Papyrus Tutorial

A Practical Guide to Systems Modeling

with Papyrus and SysML

Version 0.1.3
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION 4
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 PROBLEM DOMAIN 4
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Black-box perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.1 Step 1. Create the new project and new model. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.2 Step 2. Organize the model for Black-Box analysis. . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.3 Step 3. Capturing Stakeholder Needs (Requirements Table) . . . . 12
2.2.4 Step 4. Initial System Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.5 Step 5. Use Case and Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2.6 Step 6. Finalize Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . 48
2.2.7 Step 7. Measures of Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

List of Figures
1 New Papyrus Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Select Architecture Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Project File Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4 Create New Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5 New Model Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6 Vehicle CCU Problem Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7 Vehicle CCU in Model Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8 Black Box Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9 Create a New Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
10 Creating a New Requirements Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11 Create New Requirement in Requirement Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
12 New Requirement in Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13 User Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
14 User Needs Requirements Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
15 Requirements Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
16 System Context package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
17 Create New Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
18 Vehicle In Use Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
19 Create Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
20 Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
21 Part Type Initialization Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
22 Part Type Initialization Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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23 Climate Control Unit with Label Removed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
24 Vehicle In Use IBD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
25 Use Case Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
26 Use Case Diagram Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
27 New Use Case Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
28 Expand the System Context package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
29 Vehicle In Use block in Use Case Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
30 Vehicle Occupant block in Use Case Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
31 Use Case Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
32 Vehicle Occupant block in Use Case Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
33 Use Case Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
34 Association Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
35 Feel Comfortable Temperature as a child of 2 Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . 30
36 Create New Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
37 Feel Comfortable Temperature Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
38 New Activity Partition (Swimlane) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
39 Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
40 Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
41 Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition Typed by Vehicle Occupant Block . . . . 34
42 Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition in Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
43 Create Climate Control Unit Activity Partition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
44 Climate Control Activity Partition in Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
45 Activity Diagram Initial Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
46 Create Opaque Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
47 Turn On Climate Control Action Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
48 Turn On Climate Control Action in Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
49 Feel Comfortable Temperature Activity Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
50 Control Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
51 Control Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
52 Control Flow at Decision Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
53 Creating the [OK] Guard Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
54 Creating the [Not OK] Guard Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
55 Creating More Control Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
56 Final Control Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
57 Create Fork Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
58 Temperature Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
59 Temperature Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
60 Exchange Items package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
61 Create New Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
62 Control Signal Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
63 Signals Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
64 Open Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
65 Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
66 Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
67 Conveying the Control Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

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68 Conveying the Control Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
69 Item Flow Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
70 Item Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
71 Measures of Effectiveness package and Types package. . . . . . . . . . . 55
72 Types Package Diagram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
73 Creating the MoE stereotype. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
74 Stereotype Created. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
75 Value Type Menu Item. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
76 Value Types Created. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
77 Value Types in Package Diagram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
78 Create Block Definition Diagram. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
79 Measures of Effectiveness BDD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
80 MOEs Holder Block. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
81 Climate Control Unit block in Measures of Effectiveness bdd. . . . . . . . . 60
82 Creating Generalization in the bdd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
83 Class Attribute Pop-Up Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
84 Sound Level Attribute Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
85 Sound Level Attribute Created. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
86 Total Mass Attribute Created. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
The purpose of this tutorial is to use the Papyrus program to create a model of a simple
system utilizing the SysML language. A vehicle climate control unit will be modeled starting
with the Problem Domain and then moving to the Solution Domain.

1.2 Assumptions
This tutorial assumes that Papyrus and the SysML tools have been properly installed and
will not cover the procedures to do so. This is not a SysML tutorial but rather how to model
an example system with SysML in the Papyrus program. This tutorial uses Papyrus ver-
sion 2019-03 and SysML 1.4 running on a Windows machine. As the tutorial progresses I
will assume that you have learned from the previous steps. For example, in the beginning
I will describe step-by-step how to create a new package but later in the tutorial I will ask
you to create a new package and will assume that you know the procedures in Papyrus
to do so and they will not be repeated.

