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 …

Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them. – Albert Einstein In virtually any discipline, pursuit, or profession, there is a consistent desire to learn, advance, and to simplify. For systems engineering, it is no different. The breadth of systems engineering is vast, holistic in perspective and …

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 …

One of the most common and easily made mistakes in the engineering world is that of jumping to solution. It is quite easy to frame any given problem in terms of a solution or class of solutions. But the cost of this mistake is errantly removing from consideration all possible …