Difference between revisions of "Editor's Corner"

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A very warm welcome to all SEBoK users. The BKCASE Editor in Chief (EIC) has overall responsibility for the continuing review and update of the SEBoK.  Many thanks to the BKCASE Governors and the current members of the Editorial Board for supporting me.
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[[File:Hutchison,Nicole Profile.jpeg|right|200px]]
  
I am delighted to be able to talk to you about SEBoK v. 1.9, which continues our commitment to regular review of the information referenced in our "Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge".
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|<center>''The ''Editor’s Corner'' provides perspective from the Editor in Chief on critical topics for systems engineering, either through their own words or by inviting a guest writer.''</center>
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The approach taken by the BKCASE Editorial Board to manage and evolve the SEBoK is itself continuing to evolve.  SEBoK v1.4 was a significant milestone in this evolution, creating an alignment of SEBoK content with significant updates of [[ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288|ISO/IEC/IEEE. 15288:2015 Systems and Software Engineering - System Life Cycle Processes]] and the [[INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook|INCOSE SE Handbook v4.0, 2015]].  This marked something of a culmination of work started within the community working across all three of these products reaching back to the beginnings of the BKCASE project in 2009.  Since then effort has been split between continuing to build on and mature content within the existing SEBoK and exploring other areas of related knowledge.
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<div style="text-align:right">'''20 November 2023'''</div>
  
Subsequent SEBoK updates have continued tp evolve the content in response to new knowledge and community feedback. We have also made a number of structural changes to facilitate the ongoing evolution of the SEBoK. In particular a new section was included in Part 1 to reflect the ongoing [[Introduction to SE Transformation|transformation of the discipline of SE]] and associated emerging areas of knowledge. The first two of these being in [[Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) (glossary)|Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)]] and the expansion of SEBoK to cover domain specific SE knowledge.
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The formal discipline of systems engineering emerged in the first half of the 20th century. Over the last 80+ years, it has evolved from first principles to a process-focused field that generally operates in the defense and aerospace domains to a transdisciplinary one focusing on the integration and interaction between technology and people across a variety of domains. In its ''Vision 2035'', the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), states that “the practice of systems engineering will further evolve to support the demands of ever-increasing system complexity and enterprise competitiveness. By 2035, systems engineering will leverage the digital transformation in its tools and methods and will be largely model-based using integrated descriptive and analytical digital representations of the systems. Systems design, analysis, and simulation models, immersive technologies, and an analytic framework will enable broad trade-space exploration, rapid design evolution, and provide a shared understanding of the system throughout its life cycle.
  
Version 1.9 contains more ongoing evolution of the SEBoK, working closely with the SE community.
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The Systems Engineering Research Center [http://www.sercuarc.org (SERC)] led the initial creation of the ''Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge'' (SEBoK, pronounced “see-bach”). In 2009, the SERC began the three-year process of developing the SEBoK with a team of over 70 authors from around the world. Version 1.0 was published in 2012 and inpast 11 years the SEBoK has evolved in many ways: new topics, the inclusion of videos, a major rearrangement of the discussion, and perhaps most importantly, the addition of an area dedicated to the emerging topics of systems engineering.
=== SEBoK v. 1.9 ===
 
  
SEBoK v1.9 contains detailed changes to article content organisation in [[Related Disciplines|Part 6 Related Disciplines]] and [[Systems Engineering Implementation Examples|Part 7:Systems Engineering Implementation Examples]].  
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Over the years, the SEBoK has been led by several Editors in Chief:
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*Art Pyster and Dave Olwell led the development of SEBoK through version 1.0, including the decision to implement the SEBoK as a wiki.
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*Rick Adcock, appointed the first Editor in Chief after the transition of SEBoK from a research task to a community-led effort, helped identify new members of the editorial board and oversaw the addition of the first domain-focused knowledge area, [[Healthcare Systems Engineering]].
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*Rob Cloutier added the first new part to the SEBoK since its initial release: [[Emerging Knowledge]], which captures topics that are critical for systems engineers but for which the knowledge is not yet settled (e.g. artificial intelligence applications to systems engineering). Rob also fostered the addition of multi-media to the SEBoK and created and built upon articles about the discipline, including [[A Brief History of Systems Engineering]].
  
