Relationships between Systems Engineering and Project Management

The scope of systems engineering as described in the SEBOK, CMMI, and other sources, and the scope of project management as described in the PMBOK, CMMI, and other sources have a great deal of overlap as shown in Figure 1

Figure 1 – Overlap of PM and SE

These sources describe the importance of understanding the scope of the work at hand, how to plan for critical activities, how to manage efforts while reducing risk, and how to successfully deliver value to a customer. The systems engineer working on a project plans, monitors, confronts risk, and delivers the technical aspects of the project, while the project manager is concerned with the same kinds of activities for the overall project. Because of these shared concerns, there is room for confusion and tension between the roles of the project manager and the systems engineer on a given project. As shown in Figure 2, on some projects, there is no overlap in responsibility. On other projects, there could be shared responsibilities for planning and managing activities, and in some cases, particularly for smaller projects, the project manager may also be the lead technical member of the team performing both roles of project manager and systems engineer.

Figure 2 – Overlap of project roles

Regardless of how the roles are divvied up on a given project, the best way to reduce confusion is to explicitly describe the roles and responsibilities of the project manager and the systems engineer as well as other key team members. The Project Management Plan (PMP) and the Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP) are key documents used to define the processes and methodologies the project will employ to build and deliver a product or service. The PMP is the master planning document for the project. It describes all activities, including technical activities, to be integrated and controlled during the life of the program. The SEMP is the master planning document for the systems engineering technical elements. It defines SE processes and methodologies used on the project and the relationship of SE activities to other project activities. The SEMP must be consistent with, and evolve in concert with, the PMP. In addition, some customers have technical management plans and expectations that the project’s SEMP integrate with customer plans and activities. In the U.S. Department of Defense, most government project teams have a Systems Engineering Plan (SEP) with an expectation that the contractor’s SEMP integrate and remain consistent with customer technical activities. In cases where the project is developing a component of a larger system, the component project’s SEMP will need to integrate with the overall project’s SEMP.

Given the emphasis within SE references on the importance of planning and managing the technical aspects of the project, an effective systems engineer will need to have a strong foundation in management skills and experience in addition to having strong technical depth. From developing and defending basis of estimates, to planning and monitoring technical activities, to identifying and mitigating technical risk, to identifying and including relevant stakeholders during the life of the project, the systems engineer becomes a key member of the project’s management and leadership team.

References

Citations

CMMI. 2011. ‪CMMI® for Development: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement‬. Old Tappan, New Jersey; Pearson Education.

PMI. 2008. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® GUIDE)-Fourth Edition. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania; Project Management Institute, Inc.

Primary References

CMMI. 2011. ‪CMMI for Development: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement‬. Old Tappan, New Jersey; Pearson Education.

PMI 2008. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 4th ed. Newtown Square, PA, USA: Project Management Institute (PMI).

Additional References

NASA. 2007. Systems Engineering Handbook, Revision 1. Washington, DC, USA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA/SP-2007-6105.

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