Editor's Corner

Please note that in order to provide review comments, you will use the DISQUS feature at the bottom of each article. You may login to DISQUS using existing accounts (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Twitter, or Facebook) or you may create a DISQUS account. Please look for the BKCASE posts under the discussion for each article, which provide specific guidance for reviewers.

Overview

BKCASE (pronounced "Bookcase") is the acronym for the Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering project. The BKCASE team is developing two products, a Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) and a Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE).

The current content of www.sebokwiki075.org represents version 0.75 of the SEBoK. To be clear:

• The SEBoK is not the compendium of all systems engineering knowledge; instead, in its final form it is intended to be the definitive guide to systems engineering (SE) knowledge. To this end, each article has been intentionally limited to about 2000 words (not including references or tables).
• The materials in version 0.75 should not be considered final.
• With 0.75, the authors have attempted to improve the consistency in terms of scope and level of detail for each article. However, where reviewers note inconsistency, comments would be extremely helpful.
• Only some of the articles were updated for 0.75 (see "0.75 Articles) below. All other articles in the wiki are essentially the same as version 0.5 (with minor updates to reflect changes elsewhere).

Version 0.75 provides the public SE community a view into the state of the SEBoK product to be released in version 1.0 in September 2012, and to solicit comments from the community to improve the final content of version 1.0. The ideal outcome is that the SEBoK will be supported worldwide by the SE community as the authoritative BoK for the SE discipline.

State of the SEBoK

Summarizing the current state of the SEBoK at this point, the SEBoK team believes the following:

1. The SEBoK is more mature than version 0.5. The quality of the writing, the choice of topics, the architecture of the SEBoK, the completeness of the writing have been improved over version 0.5. The author team is quite proud of how far the SEBoK has come. Yet, the choice of version "0.75" does reflect the fact that much more work remains before the SEBoK will be fully ready for broad use and adoption.
2. The architecture of the SEBoK into parts, knowledge areas, and topics is fundamentally correct and will persist in version 1.0, although there may be some minor adjustments.
3. The choice of primary references - considered the most important readings in the field for a given topic- is immature. Reviewer feedback to help mature those choices is especially vital.
4. Integration among articles is better than in version 0.5, but much remains to be done.
5. Even though the articles in the wiki have been edited, there are still shortcomings in the writing. Nevertheless, version 0.75 captures extremely valuable information about the field, and provides a solid foundation for the final version.
6. Moving to a wiki environment for the development and delivery of the SEBoK has been a huge step for the authors, but well worth it.

Reviewers will provide an external check on these beliefs.

Articles Updates for SEBoK 0.75

The following is the list of articles that have been heavily revised in the transition from SEBoK 0.5 to SEBoK 0.75. Please note that when a title is not linked below, (e.g. "System Deployment and Use) this indicates that the article was not updated, but is listed here to provide the context of associated topics that were updated.

Part 1: SEBoK 0.5 Introduction Scope and Context of the SEBoK Structure of the SEBoK Economic Value of Systems Engineering Systems Engineering: Historic and Future Challenges Systems Engineering and Other Disciplines Use Case 1: Practicing Systems Engineers Part 2: Systems Knowledge Area: Systems Thinking Topic: What is a System? Topic: Types of Systems Topic: What is Systems Thinking? Knowledge Area: System Science Topic: History of System Science Topic: System Methodology Topic: Groupings of Systems Knowledge Area: Systems Approach Topic: Overview of the Systems Approach Topic: Engineered System Context Topic: Identifying and Understanding Problems and Opportunities Topic: Synthesizing Possible Solutions Topic: Analysis and Selection between Alternative Solutions Topic: Implementing and Proving a Solution Topic: Deploying, Using, and Sustaining Systems to Solve Problems Topic: Acquirer/Supplier Responsibility Topic: Applying the Systems Approach Part 3: Systems Engineering and Management Knowledge Area: Concept Definition Topic: Mission Analysis Topic: Stakeholder Needs and Requirements Knowledge Area: System Definition Topic: Architectural Design: Logical Topic: Architectural Design: Physical Topic: System Verification Topic: System Validation Knowledge Area: System Deployment and Use Topic: Operation of the System Topic: System Maintenance Topic: Logistics Knowledge Area: Systems Engineering Management Topic: Planning

