If you have been reading about systems engineering and the latest trends in the industry, you have no doubt come across the terms “PLM” and “digital thread.” These two phrases are overloaded terms and have slightly different meanings depending on your experience and your personal perspective in system development, production …

Those intimately familiar with systems engineering recognize the value it brings to projects and organizations. The 2012 study, The Business Case for Systems Engineering, quantified the connection between the application of systems engineering best practices and project performance. Even without this study, systems engineers intuitively understand the law of conservation of …

Recently, I was asked a technical question regarding a workflow. I could offer a precise answer but fortunately had just enough context to know that in doing so I would set the project back rather than move it forward. In this case, the various players each had a slightly different …

In late October, I attended the National Defense Industry Association Systems Engineering Conference, held in Springfield, Virginia. The conference covers a wide spectrum of system engineering topics, primarily supporting the Department of Defense, but also in support of other federal agencies. There were many interesting topics and discussions over the …