on the latest advancements in digital engineer- ing, the NGCV CFT used an on-staff contractor, Gerald Gomes, from within the CFT to design the course. Gomes leveraged his extensive experience working in a digital ecosystem. Before work- ing for NGCV CFT, he spent more than 20 years working as an engineer in the automotive industry. Gomes’ goal for the class was to focus on “institutionalized success,” which is a concept that creates a workflow to yield consistent results from one program to the next, even when a new team is in place. Gomes’ experience in the auto industry is a direct dividend of the Army’s decision to locate the NGCV CFT at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan, right down the street from the General Motors Tech- nical Center and a stone’s throw from engineering centers for
32 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2024
Tese models are intended to improve the RFP process through increased collaboration in their development and streamlined communication of changes and decisions within the Army and externally to our industry partners. Clearly articulated product requirements significantly reduce the waste of the communication loop associated with a document-based information exchange and provide product development teams a more focused effort around meeting the goals of the RFP.
Model-based requirements can be represented in several ways, but in the case of the NGCV CFT training, the focus was first on the “what” of a good requirement, which was followed by review of how various computer tools can be used to manage these require- ments. It is important to note that requirements exist to outline
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