Systems Engineering and Management
Lead Authors: David Endler, Mike Yokell
Systems Engineering and Management (SE&M) articles provide system lifecycle good practices for defining and executing interdisciplinary processes to ensure that customer needs are satisfied with a technical performance, schedule, and cost compliant solution. The figure below depicts the context of SE&M processes and practices guidance within the SEBoK.
The SE&M materials are currently being updated to better align with international standards.
SE&M Knowledge Areas
The SE&M articles are organized into the following Knowledge Areas [KAs].
- Life Cycle Terms and Concepts
- Development Approaches
- Agile Systems Engineering
- Life Cycle Model Selection and Adaptation
- Systems Engineering Management
- System Concept Definition
- System Architecture Design Definition
- System Maintenance
- Systems Engineering Standards
The SE&M articles provide exemplary processes and practices which can be adapted by an engineering organization to satisfy strategic business goals and individual project objectives including:
- How engineering conducts system development
- The purpose of each engineering artifact generated
- How systems are integrated, and requirements verified
- How new product designs are transitioned to production operations
- How the resulting system is employed and sustained to satisfy customer needs
Part 3A - Life Cycle Concepts
A life cycle is the evolution of a system, product, service, project or other human-made entity from conception through retirement. There are various approaches to properly manage the progression of the system of interest through its life cycle stages as well as the planning for the other stages. In general, the approaches can be roughly divided into sequential, incremental and evolutionary approaches. Agile systems engineering is a principle-based method for designing, building, sustaining, and evolving systems when knowledge is uncertain and/or environments are dynamic. Life cycle models serve as essential frameworks that guide the development and management of systems and services throughout their existence. Tailored to organizational needs, these models help align projects with strategic goals while accommodating industry regulations and internal diversity. Life cycle models and development approaches can be selected and adapted to meet specific needs.
Knowledge Areas
The Part 3A - Life Cycle Concepts articles are organized into the following Knowledge Areas [KAs]:
- Knowledge Area – Life Cycle Terms and Concepts
- Knowledge Area – Development Approaches
- Knowledge Area – Agile Systems Engineering
- Knowledge Area – Life Cycle Model Selection and Adaptation