A tool integration platform for multi-disciplinary development

In multi-disciplinary development, where various domain specific tools are used by developers to specify and analyze a system, efficient system development requires that the models produced by these tools are well integrated into a whole, reducing any risks of inconsistencies and conflicts in the design information specified. In this paper, we present architecture for a model and tool integration platform that borrows its major components from well known and accepted standards from both computer and mechanical engineering. The architecture supports model integration, where models defined in different tools for different aspects of the same system are related such that they may share and exchange data. The integration platform also enables model management functionalities on a fine-grained level, suggesting a combination of the functionalities found in traditional data management systems such as product data management (PDM) and software configuration management (SCM).