12 August 2021

Out of Context: On Systems Engineering (Definitions)

"From a business point of view, systems engineering is the creation of a deliberate combination of human services, material services, and machine service to accomplish an information processing job. [...] In general, systems engineering is more total and more goal-oriented in its approach [...]." ("Computers and People" Vol. 5, 1956)

"Systems engineering is unbiased, it demands only what is logically required." (Instrumentation Technology, 1957)

"Systems engineering is more likely to be closely associated with top management of an enterprise than the engineering of the components of the system. [...] Systems engineering is a highly technical pursuit and if a nontechnical man attempts to direct the systems engineering as such, it must end up in a waste of technical talent below." (Aeronautical Engineering Review Vol. 16, 1957)

"Systems engineering is the name given to engineering activity which considers the overall behavior of a system, or more generally which considers all factors bearing on a problem, and the systems approach to control engineering problems is correspondingly that approach which examines the total dynamic behavior of an integrated system. It is concerned more with quality of performance than with sizes, capacities, or efficiencies, although in the most general sense systems engineering is concerned with overall, comprehensive appraisal." (Ernest F Johnson, "Automatic process control", 1958)

"Systems engineering is, obviously, the engineering of a system." (Instruments and Control Systems Vol. 31, 1958)

"[...] systems engineering is indispensable in meeting the challenge of complexity." (Harold Chestnut, "Systems Engineering Tools," 1965)

"Systems engineering is most effectively conceived of as a process that starts with the detection of a problem and continues through problem definition, planning and designing of a system, manufacturing or other implementing section, its use, and finally on to its obsolescence. Further, Systems engineering is not a matter of tools alone; It is a careful coordination of process, tools and people." (Arthur D. Hall, "Systems Engineering from an Engineering Viewpoint" In: Systems Science and Cybernetics. Vol.1 Issue.1, 1965)

"Systems Engineering is the science of designing complex systems in their totality to ensure that the component sub-systems making up the system are designed, fitted together, checked and operated in the most efficient way." (Gwilym Jenkins, "The Systems Approach", 1969)

"System engineering is a robust approach to the design, creation, and operation of systems." (NASA, "NASA Systems Engineering Handbook", 1995)

"System engineering is the art and science of creating effective systems, using whole system, whole life principles." (Derek Hitchins, 1995)

"[…] systems engineering is a process - a process that transforms a functional need, a mission capability requirement, or market opportunity into a complete description for a system that meets the need." (John Boardman & Brian Sauser, "Systems Thinking: Coping with 21st Century Problems", 2008)

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