Promoting Neurodiversity Through MBSE and Other Technical Approaches

Abstract

The Systems Engineering (SE) industry employs many people from the neurotypical and neurodivergent communities. This research presents different concepts and potential methods/tools available to promote neurodiversity and the complex interactions between those who are categorized by it, as well as the various relevant institutions it challenges and responds to (psychiatry, education, industry, etc.). Neurodiversity will mean different things at different times. The challenge we face in the industry is finding ways to work on complex systems that include neurodiverse thinking into the overall solution. This paper will attempt to bridge this gap by looking into the meaning of neurodivergence, showing the different ways organizations within the SE industry assess a neurodiverse individual to perform work, and demonstrating how organizations can utilize tools and methodologies to offer more inclusion and reduce feeling invisible within the community. This paper will further explain how modelbased systems engineering (MBSE) and simulation could provide methods and visualizations necessary to provide a cross-neurotype communication and visualization methodology to convey both abstract and concrete solutions to complex problems in SE. By adopting a neurodiverse perspective, we can alter actual relations; from how we empathize with the neurodivergent community, to how we design adaptable systems that evolve and expand into new functionalities and services.