Part 6 the SEBoK considers the relationships between SE and other disciplines. One challenge of part 6 is to align the knowledge discussed with the body of knowledge of the related disciplines, while still making it appropriate for systems engineers.  To help do this the part 6 editors have created a standard article template which provides a structure within which to discuss discipline specific standards, practices and tools.  In SEBoK v1.9 we have continued to populate these sections in collaboration with representatives from the related areas with an update of the [[System Resilience]] (formerly "Resilience Engineering") article.  
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I am honored to have been asked to be the newest Editor in Chief of the SEBoK. And like every Editor in Chief before me, I am extremely lucky to work with a group of editors and authors from around the world that have consistently supported the SEBoK. These people are critical representatives of the global systems engineering community, and the SEBoK would not be possible without their tireless efforts.
  
Part 7 has been restructured, removing the old framework for examples ("vignettes" and "case studies", which reflected how the examples were developed). The example have been organized based on the organizational context: examples from commercial organizations, government organization, or examples in which development was a partnership between the two. These changes provide a better baseline to continue to evolve the content and role of these examples across the SEBoK.
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Looking forward as the discipline of systems engineering evolves, the SEBoK will need to evolve with it. At my first INCOSE International Symposium in 2008, I heard about something called "model-based systems engineering". The last 5 years have seen a tremendous push toward "digital engineering". Both of these are currently reflected in the SEBoK, but we need to do more. Digital transformation is a critical topic for systems engineers and will continue to be for at least the next decade. But the true end state is not that we as a discipline create new pockets of practice but that instead we move as a community toward a data- and model-enabled way of working. My sincere hope is that in 2033, we will talk not about MBSE or DE but about systems engineering with models and data a standard part of practice. To that end, I'm pleased to share that we have assembled a team whose mission is to integrate the discussion of using models and data throughout the SEBoK and that Rob Cloutier has agreed to spearhead this effort.
  
In addition, a new example has been added around the [[Applying a Model-Based Approach to Support Requirements Analysis on the Thirty-Meter Telescope|use of model based systems engineering for the thirty-meter telescope]].
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Finally, I encourage anyone with an interest to reach out to the SEBoK team [mailto:sebok@incose.net sebok@incose.net]. We welcome your feedback and insights and look forward to partnering with you as we move toward the SEBoK of the future.  
  
See [[Acknowledgements and Release History]] for a more detailed list of all changes made for v1.9.
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Sincerely,
 
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[[File:Hutchison_Signature.png|200px|left]]
===Future Direction for SEBoK===
 
 
 
It has been my continuing privilege over the last 12 months to continue working with the group of dedicated and knowledgeable [[Acknowledgements and Release History|contributing authors and reviewers]] who make up the BKCASE community; and to help grow this community to expand our relationships with key organizations and groups both within systems engineering and outside of it.
 
 
 
The role of the Editorial Board is to work with this community of interest on an ongoing review of the current SEBoK content and structure and to develop plans for its maintenance and evolution. Our overall goals in evolving the SEBoK remain broadly the same as those outlined in previous SEBoK updates.  I have restated and slightly modified those goals below:
 
 
 
*Improve the ways in which [[SEBoK Introduction|Part 1 (SEBoK Introduction)]] provides a starting point for different SEBoK users to find and navigate knowledge relevant to them.  This will include consideration of some of the [[SEBoK Users and Uses|SEBoK Use Cases]] which were not expanded in previous releases, and possible new case studies covering application domains such as Defense, Health Care or Transport.
 
*Review Part 2 ([[Foundations of Systems Engineering]]) with help from the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) to better understand the relationships between [[Systems Science (glossary)]] and [[Systems Thinking (glossary)]] as applied to [[Engineered System (glossary)|engineered systems]].  We hope this will lead to an improved integration of systems principles, concepts, patterns and models into the other systems engineering focused knowledge areas across the SEBoK.
 
*Look for broader views on the key practices of [[Systems Engineering and Management|Part 3 (Systems Engineering and Management)]] to feed back into the ongoing co evolution of key standards.  In particular make more direct reference to the continuing evolution of [[Agile (glossary)|Agile]] life cycle thinking and bring in more knowledge sources from the [[Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) (glossary)|model based SE (MBSE)]] community.
 
*Expand our coverage of knowledge on systems engineering application and practices.  In particular look for ways to bring in more knowledge on how systems engineering practices such as architecting, life cycle tailoring and model based systems engineering are applied in other domains.
 
