Model the system

An end-to-end walkthrough — create an element, draw a diagram, connect the model with ports, commit your change, and baseline the model.

This guide builds up a piece of the model and freezes it. It uses the universal item actions from Working with items where they apply, and focuses on what’s specific to model-based systems engineering. For the concepts behind each step, see Model-based systems engineering, The canvas, and Model elements & stereotypes.

Create an element

An element is the building block of the model — a block, a part, an interface. It carries a SysML stereotype that defines what it is.

Before you start Open the Architecture module in your project.

Choose New Element (from the toolbar), or right-click in the containment tree to add one.
Give the element a Name and choose its Stereotype — the available stereotypes come from your model configuration.
Confirm to create it.

Result The element appears in the containment tree. It's a first-class record — it has its own identity, links, and history, just like any other item.

Draw a diagram

Diagrams are views onto the model. The same element can appear in several diagrams; the diagram doesn’t own it.

Create a New Diagram and choose its type — Block Definition (BDD), Internal Block (IBD), Parametric, State Machine (STM), or Sequence (SD).
Place elements on the canvas — drag in existing ones or create new ones in place.
Arrange and label them to communicate the structure or behavior the diagram is for.

Result A diagram that presents part of the model. Because elements are shared, editing one updates it everywhere it appears.

Connect the model

Structure comes from how elements relate — ports and the interfaces that flow between them.

Add ports to the elements that exchange something.
Connect the ports to define what flows between the elements.

Result A connected model where interfaces are explicit. See Ports & interfaces for the detail, and Linking to requirements to trace the model to the spec.

Commit and baseline

The model is versioned like source — you commit changes with a note, and baseline the whole model to freeze a known state.

When your change is complete, Commit it and describe what changed.
To freeze a milestone of the model, choose Create Baseline — a named snapshot you can return to and compare against.

Result Your change is recorded with its rationale, and the baseline captures the model's state at a point in time for review, release, or audit.

Where to go next

To tie the model back to what it must satisfy, see Linking to requirements.