Interface Control Document Automation: DOORS Next + SysML v2 Integration

Teams at two major aerospace primes have published details of their ICD automation pipelines built on DOORS Next and SysML v2 tooling. The approach automatically generates ICD documents from interface specifications in the model, reducing ICD maintenance overhead by ~60%.

Automating ICDs: Real Results from Production Programs

Interface Control Documents are notoriously painful to maintain. Two aerospace primes have independently arrived at similar automation approaches worth documenting.

The core approach: Interface specifications are maintained as first-class objects in the SysML v2 model. An export pipeline queries the model API and generates ICD documents in program-specified formats. When the model changes, the ICD regenerates automatically.

60% overhead reduction: The reported figure covers the cost of ICD maintenance after the pipeline is established. Initial setup cost is significant (3–6 engineer-months for pipeline development and validation).

What still requires human work: Narrative sections, rationale documentation, and interface negotiation with external stakeholders. The automation handles the tabular data and technical specs, not the engineering judgment content.

Dependency: This approach requires that your interface specifications actually live in the model as first-class objects, not in separate spreadsheets or documents. Programs that haven't achieved this level of model maturity need to address that first.