Guidance for Engineers
Part 1 of the SEBoK, provides an orientation and overview of systems engineering for other kinds of engineers who have an interest in systems engineering. The extensive lists of references in Part 1 and throughout the SEBoK provide a basis for further readings on selected topics in systems engineering.
Part 7 of the SEBoK, provides implementation examples that illustrate the application of systems engineering practices, principles, and concepts in real settings. Some of these may be of direct applicability for engineers who have backgrounds and experiences in those kinds of systems; all of the examples provide concrete examples of the role of systems engineering in various kinds of projects and programs.
Links to glossary terms are embedded throughout the SEBoK; in the upcoming version 1.0 of the SEBoK, each term will include a discussion of its relevance to systems engineering, which will provide further insights into systems engineering for other engineers.
Use of Topics
Other kinds of engineers will find the following knowledge areas of the SEBoK to be relevant to their interests and needs:
Part 2 of the SEBoK provides a guide to those areas of systems knowledge particularly relevant to systems engineering. This provides a foundation for the subsequent elements of the theory and practice of systems engineering in Parts 3, 4 and 5.
In Part 3 of the SEBoK, other engineers will find most of the subjects to be of interest. In particular, the knowledge areas of Life Cycle Models, System Definition, System Realization, and System Deployment and Use will be of value. Although many engineers may be tempted to skip over Systems Engineering Management, most of the topics are relevant for other engineers (e.g., risk management, measurement, configuration management, and quality management).
Reading Part 4 (product, service, enterprise, and systems of systems engineering) will provide other kinds of engineers with an overview of the distinctions among SE activities for these different kinds of engineered systems. Other engineers involved in development or modification of one of these types of systems will benefit from reading the content, primary references, and glossary terms for for the engineering of that type of system.
Other kinds of engineers may be tempted to bypass the knowledge areas in Part 5 of the SEBoK. However, other engineers will benefit from understanding how they and systems engineers fit into the larger picture of enabling individuals and teams to perform systems engineering activities, and how systems engineers fit into the larger picture of systems engineering organizational strategies. In particular, the topic of Organizing Teams to Perform Systems Engineering will be of interest.
Software engineers would benefit from reading the Systems Engineering and Software Engineering knowledge area. Individuals involved in one of the specialty disciplines will benefit from reading the Systems Engineering and Specialty Engineering knowledge area. See the example Software Engineering Vignette.
The Part 6 knowledge area Systems Engineering and Project Management will be of interest to most other kinds of engineers.
Vignette: Software Engineer
Jose Wilks is a software engineer wanting to learn more about systems engineering principles applied to embedded systems for advanced document identification and verification. He wants to implement best practices for developing secure systems for real-time image processing and forensic verification of documents. He is already familiar with hardware and its interfaces at the low level with software. His company has experience developing research prototypes, but without the stringent security requirements for actual field usage linked to government databases.
With 20 years of experience on software projects he already is familiar with concepts in the SWEBoK. He skims SEBoK 1.0 Introduction and the Scope and Context of the SEBoK to get an overview of the SEBoK contents.
He needs to better understand the needs of various stakeholders including users, working with regulatory agencies and start using their terminology in expressing system requirements.
In Security Engineering he finds references for further study.
Reading Life Cycle Models he identifies some extra system-level V&V gates to incorporate in their processes with references for implementation details.
Jose is now better prepared to adapt his processes for new lifecycles and environments, make the business case to potential clients for his technology innovations, and thus make inroads into new markets.
He identifies the case study FBI Virtual Case File System Case Study in Systems Engineering Implementation Examples in Part 7 relevant to avoid pitfalls experienced in a related application.
Vignette: Mechanical Engineer
Cindy Glass is a mechanical engineer with experience in the petroleum industry, primarily working with large oil extraction equipment in the field. Now she is tasked to work with regulation agencies and incorporate systems engineering principles for architecting new oil platforms with broader systems considerations. Cyber security and safety are major concerns, and she is completely new to software system implementation.
She already understands hardware tradeoffs between different types of rigs and drilling materials, but now has to add dimensions for cyber security and environment. xx gives her references for system design with many ilities.
Since she is new to working on software projects and with software engineers, by reading through Ten Things a Systems Engineer Needs to Know about Software Engineering, she is reminded to include security specialists at both the software level and the systems level.
Summary
The SEBoK provides insights and guidance concerning systems engineering principles for other kinds of engineers and related technical disciplines. These engineers will benefit from the knowledge areas highlighted in this use case.
References
Works Cited
None.
Primary References
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Additional References
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