A reflection on the use of A3 architecture overview in designing Wave Energy Converters

This paper is a reflective paper on what we learned through the course called Systems Engineering Modeling and Analysis (SEMA). Through the course, we applied modeling in an incremental product development process. The paper uses examples and reflection on the application of model based systems engineering in the company CorPower Ocean. They are working on a new product development of a wave converter, called Wave Energy Converter (WEC). The framework used through the course is the CAFCR+ model. The teams iterated through the different views of the model several times by the help of time-boxes and flip-overs. Through a 10-week post assignment, the models were elaborated further and we ended up with four A3s; one for the overview of the system, one for the installation operation, one for the maintenance operation and one that illustrates part of the maintenance operation in more detail. Stakeholders at CorPower Ocean use these A3s as a communication and discussion tool.