Some disciplines are “invented” or, more accurately, “evolve” as ways of solving specific, difficult problems. Principles and techniques are developed to cope with the knotty aspects of such problems. This was the path that led to systems engineering. First discussed by Bell Labs, systems engineering arose across several decades primarily …

When teaching classes on model-based systems engineering, I am frequently asked about methods to manage different system configurations in the model. Most engineers are very comfortable thinking in part structures, and while this is a critical aspect of systems engineering, it’s not the whole story. To answer the question and …

This 2 minute video captures and explains the main points of this blog post. “Now if you’re ready, Oysters dear, we can begin to feed.” Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter Oysters Rockefeller, oysters on the half shell, oyster stew, fried oysters . . . for the appreciative connoisseur, …

Influenced by the broad applicability of systems engineering and the fact that it is generally taught top-down, many systems engineers believe that they consistently engage in a variant of clean-sheet design. While systems engineering certainly enables fresh thinking and new looks into a problem space, the reality is that we …