Arcadia / Capella, a field-proven modeling solution for system and software architecture engineering

The Capella ecosystem is a field-proven modeling solution offering an environment with a high added-value for engineers working on system, software and hardware architectures. At the center of this ecosystem is a graphical modeling workbench supporting the Arcadia engineering method. Arcadia mainly focuses on functional analysis, (complex) architecture definition and early validation. Both the method and its supporting ecosystem are currently widely deployed in the Thales Group, in all domains across several countries, thanks to a massive rollout of model-based approaches.

Arcadia becomes publicly available and Capella goes Open Source!

This talk provides an overview of both the Arcadia method and the Capella key features.

Arcadia, a model-based engineering method

The Arcadia method is based on the well-established and recognized expertise and best practices of Thales in the field of system engineering and software architecture engineering. It relies upon standards such as ISO/IEC 15288, INCOSE System Engineering Handbook, UML/SysML.

Arcadia provides a model-based approach for defining, analyzing and validating architectures in 5 successive phases. Each phase has well-defined objectives, from the identification of operational concepts and processes to the design of the organic architecture and the definition of subcontracting items. Arcadia emphasizes multi-viewpoint trade-off analysis.

The Arcadia method has been driving engineering activities in numerous major and critical Thales operational projects for the last 5 years. It is now going to be published and freely available.

Capella, a modeling platform supporting Arcadia

Capella is a graphical modeling workbench built upon the state-of-the-art Sirius (EMF Modeling Project) and Kitalpha (EMF Modeling Project Proposal) technologies.

Capella provides an Arcadia DSL (both a simplification and an enrichment of the UML and SysML standards on which it heavily relies) and an engineering tooling environment dedicated to productivity and quality. Capella allows engineers to primarily focus on the system definition and on its architecture rather than to try coping with the sometimes complex semantics of UML or SysML languages.

At the core of Capella is a constantly challenged balance between remaining as simple as possible for the end-users and providing the required expressivity to model complex systems. Capella provides a whole set of advanced, business-focused capabilities:

Embedded methodological browser providing a step-by-step workflow and a constant reference to all model content. The Arcadia methodology is the DNA of Capella models.
Advanced features to manage complexity, including relevant diagram filters, layers, and dynamically computed model graphical simplifications.
Productivity tools including model-to-model transformations, capitalization through patterns, libraries of replicable elements, layout copy-paste, system to subsystem transition, etc.
Native support for viewpoint extensions, allowing to extend and/or specialize the core environment to address engineering concerns (performance, operating safety, security, cost, weight, product line, etc.), combined with the possibility to carry out multi-criteria analyses of target architectures to help find the best compromises.
The Capella platform will be made Open Source and an integration in the Polarsys Eclipse Industry Working Group will be proposed.