2 PROBLEM DOMAIN
2.1 Introduction
In the problem domain we will analyze stakeholder needs and refine them with SysML
model elements to gain a clear understanding of the problem that the System Of Interest
(SoI) must solve. We will first analyze the SoI from a black-box perspective where we focus
on the interaction of the system with the environment without knowledge of the internal
structure of the SoI. We then analyze the system from a white-box perspective to perform
the functional analysis of the system.

2.2 Black-box perspective

We will start this project by organizing our model and capturing our stakeholder needs.

2.2.1 Step 1. Create the new project and new model.

1. Create a new Papyrus project by selecting File > New > Papyrus Project (see figure
1).

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 Figure 1: New Papyrus Project

2. The Select Architecture Context dialog will then appear. Ensure that the SysML 1.4
checkbox is selected and then select Next (see figure 2).

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 Figure 2: Select Architecture Context

3. On the next screen type car for the project name and click Finish. Your screen
should look like figure 3.

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 Figure 3: Project File Created

4. Now we will create our model for the vehicle climate control system problem space.
Create a new Papyrus model by selecting File > New > Papyrus Model (see figure
4). Ensure that the SysML 1.4 checkbox is selected when the Select Architecture
Context dialog appears and then select Next (see figure 2).

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 Figure 4: Create New Model

5. When the New Papyrus Model dialog appears, click on the car folder to choose this
as the parent folder and enter VehicleCCU_Problem in the file name box and click
Finish (see figure 5).

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 Figure 5: New Model Dialog

6. Your screen should now look like figure 6. You see that in the Project Explorer
window we have the car folder with a car model and the model we created called
VehicleCCU_Problem. The Model Explorer window should be showing the top level
folder of our VehicleCCU_Problem model that we just created (figure 7). If it does
not then double-click on the VehicleCCU_Problem in the Project Explorer window
OR select the VehicleCCU_Problem tab in the main window.

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 Figure 6: Vehicle CCU Problem Model

Figure 7: Vehicle CCU in Model Explorer

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2.2.2 Step 2. Organize the model for Black-Box analysis.
1. We are now going to organize our model by creating three new packages in our
VehicleCCU_Problem model and when we are finished it should look like figure 8.

Figure 8: Black Box Packages

2. Right-click on the VehicleCCU_Problem top level folder in the Model Explorer win-
dow and then select New Child and then Package (figure 9). The new package
will appear under the VehicleCCU_Problem folder. Name the package 1 Problem
Domain. (Note that if you have already hit enter the package is named with a default
name like Package14 and it can be renamed in the UML properties tab at the bottom
of the main window.

3. Now right-click on the 1 Problem Domain package and follow the same procedure
to create a new child package named 1 Black Box.

4. Now right-click on the 1 Black Box package and follow the same procedure to create
a new child package named 1 Stakeholder Needs. Your result should look like figure
8. If you make a mistake along the way you can simply delete a package and try
again. Ensure that the packages are nested as shown in figure 8 before continuing.

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 Figure 9: Create a New Package

2.2.3 Step 3. Capturing Stakeholder Needs (Requirements Table)

1. After talking with our stakeholders we will capture our initial list of stakeholder needs
for the Vehicle Climate Control Unit using a SysML Requirement Table. There would
of course be many requirements but we will just capture a few for illustrative pur-
poses.

2. Right-click on the 1 Stakeholder Needs package in the Model Explorer window and
select New Table > SysML 1.4 Requirement Tree Table (figure 10). Name the
table Stakeholder Needs. We want to use the Requirement Tree Table so we can
have nested requirements in our requirements table.

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 Figure 10: Creating a New Requirements Table

3. You should now see an initial table in the main window with two cells at the top
labeled id and text.

4. First Left-click anywhere in the blank space in the main table window and then Right-
click and select Create SysML 1.4 Element > Create New Requirement (see figure
11). A new requirement should appear in the table view and a requirement model el-
ement should appear underneath the Stakeholder Needs table element in the Model
Explorer window (figure 12).

