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	Time: 25 hours Level: Masters

	Introduction Introduction Resource The aim of this unit is to answer five questions:

	1 Why is systems engineering important? 1.1 Introduction: what is the problem? Resource In late June and early July 2005 a row erupted concerning the operation of a major flagship of government social policy, the tax credit system. Introduced in 2003, it was designed to help those on low... 1.2 The Phoenix project Resource It is all too easy to dismiss problems like that being experienced with the tax credit system as being inherent in the design and implementation of computer-based systems. But they are not restricted to... 1.3 Example 1 The Workcenter that didn't Resource Autodesk Inc. is the world's largest supplier of design and engineering software. It currently markets over thirty products but is most famous for its AutoCAD® two- and three-dimensional design and drafting... 1.4 Example 2: The Bridge of Sighs (and Wobbles) Resource The second example of a systems failure is the Millennium Bridge across the Thames linking the St Paul's area of the City of London on the north side of the river with a new cultural centre emerging in... 1.5 Increasing complication, complexity and risk: the underlying relationship Resource Figure 3 showed five commonly encountered problems of effecting different types of change. These are notionally located on a spectrum of change that ranges from no change at all, to complete revolution.... 1.6 Increasing complication, complexity and risk: mystery and mechanics Resource The winter of 1665/66 must have been exceptionally harrowing for the inhabitants of England. Along with the winter weather, the country suffered an outbreak of the plague. A minor effect of this was a... 1.7 Increasing complication, complexity and risk: a spectrum of systems intractability Resource Summarising the discussion in the previous two sections, Figure 12 shows what might be termed ‘a spectrum of systems intractability’. At one end of the scale are simple systems. These are easily understandable... 1.8 Increasing complication, complexity and risk: are systems becoming more complex? Resource Figure 17 shows the evolution of two commonly encountered applications of systems – for personal transport and for the reproduction of recorded music. In both cases the degree of complexity of... 1.9 Increasing complication, complexity and risk: summary Resource The three levels of change problem, simplicity, complication and complexity, can be associated with craft, engineering and systems engineering knowledge. The three categories of change problem represent...

	2 What is engineering? 2.1 The development of engineering Resource Engineering is one important component of systems engineering. In this topic I will examine the development of engineering before presenting a modern view of the subject. Section 3 will then pick up and... 2.2 A modern view Resource Modern attempts to define engineering recognise the importance of the resources identified by Sage, and that the subject can be divided into two components: engineering knowledge – the ‘know-what’, and... 2.3 Summary and conclusions Resource This topic has addressed the question ‘What is modern engineering?’ The conclusion must be drawn that, until recently, engineers were content with fairly simplistic definitions of their profession, thinking...

	3 What is systems? 3.1 Introduction Resource As you would expect, since this unit deals with systems engineering, it embodies the principles and methods associated with a systems perspective. So it is important that you understand systems and the... 3.2 Systems concepts: system Resource The word ‘system’ is from the Greek word meaning a complex, organised whole. It has been used in this sense throughout history, and the Oxford English Dictionary records examples... 3.3 System concepts: holism Resource One of the distinguishing features of the systems approach is its attempt to be holistic – to include all the elements in the picture at each level at which the system operates. The premature exclusion... 3.4 Systems concepts: structure Resource As suggested earlier, the structure of a system is its functional or physical arrangement; the term that is often used in systems engineering is ‘architecture’. The architecture of a system can be deconstructed... 3.5 Systems concepts: dynamic behaviour: input-transformation-output Resource Utilitarian systems, as previously discussed, are the means we use to transform resource inputs into useful goods and services. Any system can be divided into a set of input-transformation-output blocks.... 3.6 Systems concepts: dynamic behaviour: control Resource A system does not usually behave in a random manner – its actions are governed in some way. This can be achieved by using the control models, either singly or in combination, shown in Figure 32(a) and... 3.7 Systems methodologies for managing change Resource The use of systems concepts and models forms part of a process of investigation that is often described in the literature of systems, design and decision-making as a ‘methodology’, where a methodology... 3.8 Systems methodologies for managing change: hard systems approach Resource The stages of the hard systems approach are illustrated in Figure 34 and simplified in Figure 35. The model shown in these figures was developed by the Open Systems Group from earlier work by de Neufville... 3.9 Systems methodologies for managing change: soft systems approach Resource Various ‘softer’ approaches to problem solving have been proposed. The one that I shall describe is based on (although not exactly the same as) the methodology developed by Peter Checkland and his collaborators... 3.10 Systems techniques Resource The two systems methodologies provide a framework for the application of problem solving, analysis and design techniques. These fall into three groups. 3.11 Summary Resource This topic has introduced the systems approach, which is the foundation of systems engineering. The systems approach consists of three elements.

	4 What is systems engineering? The career of a concept 4.1 Beginnings Resource Systems engineering has its roots in three linked strands of thinking: the concepts of systems science, engineering and public policy problem resolution. The first of these can be traced back to the work... 4.2 The use of systems analysis in public policy Resource The application of mathematical techniques to military operations was pioneered in Britain during the Second World War (see Box 7) and became known by a variety of names (Hoos, 1972, p. 42). At the end... 4.3 The use of systems engineering in organisations Resource The development of systems engineering was contemporaneous with that of systems analysis in public policy. Though its origins can be traced back to the 1930s and 1940s (Hall, 1962, p. 7), its more widespread... 4.4 The use of systems engineering in organisations: different organisational arrangements Resource Hall identified three different organisational arrangements that might provide a framework within which systems engineering work could take place within the organisation. The first of these, which he termed... 4.5 Methodologies associated with information technology Resource I recently undertook an exercise in a company that manufactures various types of agricultural machinery. I was happily using the term ‘system’ in its general sense when a senior manager stated ‘In this... 4.6 Systems engineering: the recent development of a discipline Resource The recent development of systems engineering can be dated from two events. First, following the lead of the US Department of Defense and its introduction of standards for contractors, systems engineering... 4.7 Summary Resource This topic has examined the historical development of systems engineering and modern concepts of the subject. It has discussed:

	5 The orignial course team's approach to systems engineering 5.1 Introduction: the general framework Resource The general framework of systems engineering adopted in the course consists of: a hierarchy of elements; aims associated within its outputs and process; a set of principles; a division into technical and... 5.2 The aims and principles of system engineering Resource The aims of systems engineering can be divided into those to do with its outputs and those associated with the process itself. As far as its outputs are concerned, systems engineering aims to ensure that:... 5.3 The systems engineering methodology used in the course Resource The aim of systems engineering is to achieve a solution that is effective and sustainable through its life cycle, together with the associated processes and facilities needed to realise the system and...

	6 Summary 6 Summary Resource This unit has covered the background to systems engineering. It began by addressing the question ‘Why is systems engineering important?’ Two reasons were discussed:

	References and Acknowledgements References Resource Acknowledgements Resource

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