Towards a Robust Computational Solution for the Verification and Validation of Complex Systems in MBSE using Wymore's Tricotyledon Theory of System Design

Model Based Systems Engineering is continuously getting more traction and interest from both industry and academia in disciplines beyond Defense and Space. The stipulation that a large complex multidisciplinary system can be modeled and maintained in a consistent manner is at the heart of the MBSE approach. One of the critical activities in the MBSE process is verification and validation. Its objective is to provide compelling evidence on the reliability of a system and its compliance with its requirements. The more complex these systems are, the more challenging is the V$\&$V task of their associated models. These systems are usually validated using a bottom-up approach that reflects their hierarchical composition of subsystems. However owing to Aristotle's famous principle that ``the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'' these approaches do not induce the validity of the composite model. There is probably a countless number of V$\&$V methods and frameworks across the different science and engineering disciplines. Yet, not many of them are supported by a formal mathematical formalism. Such a formalism allows for a robust approach to V$\&$V that stems from the intrinsic characteristics and composition of a system instead of pragmatics and heuristics. In this paper, a computational solution for formal validation of large complex systems with roots in a rigorous mathematical theory for system design is proposed. This solution leverages the Tricotyledon theory of system design developed by A. Wayne Wymore in 1993. To the authors knowledge, this paper presents the first attempt to propose a computational implementation of some elements in this theory. The proposed solution is expected to provide a mechanism through which the assertions about MBSE models are``proved mathematically or disproved by formal counterexample''