3. Systems and Systems Engineering A System is an integrated composite of people, products, and processes that provide a capability to satisfy a stated need or objective. Systems Engineering Fundamentals, Department of Defense Systems Management College, January 2001 Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems Definition of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)
4. Definition of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Systems Engineering Focuses on defining customer needs and required functionality early in the development cycle, documenting requirements, then proceeding with design synthesis and system validation while considering the complete problem: Cost & Schedule • Performance • Test Manufacturing • Training & Support • Operations Disposal Integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort forming a structured development process that proceeds from concept to production to operation. Systems Engineering considers both the business and the technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality product that meets the user needs. International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)
6. Why Systems Engineering? 2 Schedule / cost overrun lessens with increasing SE effort Variance in schedule / cost overrun lessens with increasing SE effort INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook V3.2
8. INCOSE Mission and Vision INCOSE Mission Share, promote and advance the best of systems engineering from across the globe for the benefit of humanity and the planet. INCOSE Vision To be the world’s authority on Systems Engineering
9. INCOSE Goals Provide a focal point for dissemination of systems engineering knowledge Promote international collaboration in systems engineering practice, education, and research Assure the establishment of competitive, scalable professional standards in the practice of systems Improve the professional status of all persons engaged in the practice of systems engineering Encourage governmental and industrial support for research and educational programs that will improve the systems engineering process and its practice
18. INCOSE Annual Events International Workshop Installation of the INCOSE officers Annual report to the membership on results and plans for the coming year Working sessions for technical and administrative committees Opportunities for networking between the active INCOSE volunteers International Symposium June 20 – 23, 2011 Denver, CO Technical papers, panels, tutorials, exhibits, plus many opportunities to collaborate with experts and practitioners from diverse domains
19. INCOSE Resources Public web site (http://www.incose.org ) News of interest (INCOSE and SE) Calendar of upcoming events Links to Working Groups’ information Tools database Technical Resource Center’s Guides Members Area Systems Engineering Handbook Systems Engineering Technical Vision Measurement Primer INSIGHT – the quarterly newsletter of INCOSE Journal of Systems Engineering
24. Next Steps To learn more about INCOSE and how it can benefit you and your company Contact an INCOSE member to speak with him about his experiences with INCOSE Attend an INCOSE Chapter meeting Typically held on the 4th Thursday of each month Contact Rich Sidley or Joe Elm for details Attend the INCOSE International Symposium June 20 – 23, 2011 Denver, CO
25. Thank You! Rich Sidley AnsaldoSTS (412) 688-2124 Rich.Sidley@ansaldo-sts.us Joe Elm CMU Software Engineering Institute (412) 268-9132 jelm@sei.cmu.edu
Notas do Editor
Hello and welcome to this introduction to the International Council on Systems Engineering, also known as INCOSE. We will also talk about the Pittsburgh-area “Three Rivers Chapter” of INCOSE.
Today, we’ll speak of three topics:Systems Engineering, and why it is important; INCOSE; and how you can engage with INCOSE.
We deal with systems every day. Our cars are systems. Our cell phones are systems that are part of a larger telecommunications system. Our companies are systems. Systems are any integrated composite of people, products, and process brought together to provide a capability and satisfy a need or objective.Systems Engineering is just a disciplined manner of creating and supporting systems. It is an interdisciplinary approach to enable the realization of successful systems.
Systems Engineering has a holistic perspective. It involves looking at a problem in its entirety, taking into account all the facets and all the variables. By being involved in every phase of a project, from concept through development, delivery, operation, and ultimate disposal, it integrates all the other disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort following a structured development process. This enables you to truly understand, document, and communicate the customer’s needs at the start of the project, with a clear path toward a design to meet them and to verify and validate that they have been met.
Systems Engineering is important because mistakes are expensive. As seen here, the Conceptual stage of system development consumes only 8% of the total system life cycle cost. But in that Conceptual stage, decisions have been made that define 70% of the system’s life cycle cost. Clearly, it is important to get the conceptual design right.Also, as a system progresses through its life cycle, mistakes become more difficult and expensive to fix. A mistaken understanding of customer needs may be easy to fix in the Conceptual stage. In the Design stage, fixing that same mistake will cost 3 to 6 times as much. Fixing it during the Development stage can cost 20 to 100 times as much. And fixing it during the Production stage can cost 500 to 1000 times as much. Clearly it is important to identify defects and rectify them as early as possible.Systems Engineering provides the disciplined process to help you get the early work done correctly, and to identify and resolve errors at the earliest possible time. Systems Engineering allows you to manage complexity and change to avoid costly errors. Since implementing Systems Engineering in your organization is a cost, and the benefits are often cost avoidance, it is sometimes hard for management to see the tangible benefits or believe that they would have had to pay more if they had not implemented Systems Engineering.
Some studies have shown that increasing Systems Engineering effort on projects decreases the variance in project completion cost and schedule. Based on a sample of a number of real projects, the graph on the left shows that as Systems Engineering increases toward 15% of the total development cost, not only does the cost overrun of the projects decrease, but also, the variance in cost decreases. With more Systems Engineering, we get not only more economical projects, but more consistent and more predictable projects. The graph on the right shows that the same relationship holds true for project schedule. With more systems engineering, your projects get done faster, and your schedules are more reliable.INCOSE is now working on additional studies with the Department of Defense and IEEE to greatly expand the understanding of Systems Engineering effectiveness and return on investment.
