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6.2.3 Understanding the Value of Systems Engineering
Author(s) -
Honour Eric C.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
incose international symposium
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-5837
DOI - 10.1002/j.2334-5837.2004.tb00567.x
Subject(s) - heuristics , schedule , quality (philosophy) , computer science , heuristic , value (mathematics) , product (mathematics) , excellence , industrial engineering , operations research , management science , engineering , mathematics , artificial intelligence , machine learning , philosophy , geometry , epistemology , political science , law , operating system
The practices of systems engineering are believed to have high value in the development of complex systems. Heuristic wisdom is that an increase in the quantity and quality of systems engineering (SE) can reduce project schedule while increasing product quality. This paper explores recent theoretical and statistical information concerning this heuristic value of SE. It explores the underlying theoretical relationships among project cost and schedule, technical value, technical size, technical complexity, and technical quality, summarizing prior work by the author. It then identifies and summarizes six prior statistical studies with conclusions that relate to the value of SE. Finally, the paper provides final results of a statistical study by the INCOSE Systems Engineering Center of Excellence (SECOE) that presents evident correlations supporting the heuristics. The results indicate that optimal SE effort is approximately 15–20% of the total project effort.