Rationalization of MBSE Modeling in a PLE with Capella | LGM & MBDA | Capella Days 2025

"Rationalization of MBSE Modeling in a Product Line Engineering (PLE) with Capella Presented by Sébastien Dubé from LGM and Dieter Wagner from MBDA Organized by Obeo and Thales. Hosted by Martin Le Bourgeois. The presentation slides are available on the Capella website: https://mbse-capella.org/resources/pd... *** The increasing complexity and variability of modern systems demand approaches that go beyond traditional MBSE practices. Customers expect highly tailored solutions, while industries must ensure efficiency, reuse, and digital continuity across product lines. Feature-based Product Line Engineering (FbPLE), standardized in ISO 26580 and supported by AFIS guidance, provides a structured methodology to manage variability by organizing engineering assets around features. When coupled with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), this approach evolves into Model-Based Product Line Engineering (MBPLE), enabling end-to-end consistency and traceability. MBDA, with the support of LGM, has engaged in a transformation program to rationalize MBSE modeling practices within a PLE environment. Capella, powered by the Arcadia methodology, plays a central role in this effort, ensuring that variability management and architectural modeling are tightly integrated with requirements and testing activities. Our industrial feedback highlights three main steps: Standardization: Adapting ISO 26580 and AFIS principles into MBDA’s environment through a dedicated PLE guidance. Integration: Connecting Capella models and Pure::Variants (variability management). Rationalization: Developing cross-domain processes and 150% models in Capella, from which customer-specific 100% configurations can be instantiated. The deployment demonstrates significant benefits: Stronger variability management, with consistent feature-driven reuse across projects. Enhanced digital continuity, linking requirements, system models, and test cases seamlessly. More efficient MBSE practices, as Capella is rationalized into a product line logic rather than isolated product models. Increased customer responsiveness, with the ability to derive architectures and configurations more quickly. This industrial case shows how Arcadia/Capella can be leveraged to achieve digital continuity and manage variability. *** Stay up to date on Capella news and events by following our socials here: Website: https://www.eclipse.org/capella/ LinkedIn :   / capella-mbse-tool   Capella Forum: https://forum.mbse-capella.org/ *** Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction & Abstract 2:11 - Great Engineering Transformation (GET) Context & Objectives 3:07 - Executive Summary - MBDA Transformation 4:33 - From Specific to Product Line Engineering 6:29 - PLE Business Case - Expected Benefits of PLE 8:06 - Needs for Reuse Enhancement - Vision 10:31 - Feature Based Product Line Engineering ISO 26580 12:00 - Feature Based Product Line Engineering FbPLE (ISO 26580) 15:23 - State of the Art and Communities 16:43 - MBPLE is One Side of the Story and MBE the other side 18:17 - Variation Points 22:04 - Simplified Actuator 22:53 - Exemple Atomic Variation Point 23:44 - Example Starting Variation Point 24:11 - Variability Strategies for Complex Systems with Different Hierarchical Levels 25:34 - Assembly Strategy - Relations between Capella Models and Feature Catalogue 26:24 - Guarantee the Change 27:18 - MBDA Greater Engineering Transformation - Results 28:00 - Conclusion 29:45 - Q&A : Did you use REC/RPL in addition to Pure::Variants to handle reuse ? 30:44 - Q&A : What degree of AI support do you employ? 31:48 - Q&A : How much extra effort does PLE add vs. classical development? 34:12 - Results of Pool "In your organization, how do you evaluate the reuse maturity?" 34:32 - Results of Pool "What is your deployment level of Feature Based Product Line Engineering approach?" 35:20 - Outro ***