MUSE: Cooperative Design of Complex Heterogeneous Systems

The objective of the MUSE (Multimedia Systems Engineering) system is to advance the quality and the efficiency of the cooperative and interdiciplinary design of process (requirements analysis and conceptual design) are supported. MUSE provides an uniform software environment for engineers of several disciplines e.g. computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering. To realize this property the MUSE concept bases on a Gerneric Laboratory Frame form which special laboratories are derived. This Frame is implemented as a set of cooperating frameworks and allows both the implementation of a uniform design concept as well as it eases the reuse of proven basic methods. An integrated modeling and validation concept bases on so called Virtual Experiments which consist of models, environments and measuring instruments. these Virtual Experiments allow the formulation of validation processes in an abstract manner and support adequate views for different users in the validation of MUSE model s in different design phases. The underlying design pattern for the validation in MUSE is the concept of Virtual Components. They provide a methodology for structuring complex validation environments into simpler ones as well as for embodying all the necessary aspects of the objects in the validation process