Difference between revisions of "Editor's Corner"

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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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|<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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<div style="text-align:right">'''20 November 2023'''</div>
  
<div style="text-align:right">'''20 May 2022'''</div>
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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.”
  
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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.
  
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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]].
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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]].
  
<div style="text-align:justify">I would like to continue my discussion from the previous SEBoK release on a Metaverse for systems engineering. In the six months that have elapse since I last wrote about this, the metaverse community has continued to expand. The Sandbox Metaverse and Decentraland are both built on the Ethereum blockchain. Each has their own cryptocurrency which is used to buy objects and services. And each has their own DAO – decentralized autonomous organization for governance. There are a number of others that continue to emerge as Web 3.0 continues to gain acceptance.
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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.
  
Recently, Lippert, et al. presented a systems engineering metaverse framework at an IEEE conference. A three-layer topology was proposed. First, there is a technology layer comprising tools, computation, and blockchain. The communication layer contains the content creation interface, a digital twin, and the user experience. Finally, the environment layer is made up of artificial intelligence, economics code, and user generated content (UGC)[1]
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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.
  
Does all of this sound like jibberish to you? I can assure you the younger members of INCOSE, IEEE, and IISE understand every word of what I just wrote. I am suggesting that professional societies and engineering communities need to get out in front of this. It is quickly becoming the fusion of the next generation of the Internet, artificial intelligence, blockchains, and social media with the ability to host digital twins, transact business, and facilitate collaborations.
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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.  
  
There are a number of issues we should be thinking about. How do we write requirements for a metaverse? What should the architecture look like? How do we V&V a metaverse? Then, there is blockchain technology. While the notion of blockchain is most commonly attached to cryptocurrency, it is also being implemented as a ledger for real estate transaction, an archive for important documents, and throughout the many steps and types of supply chains. It is being looked at in areas of managing intellectual property, cybersecurity and health care and records. These are all the challenging issues of which we as systems engineers should be involved.
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Sincerely,
 
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[[File:Hutchison_Signature.png|200px|left]]
It is a brave new world, as systems engineers, we need to be part of the solution. We cannot do that if we do not even understand the technology.
 
 
 
'''What do you think?''' Can this community become the catalyst for change? Can we define what a Metaverse for Systems Engineering could become? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please drop a comment using the “Add comment” feature at the bottom of this page. The “Add comment” feature does not capture who is posting the comment. So, if you want a more vibrant interaction with others, please consider including your name and email with your comment. (We recommend using [at] and [dot] if you post your email address.)
 
 
 
Alternately, if you want to initiate a longer conversation with me, drop me a note at rcloutier[at]southalabama[dot]edu. Please put “SE Metaverse” in the subject line to help me sort the mail easier.
 
 
 
With all of that in mind, I hope you enjoy this latest release of the SEBoK.</div>
 
 
 
[[File:RobSignature2.jpeg|200px|left]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
----<small>[1] Lippert, K., Khan, M.N.R., Rabbi, M. M., Dutta, A., and Cloutier, R. J. (2021). A Framework of Metaverse for Systems Engineering. 2021 IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing, Information, Communication and Systems (SPICSCON), Dhaka, Bangladesh</small>
 

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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