Model-Based System Engineering and Software System Safety Workshop

The G-48 System Safety Committee sponsored a Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) and Software System Safety (SSS) workshop, hosted by A-P-T Research, Inc. (APT) in Huntsville, Alabama, on May 2-3, 2017. The idea of this workshop evolved at the 34th International System Safety Conference (ISSC) in Orlando, Florida, during presentations and a paper by Barry Hendrix, which noted that the MBSE needs to include more system safety and software system safety processes. An action recorded under urgent-need topics by International System Safety Society (ISSS) Fellow Dave West at the G-48 meeting in Orlando resulted in volunteers to host and coordinate the workshop. The MBSE SSS workshop consisted of a panel of seven subject matter experts. Approximately 40 attendees were present and more than 70 people viewed the workshop via a NASA live video streaming feed. The MBSE SSS panel consisted of Barry Hendrix, APT; Dr. Fayssal Safie, APT; Dr. Donna Havrisik, Government Agency System Engineering; Josh McNeil, AMRDEC Software Engineering Directorate (SED); David Arterburn, University of Alabama Huntsville; Joe Hale, NASA; and Paul Gill, NASA. Many attendees were from local Redstone Arsenal agencies, such as AMCOM, PEO Missiles & Space, and the Missile Defense Agency. Several contractors from companies within Cummings Research Park also attended. Special out-of-town guests included Peggy Rogers, U.S. Navy Software System Safety Technical Review Panel (SSTRP); Bob McAlister, U.S. Air Force; and Lynece Pfledderer, Lockheed Martin (LM), along with five other LM attendees from Texas, Florida and Connecticut.