09 Dec New Standard for Trustworthy Simulation Processes

Modeling & Simulation SPICE

We are proud to announce that the Modeling & Simulation (M&S) SPICE v0.9 specification is now officially listed by iNTACS® – and available for free download in the SPICE Center!

Lack of trust in models and simulations essentially limits their usage and application. The aerospace industry started to tackle this problem 30 years ago and proposed some initial concepts, methods, and simulation maturity models. In the automotive industry, the development and approval of highly automated vehicles is requesting reliable simulations for virtual testing. Similar pathways can be identified in other domains, like in Rail or Healthcare, where regulators are essentially imposing specific requirements on models and simulations to be fulfilled.

Working Group for Quality Assurance

The above mentioned conditions put Modeling & Simulation into a new position and setting, and therefore also require new ways of doing and handling simulations. Quality assurance of models and simulations is substantial for (physical and data-driven) informed decision support as well as decision-making.

About a year ago, SETLabs established the iNTACS® Working Group “Modeling & Simulation SPICE.” This group comprises experts from organizations such as VIRTUAL VEHICLE, SEMP Consulting GmbH, VAIVA, TUV SÜD, and Knorr-Bremse. Together, they have successfully developed and published a specific Process Assessment Model for essentially building trust in Modeling & Simulation.

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M&S SPICE v0.9

Quality Assessment Framework

The Figure below indicates the relation of M&S SPICE to the so called Credibility Assessment Frameworks for demonstration of quality-assured simulations, where M&S SPICE serves as a solid basis for quantification of modeling and simulation process capabilities (figure from M&S SPICE v0.9 Specification).

The essential objective of the working group was to provide a domain-independent assessment model for structured application of Modeling & Simulation within the scope of model-based product development and operations. It builds on the Credible Simulation Process Framework (CSPF) from the prostep ivip Association and aligns with AUTOMOTIVE SPICE®.

At this year’s VDI Conference SIMVEC in Baden-Baden, Martin Benedikt presented the embedment of the PRM into so-called Credibility Assessment Frameworks, providing a solid foundation for simulation-based decision support and decision-making.

What is SPICE?

In the world of software, SPICE is not a flavor ingredient, but an abbreviation. It stands for “Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination”.

Originally, SPICE was a project funded by the European Union. The goal of this project was to develop a counterpart to CMMI – a systematic illustration of best practices to support the improvement of an organization.

Find out more.

Modeling & Simulation SPICE is a registered (EU) trademark of SETLabs Research GmbH, 80687 Munich, Germany

Automotive SPICE® is a registered trademark of the Verband der Automobilindustrie e.V. (VDA), 10117, Berlin, Germany