2023 Report Card from the ASSESS Initiative

An Update, and a Look to the Future

Since becoming part of NAFEMS, The ASSESS Initiative has continued to grow and produce valuable insights into the future of engineering simulation and analysis, firmly taking to its role as NAFEMS' think tank and wasting no time in continuing and growing its activities under the new banner. The ASSESS Congress 2023 brought together industry experts to discuss the significant issues in analysis and simulation and chart the way forward. 2023 also saw the expansion of the popular Insight Webinar program, with five held this year alone, bringing the vision of ASSESS to the broader engineering analysis community.

The ASSESS Theme Committees grew to expand the initiative's interactive and collaborative function and ensure that as many voices as possible can contribute to the discussions shaping the future. A draft version of the proposed Engineering Simulation Metadata Specification (UMC4ES) was completed and discussed in the committees, at the Congress, during several webinars, and circulated to relevant NAFEMS working groups.

Another key highlight of the year was the Strategic Insight Paper and accompanying Executive Review by the Business Theme Committee. The collaborative insight paper "Understanding the Path to Realizable Business Benefits Through Engineering Simulation" is aimed at helping push forward the conversation on how organizations can start to see real, demonstrable benefits from simulation. With the work already completed, publication is planned for the later part of the year.

2024 will be another exciting year for ASSESS, with several key deliverables and events planned. The Insight webinar program is already in place for the coming year, covering many forward-looking topics and giving the community a unique look into the future. The Twins Theme Committee aim to deliver a Strategic Insight Paper on "Understanding Engineering Simulation Digital Twin(s) in an Integrated Digital Environment", the Democratization Theme Committee is similarly looking to produce a paper on understanding the different forms of democratization of engineering simulation, and the Integration Theme Committee will be looking to continue the work on UMC4ES and take it to the next level by producing and publishing a specification and standard document on Engineering Simulation Metadata.

The 2024 ASSESS Summit will again bring together key players in the engineering simulation community in a unique, vendor-neutral, discussion-led environment. This is where the future path of simulation will be discussed, and the roadmap of ASSESS activities will be confirmed and agreed upon as we look to where we want to be in the next 10-20 years. Join the conversation and play your part in shaping that future by participating.