Systems engineering manages the design, integration and lifecycle of complex engineered systems as a whole, coordinating the many specialized engineering disciplines, mechanical, electrical, software and others, that a large system such as an aircraft, spacecraft or industrial plant draws together, so the finished system meets its requirements even though no single specialist understands every part of it. A professional society for the field, the National Council on Systems Engineering, was founded in 1990 and renamed the International Council on Systems Engineering in 1995 as its membership grew beyond the United States.
Facts
Origin YearINCOSE's own history dates the term systems engineering only to the early 1940s at Bell Telephone Laboratories, not to a precise year; 1940 is used here as the earliest year in that range. The professional society itself was founded as NCOSE in 1990 and renamed INCOSE in 1995. Superseding the prior undated debated status: the imprecision is in the historical record itself, not a genuine competing-camps dispute. Core ConcernCoordinating the requirements, design, integration and lifecycle of complex systems that combine many specialized engineering disciplines. 2 Core PrincipleDefine a system's requirements, structure and interfaces before any subsystem is designed in detail, and manage trade-offs across the whole system rather than optimizing one part at another part's expense. 1 Connections
Associated With
Aircraft and spacecraft programs are among the largest and earliest adopters of formal systems engineering practice.
FMEA is a standard systems engineering method
Both coordinate complex processes and organizations rather than a single physical artifact.
MBSE is a systems engineering method
Complex system engineered as a whole
System identification is a systems and control method
Includes
Source Harold Chestnut (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source Simon Ramo (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. History and Definition of Systems Engineering (CSEP Training)
CSEP TrainingHistory and Definition of Systems Engineering pageQuote, History and Definition of Systems Engineering page
INCOSE traces foundational systems concepts at Bell Telephone Laboratories to the early twentieth century and the term systems engineering to the early 1940s.
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source Systems Engineering (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section, opening definition of systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles.
Lead section, core definition paragraph
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles.
History section, professional society paragraph
In 1990, a professional society for systems engineering, the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE), was founded by representatives from a number of U.S. corporations and organizations.
View the Source Simon Ramo (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Simon RamoView the Source Harold Chestnut (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Harold ChestnutView the Source Frequently Asked Questions
What makes systems engineering different from a single discipline like mechanical or electrical engineering?
Systems engineering is interdisciplinary rather than tied to one technology. Instead of owning a single kind of hardware, it focuses on designing, integrating and managing a complex system across its whole life cycle, coordinating separate engineering teams so the finished system works as a whole rather than as a pile of well built parts.
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