Conceptual Models to Support Reasoning in Early Phase Concept Evaluation - a Subsea Case Study

This paper shows how conceptual models can support the reasoning during early-phase concept evaluation in the subsea domain. Proposing concepts that are fit for purpose requires subsea companies to carefully balance conflicting needs in a complex system of systems. To support this balancing, there is a need to improve the understanding of how the needs affect the system through its life cycle. Through a retrospective case, the paper demonstrates how the visualization of dynamic behavior supports engineers in reasoning about the impact of the key driver and design decisions. In this case, we use concept mapping to visualize the customer and subsea company drivers. We identify the key drivers and the tensions between them from the mapping. Furthermore, we use abstract workflows combined with timelines to explore how the design concepts will affect the key drivers throughout the systems life cycle. The lead engineer responsible for the study appreciated our approach to supporting reasoning during concept evaluation. He claimed that the conceptual models communicated what he had used more than 40 slides to explain to the company's management to get a decision. We conclude that this approach and models are well suited for internal communication and support a common understanding across the organization.