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 Figure 11: Create New Requirement in Requirement Table

Figure 12: New Requirement in Model

5. Most software like Papyrus has multiple ways to accomplish the same task. We can
type directly in the requirements table cells to enter the id and text or we can enter it

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 in the Properties Window in the SysML 1.4 tab. We are going to use the SysML 1.4
tab at the bottom of the main screen . To do this Left-click on Requirement 1 under
the Stakeholder Needs table element in the Model Explorer then select the SysML
1.4 tab in the Properties window (figure 12). You can see the properties in this tab
for Id, Name, and Text.

6. Type SN-1 in the Id field and SN-1 User Needs in the Name field. We will not enter
anything in the Text field as this will be a heading for our user needs (figure 13).

Figure 13: User Needs

7. Continue adding requirements and populating the Id, Name, and Text fields until the
requirements table looks like figure 14.

Figure 14: User Needs Requirements Table

8. In the Model View window Left-click on the requirement SN-1.1 Setting Temperature
requirement then hold down the Control key and select the last requirement SN-1.4
Climate Control Mass. Drag these requirements and drop them on the SN-1 User
Needs to make these requirements child requirements of our heading requirement.
Your screen should look like figure 15 with the requirements nested under SN-1 User
Needs in the Model View window and a tree structure in the table view.

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 Figure 15: Requirements Tree

2.2.4 Step 4. Initial System Context

The operating environment or System Context defines the external view of the system
where the SoI is treated as a black box. It introduces elements that interact with the system
but are not owned by the system. During this initial phase of system context definition one
or more system contexts are defined and elements that participate in each context are
identified. Several sources recommend using blocks rather than actors to define humans
for the following reasons:

• A block is treated as a part of the system context. An actor is not.

• A block can be marked as external. An actor cannot.

• A block can have its behavior defined. An actor cannot.

Let’s start modeling the Initial System Context.

1. Set up a new package under the 1 Black Box package named 3 System Context
by Right-clicking on the 1 Black Box package in the Model Explorer window and
selecting New Child and then Package. Name the new package 3 System Context
(figure 16).

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 Figure 16: System Context package

2. Now we will create a block that captures the vehicle in use system context. Right-
click on the 3 System Context package just created and select SysML 1.4 Child and
then Block (figure 17). Name the block Vehicle In Use. Your model explorer should
now look like figure 18.

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Figure 17: Create New Block

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 Figure 18: Vehicle In Use Block

3. To specify participants of the Vehicle In Use context we will create a SysML Internal
Block Diagram (IBD). Right-click on the Vehicle In Use block just created and select
New Diagram then SysML 1.4 Internal Block Diagram (figure 19). Name the new
diagram Vehicle In Use, the same as the block. You should see the diagram in the
main window (figure 20). If you do not, simply Double-click on the Vehicle In Use
internal block diagram in the Model Explorer window.

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 Figure 19: Create Internal Block Diagram

Figure 20: Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram

4. Our analysis of stakeholder needs indicates that the Vehicle In Use system context
includes the following participants: the vehicle Climate Control Unit, Vehicle Occu-

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 pant, and an Energy Supply of some kind to power everything. The participants can
be captured as part properties in the IBD. Open the Vehicle In Use IBD you just cre-
ated if not already open. Use the tool palette (If the tool palette is not visible click on
the small arrow on the right side of the main window vertical scroll bar to display it) on
the right and select Part from the Blocks diagram palette . Now Left-click anywhere
inside the Vehicle In Use diagram in the main window and the Type Initialization
window will appear (figure 21).

Figure 21: Part Type Initialization Window

5. In the Type Initialization window ensure that the Type creation mode radio button is
selected to create a new type. In the Select new type name box type Climate Control
Unit and press Enter twice. Your model should look like figure 22.

