An Evaluation Method for Model Maturity Supporting Model-Based Systems Engineering at the Conceptual Design Stage

Multi-level models are core artifacts of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) for cross-disciplinary collaboration and staged evolution, yet assessing their maturity in the conceptual design phase remains difficult. This paper proposes a systematic, model-centric maturity assessment method for instrumentation conceptual design. By tailoring ISO/IEC 25010 to instrumentation characteristics, we establish a seven-dimensional quality attribute framework (functional suitability, performance efficiency, interaction capability, reliability, maintainability, flexibility, and structural completeness) and an L0–L4 maturity scale for multi-level MBSE models. The indicators are structured using a Quality Attribute Utility Tree. CRITIC derives the objective weights by jointly considering the score dispersion and inter-indicator correlation, and Dempster–Shafer evidence theory is used to map the indicator values and expert ratings onto basic belief assignments and fuses the multi-source evidence to the output maturity levels with explicit confidence and uncertainty. A case study of an automatic dosing instrument for solid foam drainage agents at a high-pressure gas wellhead yields an overall maturity of L1 (Structured), with BetPL1= 0.424, and an overall unknown mass of 0.186. The results highlight reliability and performance efficiency as the main bottlenecks and support targeted model refinement and resource allocation in early-stage design.