So let’s talk some more about INCOSE.
INCOSE is a professional society who’s mission is to “share, promote and advance the best of systems engineering from across the globe for the benefit of humanity and the planet”.Its vision is to be the world’s authority on Systems Engineering.
INCOSE is a relatively young organization. It was started in 1990 as the National Council on Systems Engineering. In just 5 years, it had attracted sufficient attention globally that it became necessary to re-charter the organization as the International Council on Systems Engineering. Today, INCOSE has over 8000 members. INCOSE is organized as a not-for–profit corporation. I NCOSE management is performed by an elected Board of Directors, with the assistance of a Member’s Board representing the interests of the members, and a Corporate Advisory Board providing advice from the corporate perspective.Several companies in the Pittsburgh area are actively involved with INCOSE directly. Ansaldo STS and Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute serve on the Corporate Advisory Board, advising INCOSE on the needs of companies and helping to set the direction for Systems Engineering internationally.
Just as Project Managers can earn certification in their field according to education, experience, and verified knowledge, Systems Engineers can similarly earn certification.INCOSE has three progressive levels of certification: Associate, Certified, and Expert Systems Engineering Professional. The first two are achieved by education, experience, and tested knowledge, while the last requires extensive experience and a panel review. The CSEP-Acquisition is a discipline-specific extension to the CSEP certification.More and more companies are now factoring certification into their hiring requirements as it gives independent, objective evidence of a potential new-hire’s qualifications.
INCOSE hosts two international gatherings each year.At the International Workshop, working Groups which have virtually met throughout the year via teleconference and web-conference have the opportunity to meet and work face-to-face to coalesce their efforts. The International Workshop is held annually in the January or February timeframe.The next International Workshop will be held in Phoenix, AZ, on January 29 through February 1, 2011.INCOSE also sponsors an International Symposium annually, typically in the June or July timeframe. This is a great opportunity for INCOSE members to come together to network, learn, and teach. The next symposium will be June 20 – 23, 2011 in Denver, CO. The 2012 International Symposium will be held in Rome, Italy.
Finally, we come to INCOSE chapters. There are currently 61 active chapters worldwide.The main role of chapters is to facilitate professional networking and information exchange, be a source of local activities, contribute to working groups, disseminate announcements and news, and develop local initiatives.
Early in 2010, three local INCOSE members decided to explore the creation of a Pittsburgh-area chapter of INCOSE. They met a few times then pulled together a chapter-formation core team and chapter advisory committee. They met several times and, based upon a membership list provided by INCOSE, issued an introductory email and survey of interest. Based upon the overwhelming response they held their first meeting on 27 May 2010. Normally in the formation of a new Chapter it takes months or years to build sufficient membership to apply for a Chapter Charter. The Three Rivers Chapter accomplished this at its first meeting with 29 members – a feat never before achieved within INCOSE. This testifies to the desire for sharing of information and knowledge among the region’s Systems Engineers. Three Rivers Chapter meetings are typically held in the evening of the fourth Thursday of each month. Meeting locations rotate among the member companies, but are often at Ansaldo STS. The meeting format includes three parts: A “networking period” where attendees can discuss issues and ideas interesting to the group, A brief business meeting to discuss the affairs of the Chapter, and A technical presentation on a topic of interest. For its contribution to the Systems Engineering Community, the Three Rivers Chapter sponsors the Systems Engineering Effectiveness Working Group. This working group is participating in a study with the National Defense Industrial Association and the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society to study the quantifiable impact of specific Systems Engineering activities on project performance. Through this work they hope to develop a framework of Systems Engineering best practices that can be deployed to the benefit of all Systems Engineers.
So, how can you become a part of these exciting activities?
If you’re not already an INCOSE member, you can join. When you do, you will immediately have access to world-class System Engineering resources such as the Systems Engineering Handbook and the Journal of Systems Engineering. Resources such as these will bring you up to date on the latest and best technical knowledge in the field of Systems Engineering. You will have the opportunity to meet and network with other Systems Engineering professionals at the International Workshop, the International Symposium, and the Chapter meetings to share ideas and experiences. You will also have the opportunity to join working groups addressing topics of interest to you.A second way of engaging with INCOSE is to encourage your Systems Engineering staff to become INCOSE members. They will then also have access to the world-class Systems Engineering resources of INCOSE, as well as opportunities for professional development. This will improve their skills and their value to your company.Maybe you might want to adopt the INCOSE Systems Engineering certification program. By training and certifying your Systems Engineering staff, you increase their skills and value to your company. By incorporating Systems Engineering certification requirements in your hiring specifications, you are assured of hiring qualified professionals.Finally, you may want to consider having your company join the INCOSE Corporate Advisory Board. If you join, your entire company has free access to the world-class INCOSE resources. And you have the opportunity to influence and shape the future directions of INCOSE.
So what do you do now?If you want to learn more about INCOSE, call an INCOSE member. Contact information for some of the Three Rivers Chapter officers is shown. They’d be happy to speak with you about INCOSE and the Three Rivers Chapter.Or, you could attend a Chapter meeting. Guests are always welcome. Again, call one of the officers to find out when and where the next meeting is.Finally, you can attend the INCOSE International Symposium. Here you will see the richness of the information available and the value of participating in INCOSE.
Thank you for your attention and interest. We hope that you will choose to engage with and support INCOSE and the Three Rivers Chapter. If you want more information, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the officers of the Three Rivers Chapter shown here.Thank you!