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 Figure 22: Part Type Initialization Window

6. Let’s make this new block a little cleaner by not displaying the Property1 name in
front of the colon in the Climate Control Unit part in the diagram. Select the Climate
Control Unit in the diagram. In the Properties window at the bottom of the screen
select the UML tab and place your cursor in the Label field. Type a single Space with
the spacebar and hit Enter. Your Climate Control Unit should now look like figure
23.

Figure 23: Climate Control Unit with Label Removed

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 7. Create two more parts; one called Vehicle Occupant and one called Energy Supply.
When finished your diagram should look like figure 24.

Figure 24: Vehicle In Use IBD

2.2.5 Step 5. Use Case and Activity Diagram

In this section, the functional stakeholder needs will be refined with use cases and use
case scenarios. Again we will be using blocks rather than actors (see section 2.2.4).
1. Set up a new package under the 1 Black Box package named 2 Use Cases by Right-
clicking on the 1 Black Box package in the Model Explorer window and selecting
New Child and then Package. Name the new package 2 Use Cases (figure 25).

Figure 25: Use Case Package

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2. Now that we have created the use case package we need to create a Use Case
Diagram. In the Model Explorer window, Right-click on the 2 Use Cases package
that you created in the previous step and select New Diagram and then SysML 1.4
Use Case Diagram (figure 26). Name the diagram Use Cases of Vehicle In Use SC.
The new use case diagram will appear under your 2 Use Cases package and a new
blank use case diagram should appear in the main window (figure 27).

Figure 26: Use Case Diagram Creation

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 Figure 27: New Use Case Diagram

3. In the Model Explorer window, click on the arrow to the left of the 3 System Context
package to expand its contents (figure 28).

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 Figure 28: Expand the System Context package

4. Click and Drag the Vehicle In Use block onto the Use Cases of Vehicle In Use use
case diagram in the main window. A copy of the block should appear in the use case
diagram (figure 29).

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 Figure 29: Vehicle In Use block in Use Case Diagram

5. Click and Drag the Vehicle Occupant block onto the Use Cases of Vehicle In Use
use case diagram in the main window. A copy of the block should appear in the use
case diagram (figure 30).

Figure 30: Vehicle Occupant block in Use Case Diagram

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6. In our analysis of stakeholder needs we have identified the Feel Comfortable Tem-
perature use case performed in the Vehicle In Use system context. We will now
capture this use case in the Use Cases of Vehicle In Use SC diagram. The tool
palette on the right should be displaying the Use Case tool palette. Left-click on
the Use Case item (figure 31) and then Left-click anywhere in the Vehicle In Use
block. A use case is created in this block. Name this use case Feel Comfortable
Temperature and press Enter. Your screen should look like (figure 32).

Figure 31: Use Case Tool Palette

Figure 32: Vehicle Occupant block in Use Case Diagram

7. Now we will create an association between the Feel Comfortable Temperature use
case and the Vehicle Occupant block (recall that we are using a block here to rep-
resent the traditional UML actor for the reasons stated earlier in section 2.2.4). Left-

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 click the Feel Comfortable Temperature use case in the diagram. Now Left-click the
Communication Path item in the Use Case tool palette (figure 33). Now Left-click
on the Feel Comfortable Temperature use case and then Left-click on the Vehicle
Occupant block in the diagram. An association should be created and your model
should look like (figure 34).

Figure 33: Use Case Tool Palette

Figure 34: Association Created

8. Now we will elaborate the Feel Comfortable Temperature use case as an activity
diagram. First let’s move the Feel Comfortable Temperature use case from the 3
System Context package and place it under the 2 Use Cases package. To do this,
expand the 3 System Context package view in the Model Explorer window. Now

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 Click and Drag the Feel Comfortable Temperature use case and Drop it on the 2
Use Cases package in the Model Explorer window. The use case is now a child of
the 2 Use Cases package (figure 35).

