SE4011 Systems Engineering for Acquisition Managers

Systems engineers flow requirements down to detailed elements, integrate elements, and verify system performance. This course concentrates on the structural and technical elements of system engineering necessary in the product development domain. Multidisciplinary activities leading to requirements analysis, design trades, and integrated product-process development are complemented by current best manufacturing practices and design for cost principles. Structured methods, decision analysis, and quality engineering foundations are emphasized. Case studies from a variety of industrial contexts are presented and discussed. This course is team taught by experts from several disciplines. Prerequisites: None.

Lecture Hours

3

Lab Hours

2

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Define systems engineering, including its purpose and scope and the role of the systems engineer.
  • Understand the systems engineering process in the pre-acquisition phase of the program acquisition life cycle and in the acquisition phase.
  • Define systems architecting, including its purpose and scope and the role of the systems architect.
  • Apply the fundamentals of a systems engineering process appropriately across a system’s life cycle.
  • Elicit, elaborate, and document system requirements based on user needs and operational objectives; translate them to technical requirements.
  • Create a system value hierarchy reflective of stakeholder goals.
  • Complete system functional analysis in support of requirements engineering using modeling tools such as IDEF0, FFBD and other techniques.
  • Develop, evaluate, and document alternative system architectures, using DoDAF products where appropriate.
  • Plan for system validation, to ensure technical performance measures map to operational characteristics.
  • Understand system specifications, project management plan (PMP) or equivalent, and the basic differences between the two; also understand Systems Management Plans (SEMP), Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), and Statements of Work (SOW).