Analysis and Design Environment for Large Scale System Models and Collaborative Model Development

As NASA modeling efforts grow more complex and more distributed among many working groups, new tools and technologies are required to integrate their efforts effectively. This project will build on Phoenix Integration's current product suite (ModelCenter, Analysis Server, and AnalysisLibrary) to create a collaborative modeling and execution environment for large system models. The project will involve many interrelated elements: 1) The use of reference components, which are pointers to sub-models that reside elsewhere, are managed independently, and are updated automatically in a master model, 2) The use of a model library such that collaborators can share their efforts in a centralized network-based repository, 3) An execution manager that can distribute and parallelize runs efficiently among several available compute resources, 4) The separation of models, data, and links such that they can be managed independently and reused effectively, 5) The simplification of model building efforts by providing debugging and diff tools to developers much like those that exist in the software industry, 6) User interface features that make model building easier, such as quick validation of model correctness, the ability to create sub-models from assemblies, etc. These elements will be developed with and tested against real modeling efforts taking place at NASA Langley.