Figure 35: Feel Comfortable Temperature as a child of 2 Use Cases

9. Now we will create an activity diagram for our use case. Right-click on the Feel
Comfortable Temperature use case and then select New Diagram and then SysML
1.4 Activity Diagram (figure 36). Name the diagram Feel Comfortable Temperature
(the same name as the use case). Your screen should look like figure 37. We
now have the Feel Comfortable Temperature activity diagram as a child of the Feel
Comfortable Temperature use case in the Model Explorer window.

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 Figure 36: Create New Activity Diagram

Figure 37: Feel Comfortable Temperature Activity Diagram

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10. We could start diagramming our activities in the activity diagram first and then al-
locate the activities to participants using swimlanes. This is a little cumbersome in
Papyrus as it involves dragging the activity boxes and connectors onto the swim-
lanes and some effort to make your diagram “pretty” again. If we know the partici-
pants in the activity we can go ahead and create the participant swimlanes first and
then populate the activities. That is the approach we will follow. In the Model Ex-
plorer window Right-click on the Activity 1 then select SysML 1.4 Child and then
AllocateActivityPartition (figure 38). Name this partition Vehicle Occupant (figure
39).

Figure 38: New Activity Partition (Swimlane)

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 Figure 39: Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition Creation

11. Although we have named our new activity partition Vehicle Occupant it does not
truly represent the vehicle occupant in our use case until we type it by the Vehicle
Occupant block. We do this as follows. First ensure that the Vehicle Occupant
activity partition is selected in the Model Explorer window and you see its properties
in the Properties tab in the bottom center of the screen (figure 39). Now click on
Advanced tab and look for the Represents property and Double-click in the Value
cell and a pop-up element selection should appear (figure 40). Expand 3 System
Context package and select the Vehicle Occupant and then select OK. The value
of the Represents property should look like figure 41. Our activity partition is now
typed by the Vehicle Occupant block.

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 Figure 40: Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition Properties

Figure 41: Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition Typed by Vehicle Occupant Block

12. Now we need to add the activity partition to our activity diagram. In the Model Ex-
plorer window Click on the Vehicle Occupant activity partition that we created in the
previous step and drag it to the activity diagram in the main window. You can adjust
the size of the partition to make it larger (figure 42).

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 Figure 42: Vehicle Occupant Activity Partition in Activity Diagram

13. Repeat steps 10 through 12 to create another activity partition named Climate Con-
trol Unit and for its Represents property value select the Climate Control Unit block
(figure 43). Drag this partition to your activity diagram and position next to the Vehicle
Occupant activity partition (figure 44). To help position your shapes go to the Rulers
and Grid tab in the Properties window at the bottom of the screen and un-check
the Snap to Grid item and check the Snap to Shapes item.

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 Figure 43: Create Climate Control Unit Activity Partition

Figure 44: Climate Control Activity Partition in Activity Diagram

14. Let’s say that our analysis of the Feel Comfortable Temperature use case scenario
has resulted in the following actions:
(a) Turn on Climate Control
(b) Check System

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 (c) Display Temperature
(d) Start Climate Control
(e) Set Temperature
(f) Reach Required Temperature
(g) Maintain Temperature
(h) Turn off Climate Control
(i) Stop Climate Control

Let’s start creating our activity diagram.

15. Ensure that the Feel Comfortable Temperature activity diagram is selected in the
main window. You will see the Activity tool palette on the right. Click on Initial
node in the tool palette then click in the Vehicle Occupant activity partition and an
initial node will be created (figure 45). Note that the node has a label next to it in the
diagram. These labels can be cumbersome so select the Initial node in the activity
diagram or in the Model Explorer window. Now select the UML tab in the Properties
tab at the bottom of the screen (figure 45). Click in the Label field and type one blank
space with the <Spacebar> and press Enter. The label should now be removed.

Figure 45: Activity Diagram Initial Node

16. Now we will start creating our sequence of actions. Right-click Activity1 in the Model
Explorer window and select New Child and in the pop-up window scroll down until
you find Opaque Action and select it (figure 46). Type Turn On Climate Control for
the name and then press Enter. The Turn On Climate Control action now appears

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as a child node under Activity1 in the Model Explorer (figure 47). The action does
not yet appear on our activity diagram. We will take care of that next.

