August 6, 2025—The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has announced the keynote speakers and the program for Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) in Practice 2025. The on-site event will feature panel discussions and presentations on August 21 at the Cooperative Plaza Conference Center in Arlington, Virginia.

As software-enabled systems become increasingly complex and interconnected, traditional engineering approaches struggle to keep pace, especially in the high-stakes environment of the Department of Defense (DoD). MBSE offers a powerful methodology that promises improved communication, enhanced productivity, and higher quality designs. However, transitioning from theory to successful MBSE adoption presents unique challenges for organizations embracing a digital-first engineering world.

The MBSE in Practice conference provides practitioners, researchers, and thought leaders with a platform to bridge the gap between MBSE theory and its real-world practice. In particular, the conference explores solutions for the organizational challenges of adopting the methodology: improving traditional system engineering and enterprise architecture quality with MBSE, leveraging it for DoD acquisition and test and evaluation (T&E), and applying it for cybersecurity, system analysis, and assurance.

Keynote speaker David Long, director for strategic integration at the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), will deliver the presentation “Into the Great Digital Unknown: The Evolving Landscape of MBSE and Digital Engineering.” Long is also a coach at the INCOSE Technical Leadership Institute, an INCOSE fellow and expert systems engineering professional, and the organization’s former president. Previously, Long founded and led Vitech, which develops systems engineering and architecture solutions and services. Long is also the co-author of A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering.

Other presentations and panels include

• MBSE for Resilient Distributed Healthcare
• Applying MBSE Across the Lifecycle
• From Silos to Unified Platforms: Data Architecture for MBSE
• Strategic MBSE Implementation: A Data-Driven Framework for DoD Acquisition
• Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the Digital Transformation at General Dynamics Mission System
• Cybersecurity Controls for MBSE Models to Support Authorization to Operate
• Proactive Architectural Analysis of Cybersecurity Threats
• Connecting Requirements to Test Execution with MBSE and MBT

Attendees may also be interested in the workshop “Designing Cybersecurity Using Model-Based Systems Engineering,” led by the SEI’s Natasha Shevchenko and held in conjunction with the Secure Software by Design 2025 event. Registration for the full-day workshop, to be held August 20 in the same Arlington building as MBSE in Practice, is open.

For more information on MBSE in Practice 2025 and to register to attend, visit the event website at https://www.sei.cmu.edu/events/mbse-in-practice/.