7.4.4 Some Early History of Systems Engineering – 1950's in IRE Publications (Part 2): The Solution

Abstract

This paper is the second stage in a project investigating the early history of systems engineering. Many current systems engineering texts refer to the post World War II era as the origin of systems engineering as a means to overcome the problems of systems development projects that failed to deliver satisfactory product systems according to budget and schedule. The present paper investigates primary sources from the 1950's period to provide an understanding of the early stages of development of the systems engineering solution to the problems that had been observed and discussed in part 1 of this study. The sources have been investigated from the perspective of the evidence that they provide concerning the systems engineering solution to the problems which had been experienced and why these solutions were regarded as satisfactory.

Ethnic Culture and the Systems Engineering Process

“…The advantage of the ISO 15288 approach is that the standard provides opportunity to develop specific methods, processes, and documentation forms which suit the particular needs of the project in the context in which it is done. The disadvantage of this approach is that it does not define how the work will be done, demanding consideration of this detail within the organization doing the project (Ferris 2006).…”

1.2.1 Early History of Systems Engineering (Part 3) – 1950's in Various Engineering Sources

“…This section compares the information in the present paper with the findings of the two earlier papers (Ferris, 2007a, Ferris, 2007b. There is an interesting contrast between the ASME corpus and the IRE corpus with respect to systems engineering.…”

“…A pair of papers were published in the INCOSE 2007 International Symposium which discussed the early history of systems engineering from the perspective of the publications of the IRE during the 1950s (Ferris, 2007a(Ferris, , 2007b. The purpose of that work was to explore the issues confronted by engineers, and the responses to those issues made within the engineering community.…”

7.3.1 A Model for Consumer Product Development from a Systems Perspective

“…This links to one of the major themes in engineering design which was addressed in the early development of systems engineering. The development of systems engineering aimed to produce explicit reasoning for product system designs with traceability enabling an auditable trail that could demonstrate the design was performed in the best interests of the acquirer (Ferris 2007(Ferris , 2007(Ferris , 2008. The design information could also support future product use and later life-cycle phase activities.…”