WF42: Managing a Technical Budget

Pre-Requisites

• A. System model: A detailed model of the system under analysis.

Detailed Steps

1. Select target item in either the Project Explorer list or the System Model canvas. Find the Properties Window and select the 'Technical Property' tab.
2. Select the green 'plus' icon to access the Manage Technical Properties dialog. Then select the green 'plus' icon in the dialog to access the pop-out tray for adding Technical Properties. Find the 'Quantity' field in the pop-out tray and select a Technical Property from the drop-down menu. Set a 'Unit' via the drop-down field. Set the Technical Property value in the 'Value' field and click 'Create'.
3. In the Manage Technical Properties dialog, select 'Custom Technical Property >'. Set a name for the Technical Property in the 'Name' field and a unit (e.g. density) in the 'Unit' field. Then set a shorthand description for the unit (e.g. kg/m^3) in the 'Shorthand' field, and define a value for the Custom Technical Property. Select 'Create' when all fields are populated.
4. Decision — Technical Properties defined? If all Technical Properties have been added to the model, then Technical Budgets can be defined for the system/subsystems. If not, continue to edit Technical Properties by selecting a new component (return to Step 1).
5. Select a system or subsystem in the Project Explorer or the System Model canvas. Find the Properties Window and select the 'Technical Budget' tab.
6. Select the green 'plus' icon to access the Manage Technical Budgets dialog. Then select the green 'plus' icon in the dialog to access the pop-out tray for adding Technical Budgets. Find the 'Quantity' field in the pop-out tray and select a Technical Budget from the drop-down menu. Select the drop-down menu for the 'Unit' field and select a unit corresponding to the Technical Property. Set the Technical Property value in the 'Value' field and define the Budget Rule and Direction. Then select 'Create' to define the Technical Budget.
   • Note: The Technical Budget created will only compare lower level items' properties which are of the same quantity type. For example, a 'Cost' budget will only be compared against 'Cost' properties which are defined at the lower level of a system or subsystem.
7. Decision — Technical Budgets defined? If all Technical Budgets have been defined for all subsystems and the system, then the actual values can be compared against the defined budget for the system/subsystem. If not, continue to edit Technical Budgets by selecting a new subsystem or system (return to Step 5).
8. Open Technical Budget Analysis: Go to View -> Open View -> Technical Budget Analysis to open the Viewer.
9. Observe all Technical Property and Budget values: In the Viewer, all Technical Properties and Technical Budgets entered into the model can be viewed. The calculation of Technical Properties against the Technical Budget for the system are available in the Viewer. A filter is available to filter by Technical Properties/Budgets.
10. Export Technical Budget Analysis Table: The table which appears in the Viewer can be exported as a .csv file.

Screen-by-screen detail (from embedded screenshots)

• Step 1: Select a Component — e.g. select "Fuel Tank" in the Power Generation system model canvas; open its Properties panel and click the "Technical Property" tab (alongside General, Bond, Functional Failures, Criticality tabs).
• Step 2: Set a Default Technical Property — In "Manage Technical Properties" dialog: Item shown (e.g. Fuel Tank), click green '+' to add row; on the right, "New Technical Property" panel has Quantity, Unit, Value dropdowns/fields, then Create.
• Step 3: Create a Custom Technical Property — Click "Custom Technical Property >" button; "New Custom Technical Property" panel has Name, Unit, Shorthand, Value fields, then Create.
• Step 4: Technical Properties Defined? — Example populated table: Cost - Dollars = 2000.0 USD, Temperature - Celsius = 90.0 °C, Volume - Liters = 60.0 L, shown both in the Manage dialog and in the item's Properties > Technical Property tab.
• Step 5: Select the System or a Subsystem — e.g. select "Power Generation" subsystem in the Vehicle System canvas, view Properties > Technical Budget tab (Name / Budget / Current Value / Margin columns, initially empty).
• Step 6: Set Technical Budgets / New Custom Technical Budget — "Manage Technical Budgets" dialog: green '+' adds a budget row (columns Name, Budget, Current Value, Direction, Margin, Margin Rule); right panel "New Technical Budget" has Quantity, Unit, Value, and "Budget Configuration" with Budget Rule dropdown and Direction radio buttons (Greater Than / Less Than). "Custom Technical Budget >" opens equivalent custom fields: Name, Unit, Shorthand, Value, Budget Rule (e.g. Summation), Direction.
• Step 7: Technical Budgets Defined? — Example result for Power Generation: Cost-Dollars Budget 3000.0 USD vs Current Value 2000.0 USD, Direction Greater Than, Margin +1000.0 USD, Margin Rule Summation; Temperature-Celsius Budget 100.0 °C vs Current 90.0 °C, Margin +10.0 °C, Margin Rule Highest; Volume-Liters Budget 60.0 L vs Current 60.0 L, Margin +0.0 L, Margin Rule Summation.
• Step 8: Open Technical Budget Analysis — Menu: Analyses > Technical Budget Analysis (alongside Fault Tree, Response Paths, Connection Matrix, Common Mode Analysis, Critical Item Analysis, Criticality & Reliability Editor, Failure Rate Prediction, Markov Analysis, RBD Analysis, Reliability Allocation Editor).
• Step 9: Observe all Technical Property and Budget Values — Viewer shows a tree (Name / Budget / Current Value / Margin) alongside bar charts per property (e.g. Cost (USD), Volume (L), Temperature (°C)) with percentage-of-budget bars (e.g. 67%, 100%) and per-item bars (e.g. Fuel Tank Temperature = 90).
• Step 10: Export Technical Budget Analysis Table — Click "Export to CSV file" icon in the viewer toolbar. Example exported CSV columns: Name, Budget, Current Value, Margin — rows for Vehicle System, Power Generation, Cost - Dollars (3000.0 USD / 2000.0 USD / +1000.0 USD), Temperature - Celsius (100.0 °C / 90.0 °C / +10.0 °C), Volume - Liters (60.0 L / 60.0 L / +0.0 L), Fuel Tank, Cost - Dollars (2000.0 USD), Temperature - Celsius (90.0 °C), Volume - Liters (60.0 L), Vehicle.

Outputs

• I. Technical Budget Table: An export of the table which appears in the Technical Budget Analysis Viewer, available in .csv format.