What is Digital Engineering?
Digital engineering is the practice of using digital tools and methods to design, test, and maintain systems across their lifecycle. It integrates technologies like simulation, data analytics, and digital twins into engineering processes to improve accuracy and efficiency. The digital engineering definition goes beyond automation—it enables continuous evolution of systems through data-driven insights and virtual models.
How Does Digital Engineering Work?
Digital engineering works by creating digital representations of physical systems and integrating real-time data to support smarter design and decision-making. By combining modeling, simulation, and digital thread technology, engineers can test changes virtually before physical deployment. This approach enhances system performance, reduces costs, and drives agility across complex projects—making it central to modern digital engineering applications.
Key Concepts in Digital Engineering
At its core, digital engineering concepts include the digital twin, model-based systems engineering (MBSE), and the digital thread. These concepts ensure traceability, allow continuous improvement, and foster collaboration across teams. The importance of digital engineering lies in its ability to connect every phase of the lifecycle—from design to maintenance—using unified, digital models.
Benefits of Digital Engineering
The benefits of digital engineering are substantial: faster product development, improved quality, reduced errors, and lower costs. It also enhances collaboration by enabling stakeholders to work on a single source of digital truth. For industries dealing with complex systems—like aerospace, manufacturing, or defense—digital engineering drives innovation and competitive advantage.
Digital Engineering Process
The digital engineering process typically starts with requirements modeling, followed by design, simulation, validation, and deployment—all within a connected digital environment. Each phase feeds into the next using shared data and real-time updates, forming a closed-loop system. This end-to-end digitization ensures systems are not only built better but evolve more intelligently over time.
