Ron Rand

Background

About Ron Rand

Lead Systems and Chief engineering experience in DE/MBSE, payload/sensor integration, missile systems design and development, manned aircraft multi-sensor payload integration and data management, Systems Integration, and unmanned aircraft design and development. My work environment incorporates an Agile Process and Development world, removing stove piped technology thinking and monolithic design to create a more loosely coupled non-proprietary and competitive environment. The old Waterfall development process is now obsolete. My focus is to develop a more collaborative environment where a design can be easily reviewed and understood with Customers and all stakeholders, not just to get my design out the door. With building a true collaboration environment, called Digital Engineering (DE), it becomes a much more efficient Design and Development process. The DE process is a true enabler to identify, create Capabilities, Use Cases, Activity Diagrams, Block Definition Diagrams, Interface Block Diagram, Parametric and Simulation for analysis, including decomposition of Use Cases into creation and derivation of requirements and System Architecture. It is also important to use the Digital Engineering process to show verification, validation, and satisfaction of Customer/Stakeholder key capabilities/requirements and parameters. My experience includes creating Digital Twin and Digital Thread alignment (Digital Engineering), which threads together MBSE Cameo Enterprise Architecture (SysML), DODAF, Velocity, Confluence, Jira, Risk Register, FACE, MOSA, Jama/DOORS/DXL Requirements Management tools, including Test and Verification methodology. All technology should be dynamically linked, threaded together, then exported through a single common tool when deliverables are required. I also develop FACE Conceptual, Logical, Physical, and Template models in the creation of UoPs and UoCs, including their interface to SysML as messages. I believe it is also just as important to be an enabler for others to succeed, by helping them to learn and apply Systems Engineering processes from Cradle to Delivery, and to be a mentor in guiding them to take a lead role as a Systems Engineer in an agile and Digital Engineering environment. I stress the importance for a SE to understand themselves as a SE, not a Model Based Systems Engineer (MBSE), but a SE who uses Digital Engineering (DE) to perform their work. To say a person is a MBSE engineer is limiting, whereas a true SE encompasses the SE domain experience, analysis patterns, and DE development process.