What is Systems Engineering? An Introduction to the discipline

 Among us, walks the engineer, creator, innovator, scientist or student who is tackling a mammoth mosaic of problem solving. Irrespective of our industry, we face projects which at first appear harmless but possess the capability to sprout arms and legs, and turn into a wild beast that requires taming. Whether it be finance, engineering, startups or accounting, controlling what we do, for when is imperative. To understand the common problems I’ll introduce the challenges we attempt to overcome, from there, I’ll introduce Systems Engineering. A discipline of engineering, borne out of the need to understand complexity in WWII and gripped by NASA in the early days of space exploration in order to understand interrelated deliverables, control budgets and reduce risk.

Introducing you to Systems Engineering

Systems Engineering is a tool, methodology and discipline which you can adopt to drive certainty into your project. It enables you to deliver on what was planned and handle the riskier parts of a complex project. Below, I’ll outline its origins, it’s core components and how you can begin to utilise it on your own project.

It originated during WWII when Britain conducted a study of its air defence system, a true ‘system of systems’, exploring the concept of repelling German invaders. Since then, it’s been the focus of study groups and institutions. NASA adopted it during the space race to manage the complexity of building space ships. It’s linear, iterative and recursive processes drive you to understand the customer, implement official gate reviews and stick to a design that has an acceptance plan. The outcome is delivering a system or solution which is safe, as specified, on time and within budget.