Automatic Generation of Contractual Requirements From MBSE Artifacts

Abstract

This paper is intended to disseminate initial outcomes of the NPS Research Acquisition Program Automatic Generation of Contractual Requirements from MBSE Artifacts project. The research addresses the automatic generation of contractual requirements in textual form from models in a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) environment, enabling the transition from document-centric systems engineering to MBSE in acquisition programs. Textual requirements form the backbone of contracting in acquisition programs. Requirements define the problem boundaries within which contractors try to find acceptable solutions (design systems). At the same time, requirements are the criteria by which a customer measures the extent to which their contract has been fulfilled by the contractor. However, latent problems exist in acquisition programs stemming from poor practices in requirements engineering. Research suggests that transitioning to model-based requirements can be effective in coping with such challenges. We presented in prior work a framework to construct true model-based requirements within the context of the Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This research addresses the main question of whether contractual requirements in textual form can be automatically generated from those requirement models without loss of information or intent. We present in this paper an initial template of requirements and a process to support this goal.