Figure 46: Create Opaque Action

Figure 47: Turn On Climate Control Action Created

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17. Click and Drag the Turn On Climate Control action from the Model Explorer window
to the Vehicle Occupant activity partition underneath the initial node. The Turn On
Climate Control action should now appear on the activity diagram (figure 48).

Figure 48: Turn On Climate Control Action in Activity Diagram

18. Repeat the procedure to create the other actions listed in step 14 and place them in
the activity partitions (swimlanes). Use the activity tool palette on the right and place
an Activity Final node underneath the Stop Climate Control action. Your diagram
should look like (figure 49).

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 Figure 49: Feel Comfortable Temperature Activity Diagram

19. Now we will start adding our control flows to these actions. In the activity palette on
the right Click on Control Flow. Now Click on the Initial Node in the activity diagram
and then Click on the Turn On Climate Control action. Just hit <Enter> for the name
as we will not name this control flow (I will call this an unnamed control flow from
now on). A control flow will be added between these items (figure 50). If you would
like the control flow line to be a little thicker you can select the Appearance tab in
the Properties window and increase the value of the Line width parameter. Create
another control flow between the Turn On Climate Control action and the Check
System action (figure 50).

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 Figure 50: Control Flow

20. Now when we analyze the Check System action we come up with two possible
cases. If the system is OK then we proceed to the next action which is Display
Temperature, but if the system has some kind of error we want to proceed to the
Stop Climate Control action. So, we need a decision node with a guard condition on
the output of the Display System action. In the Activity palette on the right Click on
the arrow next to Initial node to expand its contents and Click on Decision node.
Now, in the activity diagram Click on the space between the Check System action
and the Display Temperature action. A decision node will be created on the activity
diagram (figure 51).

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 Figure 51: Control Flow

21. Add a control flow between the Check System action and the decision node you just
created (figure 52).

Figure 52: Control Flow at Decision Node

22. Now create a control flow between the decision node and the Display Temperature
action and type [OK] for the name. This represents our guard condition and therefore

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 this path is to be executed if the Check System action results show that the system
is functioning normally (figure 53).

Figure 53: Creating the [OK] Guard Condition

23. Now create a control flow between the decision node and the Stop Climate Control
action and type Not OK for the name. This represents our other guard condition to
be executed if the Check System action results show that there is come kind of fault
in the system. In this case we will go to the Stop Climate Control action. Note that
you can Click on the control flow line to break it into segments and then drag these
control points to reposition the segments. Add an unnamed control flow between the
Stop Climate Control action and the final node. Your activity diagram should look
like (figure 54).

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 Figure 54: Creating the [Not OK] Guard Condition

24. The next action after displaying the temperature is to start the climate control so
create an unnamed control flow from the Display Temperature action to the Start
Climate Control action. After the climate control is started the next action is to set
the temperature so create an unnamed control flow between the Start Climate Con-
trol action and the Set Temperature action. Add an unnamed control flow between
the Set Temperature action and the Reach Required Temperature action. Add an
unnamed control flow between the Turn off Climate Control action and the Stop Cli-
mate Control action. Your activity diagram should look like (figure 55).

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 Figure 55: Creating More Control Flows

25. To complete our control flows for this simple example we need to add a couple
more decision nodes; One between the Reach Required Temperature action and
the Maintain Temperature action and another below the Maintain Temperature ac-
tion. We also need to add the remaining control flows. Use your skills from the
previous steps to make your diagram look like (figure 56).

Figure 56: Final Control Flows

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26. Now we have the actions and the control flow in our activity diagram but we need
to pass some data as well. The required temperature should be an output from the
Set Temperature action and this is provided as an input to both the Reach Required
Temperature action and the Maintain Temperature action. In this way the system
knows the desired temperature that it is to reach and maintain once it is set by the
user. First create a fork node by Clicking on Fork node from the Activity palette
and then Click in the space underneath the Set Temperature action. Size the fork
as shown in (figure 57).

