systemsengineeringisageneraltermthatdescribesthe（systemsengineeringisageneraltermthatdescribesthe）（7页）.docVIP

An Overview of Systems Engineering -The Art of Managing Complexity- Submitted on October 16th, 2001, for ESD.83 Cory R.A. Hallam Abstract Systems Engineering has emerged as a distinct professional discipline in the past half century in response to the ever-increasing complexity of new products and systems. This paper provides a brief overview of the discipline and the role of the Systems Engineer. Introduction The term Systems Engineering (SE) is a generic term that describes the application of structured engineering methodologies to the design and creation of complex systems. While there has been great discussion about the term system, it can be argued that from the point of view of the System Engineer, a system is a collection or set of parts that work together to perform a particular function. These parts can be in the form of hardware, software, or liveware, and in themselves may be considered systems. The system definition is essentially relative to the perspective of the individual who views the system. The discipline of Systems Engineering focuses on the coordination of all of the disciplines, tasks, and activities necessary to develop the total system. Unlike traditional engineering disciplines, such as hydraulics engineering, structural engineering, or electrical engineering, Systems Engineering is not governed by a set of fundamental mathematical relations based on physical properties. In essence, it has not traditionally been a strict laboratory-based form of engineering. It has emerged from a need to deal with the ever-increasing complexity of system development projects, and emerged as a collection of best-practices for managing the development of complex engineering systems. Given the ad-hoc assemblage of many of these best-practices in their early years, the past several decades has seen the application of modeling and simulation tools to the development of processes that optimize system development in multivariate system requirements space - a