Model-based engineering for embedded systems in practice

Model-Based Engineering (MBE) aims at increasing the e↵ectiveness
of engineering by using models as key artifacts in the development process.
While empirical studies on the use and the e↵ects of MBE in industry
generally exist, there is only little work targeting the embedded systems
domain. We contribute to the body of knowledge with a study on the
use and the assessment of MBE in that particular domain. Therefore, we
collected quantitative data from 112 subjects, mostly professionals working
with MBE, with the goal to assess the current State of Practice and the
challenges the embedded systems domain is facing. Of the 112 subjects,
the majority are experienced with MBE, working at large companies in
the automotive, avionics, or healthcare domains. Additionally, mainly
OEMs and First-tier suppliers are represented in the study. Our main
findings are that MBE is used by a majority of all participants in the
embedded systems domain, mainly for simulation, code generation, and
documentation. Reported positive e↵ects of MBE are higher quality and
improved reusability. Main shortcomings are interoperability diculties
between MBE tools, high training e↵ort for developers and usability
issues. The data also shows that there are no large di↵erences between
subgroups with respect to domains, position in the value chain, company
size and product size.