Figure 57: Create Fork Node

27. Now we will create an output pin on the Set Temperature action to pass the Temper-
ature as an output. In the Activity palette on the right find the Output Pin item and
Click on it. Now in the activity diagram Click on the Set Temperature action and the
output pin will be attached to the action. You can Click and Drag the output pin to
the bottom of the Set Temperature action. Now create a control flow from the output
pin to the fork node and name the control flow Temperature. Your activity diagram
should look like (figure 58).

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 Figure 58: Temperature Output

28. Now we need to provide the Temperature as input to both the Reach Required Tem-
perature action and the Maintain Temperature action. To do this go to the Activity
palette on the right and Click on Input Pin then Click on the Reach Required Tem-
perature action and an input pin will be created. Position this pin on the left side of
the action if not already there. Repeat the procedure to create an input pin on the
Maintain Temperature action. Now create control flows between the fork node and
each input pin you just created. Your activity diagram should look like (figure 59) and
our example activity diagram is complete.

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 Figure 59: Temperature Input

2.2.6 Step 6. Finalize Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram

We now analyze the final activity diagram in (figure 59) and consider the flow of objects
and control across the activity partition (swimlane) and we see that there is a flow of control
as the vehicle occupant controls the climate control system and there is a flow of status
information about the system such as the temperature. So now let’s go back and update
our Vehicle In Use internal block diagram and add these flows. First, however, let’s create
a package to hold the Control and Status flows that we will use in the diagram.

1. By now you should be familiar with how to create a new package in the Model Ex-
plorer window. Create a new child package in the 3 Systems Context package and
name the package 1 Exchange Items (figure 60).

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 Figure 60: Exchange Items package

2. Now we will create a new signal. Right Click on the 1 Exchange Items package that
you just created and select UML for SysML 1.4 and then Signal (figure 61). Type
Control for the name and your Model Explorer window should look like (figure 62).

Figure 61: Create New Signal

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 Figure 62: Control Signal Created

3. Follow the same procedure to create another signal called Status (figure 63) and
another called Power.

Figure 63: Signals Created

4. Open the Vehicle In Use internal block diagram by either Double-clicking the diagram
name in the Model Explorer OR selecting the diagram from the Welcome tab in the

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 main window (figure 64). Once the diagram is open your screen should look like
(figure 65).

Figure 64: Open Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram

Figure 65: Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram

5. Now we will create the item flow representing our Control signal. In the Ports and
Flow palette on the right Click on Item Flow. Now in internal block diagram Click on

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 the Vehicle Occupant block and then on the Climate Control Unit block. The item
flow is created (figure 66). Note that you can type a <space> in the label field if you
don’t want to see the name in the diagram.

Figure 66: Vehicle In Use Internal Block Diagram

6. Ensure that the item flow that you just created is selected and in the Properties win-
dow at the bottom of the screen select the Advanced tab. Double-click in the value
cell of the Conveyed property to open the Element Selection window. Expand the
packages until you see the 1 Exchange Items package created earlier. Double-click
on the Control signal in this package and then click OK (figure 67).

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 Figure 67: Conveying the Control Signal

7. Notice that the value of the Conveyed property now shows our Control signal (fig-
ure 68) and it appears on our item flow in the internal block diagram. Note that to
eliminate the other labels you can go the Appearance tab and uncheck the item at
the intersection of ItemFlow and Visible (figure 69).

Figure 68: Conveying the Control Signal

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 Figure 69: Item Flow Visibility

8. Follow the same procedures to create the flow for the Status signal From the Climate
Control Unit To the Vehicle Occupant and the flow of Power From the Energy Supply
To the Climate Control Unit. Your screen should look like (figure 70).

