Benefits of systems engineering

Abstract

Systems engineering is a method for developing systems in the field of computer, networking, communication, research and development. The customer and stakeholder’s needs are satisfied in a high quality, trustworthy, cost efficient and schedule compliant manner throughout a system’s entire life cycle. To manage this, seven steps are usually followed: State the problem, Investigate alternatives, Model the system, Integrate, Launch the system, Assess performance and Re-evaluate. [2]

Basic core concepts:

• Understand the problem before you try to solve it
• Translate the problem into measurable requirements
• Examine all alternatives before selecting a solution
• Consider the total system life cycle
• Test the system before delivering it
• Document everything.

In this article systems engineering and the benefits of it will be discussed. First an explanation of its purpose will be made. Then it will be discussed when the method is applicable and how to use the method. A discussion of the benefits, wat it can do, when it should be used is done at the end.

Questions for stakeholder identification

Perspective	Question
Strategic	Active voice: Who has an influence or an impact on the project? Passive voice: Who can be influenced or impacted by the project?
Critical	Active voice: Which contributors legitimize the project's mission through their involvement and thus may also come to exert legitimate claims upon the project? Passive voice: Who may be concerned with the project's mission based on their emotional, legal or political attitude?

Big idea

Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary approach where the point is to enable successful systems. It is a method where the customers’ needs, and functionality is defined early in the development cycle(project?), before going into the design. The development of this successful system or solution is constantly re-evaluated throughout its execution. [2]

A system engineer will often cooperate with a project manager and the engineering team. To achieve a successful system the system engineer will take the lead to translate between the two of them. Each stage of the given system or process will be worked through. Design and development, validation and operation, quantitative risk assessment is gone through stage by stage. The focus through these phases is often on performance, testing, scheduling and costs. [1]

Application

The responsibility for the discipline of systems engineering is to create and execute a process to ensure that the customer and stakeholder’s needs are satisfied in a high quality, trustworthy, cost efficient and schedule compliant manner throughout a system’s entire life cycle. This process is often divided in these seven tasks:

1. State the problem
2. Investigate alternatives
3. Model the system
4. Integrate
5. Launch the system
6. Assess performance
7. Re-evaluate

These seven tasks is not just repeated in this order. The functions are performed in an iterative manner.

State the problem. The problem statement should describe the top-level functions that the system must perform. Essential and preference requirements should be traceable to this problem statement. The problem statement should say what must be done and not how to do it. The customer’s requirements should be stated in functional or behavioural terms. It should be expressed in words or as a model. Operators, maintainers, suppliers, acquirers, owners, users, regulatory agencies, sponsors, manufacturers and other stakeholders will give input to the problem statement. [2]

Investigate Alternatives. Several alternative design should be created and evaluated. This should be done to find the best solution, but also to reduce project risk. When investigating alternative designs, the problem statement is helped clarified. The evaluation of the designs should be based on performance, schedule, cost and risk figures of merit. To find the preferred alternatives, multicriteria decision-aiding techniques should be used. A method like this is necessary because no design is likely to be best on all figures of merit. This analysis should be redone when more data are available. The models should be constructed and evaluated, and prototypes should be built. At the end, the system should be tested. [2]

Model the system. As the several alternatives should be investigated, there should also be models for most of the alternatives. For the preferred alternative the model should be expanded so that it can help manage the system throughout the complete life cycle. Some of the models that can be used are listed below:

• Physical analogues
• Analytical equations
• State machines
• Block diagrams
• Functional flow diagrams
• Object-oriented models
• Computer simulations
• Mental models

The models should be designed for creating a program, and a process for producing it. That is what systems engineering is. The process models make it easier to study scheduling changes, make PERT-charts and perform sensitivity analysis. Bottlenecks and fragmented activities, lower costs is some of the things that will be revealed when running the process, and is why this is a good way to do it. [2]

Integrate. In systems engineering people with different diciplines shall work together. It is important to integrate these systems, businesses and people. Interaction is a keyword in systems engineering. Interfaces with subsystems has to be designed. These subsystems should work in that way that finished products should be sent to other subsystems. The feedback loops are easier to manage around individual systems, than around interconnected subsystems. Also, co-evolving systems must be integrated. This type of integration leads to efficient processes for the system. [2]

Launch the system. Launching the system means allowing the system to do what it was intended to do. The system should now produce outputs. It can mean to make things or to buy commercial off the shelf hardware or software. Now, the preferred alternative is designed in detail. The parts are built or bought, integrated and tested. Here humans will need to be trained for the tasks they are given. The process of producing the system is iterative and will go on until the design is as good as it should. [2]

Assess performance. The system must be evaluated, and figures of merit, technical performance measures and metrices are used. Figures of merit usually focuses on the product, and are used to quantify necessities in the trade-off studies. To mitigate risk during deign and manufacturing, technical performance measures are used. Metrics are used to help manage a company’s processes. Measurement is important. Then you can control it and improve it. [2]

Re-evaluate. One very important tool in engineering is to use feedback to help control systems and improve performance. To re-evaluate outputs should be observed and the information should be used to modify the system, the inputs, the product or the process. [2]

Limitations

Here, a discussion on what the method can do, when it should be used, and the benefits of this method in relation to project, program and portfolio management will be done. It will be based on the 7 steps, and why these steps are good steps in management. And why it can be good for a project to be managed this way.

Sources

[1] https://www.onlineengineeringprograms.com/faq/what-does-a-systems-engineer-do

[2] https://www.incose.org/about-systems-engineering

(Are going to write the sources in a style/more properly)