*Identify the other groups, both within the systems engineering community and beyond, with interest in the topics of [[Enabling Systems Engineering|Part 5 (Enabling Systems Engineering)]] and [[Related Disciplines|Part 6 Related Disciplines]] and form stronger relationships with them.  For example we are working with the IEEE Computer Society about the relationship between SE and Software Engineering.
 
 
 
We continue to work towards ensuring that our coverage of existing systems engineering knowledge is complete and to push the boundaries of that knowledge into new approaches and domains. I also want to strengthen further our links to all members of the systems engineering community through things like the [[Sandbox|SEBoK Sandbox]]. If you are interested in any of the activity discussed above or if you have other topics which we should be considering please contact me or the appropriate member of the [[BKCASE Governance and Editorial Board|Editorial Board]] directly or use one of the available feedback mechanisms.
 
 
 
We have continued to gather review comments and content suggestions from as wide a variety of individuals as possible to make the SEBoK a truly community-led product.  Thank you to all those who have already joined this effort and I continue to look forward to working with many of you on future SEBoK releases.
 
 
 
Thank you,
 
 
 
 
 
[[File:RickSignature_Full.png|left|200px]]
 

Latest revision as of 20:12, 19 November 2023

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The Editor’s Corner provides perspective from the Editor in Chief on critical topics for systems engineering, either through their own words or by inviting a guest writer.
20 November 2023

The formal discipline of systems engineering emerged in the first half of the 20th century. Over the last 80+ years, it has evolved from first principles to a process-focused field that generally operates in the defense and aerospace domains to a transdisciplinary one focusing on the integration and interaction between technology and people across a variety of domains. In its Vision 2035, the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), states that “the practice of systems engineering will further evolve to support the demands of ever-increasing system complexity and enterprise competitiveness. By 2035, systems engineering will leverage the digital transformation in its tools and methods and will be largely model-based using integrated descriptive and analytical digital representations of the systems. Systems design, analysis, and simulation models, immersive technologies, and an analytic framework will enable broad trade-space exploration, rapid design evolution, and provide a shared understanding of the system throughout its life cycle.”

The Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) led the initial creation of the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK, pronounced “see-bach”). In 2009, the SERC began the three-year process of developing the SEBoK with a team of over 70 authors from around the world. Version 1.0 was published in 2012 and inpast 11 years the SEBoK has evolved in many ways: new topics, the inclusion of videos, a major rearrangement of the discussion, and perhaps most importantly, the addition of an area dedicated to the emerging topics of systems engineering.

Over the years, the SEBoK has been led by several Editors in Chief:

  • Art Pyster and Dave Olwell led the development of SEBoK through version 1.0, including the decision to implement the SEBoK as a wiki.
  • Rick Adcock, appointed the first Editor in Chief after the transition of SEBoK from a research task to a community-led effort, helped identify new members of the editorial board and oversaw the addition of the first domain-focused knowledge area, Healthcare Systems Engineering.
  • Rob Cloutier added the first new part to the SEBoK since its initial release: Emerging Knowledge, which captures topics that are critical for systems engineers but for which the knowledge is not yet settled (e.g. artificial intelligence applications to systems engineering). Rob also fostered the addition of multi-media to the SEBoK and created and built upon articles about the discipline, including A Brief History of Systems Engineering.

I am honored to have been asked to be the newest Editor in Chief of the SEBoK. And like every Editor in Chief before me, I am extremely lucky to work with a group of editors and authors from around the world that have consistently supported the SEBoK. These people are critical representatives of the global systems engineering community, and the SEBoK would not be possible without their tireless efforts.

Looking forward as the discipline of systems engineering evolves, the SEBoK will need to evolve with it. At my first INCOSE International Symposium in 2008, I heard about something called "model-based systems engineering". The last 5 years have seen a tremendous push toward "digital engineering". Both of these are currently reflected in the SEBoK, but we need to do more. Digital transformation is a critical topic for systems engineers and will continue to be for at least the next decade. But the true end state is not that we as a discipline create new pockets of practice but that instead we move as a community toward a data- and model-enabled way of working. My sincere hope is that in 2033, we will talk not about MBSE or DE but about systems engineering with models and data a standard part of practice. To that end, I'm pleased to share that we have assembled a team whose mission is to integrate the discussion of using models and data throughout the SEBoK and that Rob Cloutier has agreed to spearhead this effort.

Finally, I encourage anyone with an interest to reach out to the SEBoK team sebok@incose.net. We welcome your feedback and insights and look forward to partnering with you as we move toward the SEBoK of the future.

Sincerely,

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