Figure 70: Item Flows

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2.2.7 Step 7. Measures of Effectiveness
In this section we will refine the stakeholder needs with Measures of Effectiveness (MoE’s)
which add quantitative measurable characteristics of the system to serve as high-level
performance indicators that would be monitored within the solution domain model. To do
this we will create some value types to be used with our MoE’s. Let’s get started.

1. Create two new packages under the 1 Black Box package; one named 4 Measures
of Effectiveness and another named 5 Types (figure 71).

Figure 71: Measures of Effectiveness package and Types package.

2. Now we will work in the 5 Types package to create our data types. Let’s create a
new package diagram to hold our data types. Right-click the 5 Types package and
select New Diagram and then select SysML 1.4 Package Diagram and name it
Types (figure 72).

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 Figure 72: Types Package Diagram.

3. Now we will set up our MoE stereotype. Right-click on the 5 Types package and
select New Child and then Stereotype (figure 73) and name the stereotype «moe»
(figure 74).

Figure 73: Creating the MoE stereotype.

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 Figure 74: Stereotype Created.

4. Now we will create two value types to be used with our MOE’s. Right-click the «moe»
stereotype that you just created and select SysML 1.4 Child and then ValueType
(figure 75). Name the value type dBA. This is our sound level value type measured
in decibels. Create another value type and name this one Mass[kilograms]. Your
Model Explorer window should look like (figure 76).

Figure 75: Value Type Menu Item.

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 Figure 76: Value Types Created.

5. Now Click and Drag the dBA value type from the Model Explorer window to the Types
package diagram in the main window. Do the same with the Mass[kilograms] value
type. Your screen should now look like (figure 77).

Figure 77: Value Types in Package Diagram.

6. Now that we have created our two value types let’s get to our MOE’s. Right-click
the 4 Measures of Effectiveness package in the Model Explorer and select New
Diagram and then SysML 1.4 Block Definition Diagram (figure 78) and name it
Measures of Effectiveness. Your Model Explorer window should look like (figure 79).

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 Figure 78: Create Block Definition Diagram.

Figure 79: Measures of Effectiveness BDD.

7. Now we will create a block to hold our MOE’s. Using the Blocks tool palette on the
right, click on Block and then click anywhere inside the Measures of Effectiveness
block definition diagram in the main window to create the new block. Name this block
MOEs Holder (figure 80).

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 Figure 80: MOEs Holder Block.

8. Now we need to make this MOEs Holder block a supertype of the Climate Control
Unit block. In the Model Explorer window expand the 3 Systems Context package.
Click and Drag the Climate Control Unit block to the Measures of Effectiveness block
definition diagram (bdd) in the main window and position it underneath the MOEs
Holder block (figure 81).

Figure 81: Climate Control Unit block in Measures of Effectiveness bdd.

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 9. Using the Blocks tool palette on the right, select Generalization and then in the
block definition diagram Click on the Climate Control Unit block and then Click on
the MOEs Holder block. The generalization arrow will appear on the diagram (figure
82).

Figure 82: Creating Generalization in the bdd.

10. Now we will define our MOE attributes. Click on the MOEs Holder block and you
should see s pop-up menu at the top of the block. Select Add Property Class
Attribute Label (figure 83) and hit <Enter>. Go to the Properties window at the
bottom of the screen and select the UML tab. In the Name field type Sound Level.
Select true for the Is derived attribute. This means that the sound level will be a
calculated value. Finally, in the Type field click on the three dots to the right of the
field to open the pop-up menu to define the type. Select the dBA value type that we
created in the Types package and then click <OK> (figure 84) .

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 Figure 83: Class Attribute Pop-Up Menu.

Figure 84: Sound Level Attribute Properties.

11. Your diagram should look like (figure 85).

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 Figure 85: Sound Level Attribute Created.

12. Follow that same procedures to create another attribute in the MOEs Holder block
named Total Mass. For its Type property select the Mass value type that we created
earlier in the 5 Types package. Your diagram should look like (figure 86). We have
now finished our Black Box analysis and will proceed to our White Box analysis.

Figure 86: Total Mass Attribute Created.

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