Part 4: Applications of Systems Engineering Knowledge Area: Product Systems Engineering Topic: Product Systems Engineering Background Topic: Product as a System Fundamentals Topic: Business Activities Related to Product Systems Engineering Topic: Product Systems Engineering Key Aspects Topic: Product Systems Engineering Special Activities Topic: Systems Engineering Governance Part 5: Enabling Systems Engineering Knowledge Area: Enabling Businesses and Enterprises to Perform Systems Engineering Topic: Deciding on Desired Systems Engineering Capabilities within Businesses and Enterprises Topic: Organizing Business and Enterprises to Perform Systems Engineering Topic: Assessing Systems Engineering Performance of Business and Enterprises Topic: Developing Systems Engineering Capabilities within Businesses and Enterprises Topic: Culture Part 6: Related Disciplines Knowledge Area: Systems Engineering and Software Engineering Topic: The Nature of Software Topic: An Overview of the SWEBOK Guide Topic: Ten Things a Systems Engineer Needs to Know about Software Engineering Topic: Ten Things a Systems Engineer Needs to Know about Managing a Software Team Knowledge Area: Systems Engineering and Project Management Topic: The Nature of Project Management Topic: An Overview of the PMI Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK(TM)) Topic: Relationships between Systems Engineering and Project Management Topic: The Influence of Project Structure and Governance on Systems Engineering and Project Management Relationships Knowledge Area: Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Topic: Security Engineering Topic: System Assurance Topic: Affordability Topic: Environmental Engineering

About the SEBok 0.75 Review

This is the third phase of SEBoK reviews. The first review of version 0.25 was completed with a limited audience of reviewers in Fall 2010. The report on the 0.25 comments can be found HERE (add link).

The second review of version 0.5 was open worldwide in Fall 2011; an additional review was conducted by INCOSE working groups (WGs) in association with the INCOSE International Workshop. For comments received in the 0.5 wiki, the comments and any author actions to date can be viewed on each page under the heading "Comments from 0.5 Wiki." For comments received outside the wiki, please view the adjudication report HERE (add link).

The third review of version 0.75 is open to the public and is to be completed in the Spring of 2012; the deadline for reviewer comments is April 15, 2012.

In version 0.25, the guide was presented as a PDF document with sixteen chapters. Version 0.5 was presented in a wiki. Version 0.75 is also presented in a wiki with seven major parts, 29 knowledge areas, and about 160 articles with hyperlinks between articles and to a set of primary references, a glossary, and a list of acronyms. (Please see Reading the SEBoK for a detailed explanation of the different article types.) The review of version 0.75 will use embedded discussion functionality for each article.

Review Process

The SEBoK version 0.75 review process is intended to provide the SE community an opportunity to comment on the approach, provide feedback on current draft content, provide feedback on the wiki format, and make recommendations about future content and wiki features. The author team recommends that all reviewers read Part 1: SEBoK 0.75 Introduction including the complete set of Part 1 articles, which provide the context for the rest of the materials. In addition, reviewers are encouraged to review the materials most relevant to their current roles or interests.

Please note that in order to provide review comments, you will use the DISQUS feature at the bottom of each article. You may login to DISQUS using existing accounts (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Twitter, or Facebook) or you may create a DISQUS account. Please look for the BKCASE posts under the discussion for each article, which provide specific prompts for reviewers to consider.

Two types of input requested

There are two forms of reviewer feedback:

1. Each of the articles has a set of discussion prompts in the embedded discussion at the bottom of the page. Reviewers are asked to consider these prompts as they conduct their reviews.
2. The word document SEBoK 0.75 Review Form NEED TO UPDATE LINK is provided to collect specific comments on the overall SEBoK and the wiki. Please provide responses by question number and return the document to bkcase@stevens.edu.

Thank you

The opinions and constructive criticism the BKCASE author team receives from you, the reviewer, plays an extremely valuable and important role in the worldwide success and acceptance of SEBoK. If you would like to obtain further project information, please visit the project’s website at bkcase.org and if you have any questions during your review, please contact us at bkcase@stevens.edu.

The BKCASE author team sincerely thanks you for volunteering your time to help us with this important effort.

~The BKCASE Team

bkcase@stevens.edu