Systems Engineering Principles

Capturing principles for application by SE practitioners



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Systems engineering principles have been percolating in the systems engineering community for 30+ years. Based on the work done these past three decades, INCOSE has produced this first formal set of systems engineering principles peer reviewed by our sister organizations: AIAA, IEEE, and NDIA. These principles are an initial set to help advance the discipline of systems engineering in application of the systems engineering processes, provide an indication of the basis of systems engineering, and spur further systems engineering research.

INCOSE is excited to provide a further step in the advancement of the Systems Engineering discipline through the publishing of this first set of principles. It is hoped and expected that additional principles will be discovered/realized and that changes in the understanding of systems engineering practice or progress in the definition of the basis will lead to further updates of this set of principles.

If the reader has any feedback or comments on this set of principles, please post your input using the Feedback Form link here.

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Our Contributors

DR. JAVIER CALVO-AMODIO

(Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering, Oregon State University) contributed to the development and applicability of the principles. Dr. Calvo-Amodio Significantly contributed conceptual and theoretical foundations that support the validity of the systems principles.

GARRY ROEDLER

(INCOSE Past President, INCOSE Fellow & Retired Senior Fellow, Lockheed Martin)contributed to the development and review of the principles,and promoted the project across INCOSE and collaborating organizations.

DR. DAVID ROUSSEAU

(Director,Centre for Systems Philosophy,INCOSE Fellow) contributed to the refinement and consolidation of the principles. Dr Rousseau Significantly contributed to the conceptual clarity of the principles and the mapping of the principles to align inputs from across the published literature.

WILLIAM D. MILLER – MR. MILLER

(Adjunct Professor, Stevens Institute Of Technology; Editor-in-Chief,INSIGHT magazine; and 2013-2014 INCOSE Technical Director) ensures the principles are and remain fit for purpose as the keystone of the hard and soft sciences foundations (SF4SE) for the systems community’s future of systems engineering (FuSE) initiative.

DR. BRYAN MESMER

(Associate Professor, The University of Alabama in Huntsville) contributed to the overall consistency of the principles. Dr. Mesmer significantly influenced the decision-making aspects of the principles.

DR. CHUCK KEATING

(Professor,Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, Old Dominion University) contributed to the development and critique of the principles. Dr. Keating significantly contributed to the underlying Systems Theory foundations embedded in the principles.

DR. MICHAEL D. WATSON

(NASA MSFC Advanced Concepts Office Technical Advisor) led the development, review, and maturation of these systems engineering principles at both NASA and as chair of the INCOSE Systems Engineering Principles Action Team.

DAVID LONG

(INCOSE Past President, CEO ViTech) was instrumental in orchestrating the initial INCOSE discussions on the Systems Engineering Principles Emerging from literature in 2018

D. SCOTT LUCERO

(Research Faculty, Virginia Tech National Security Institute) provided early guidance that influenced development and applicability of the principles.

AILEEN SEDMAK

Contributed to the development and review of the principles.

R. W. RUSSELL

Contributed to the development and review of the principles.

CHERYL JONES

(Systems Engineer,US Army RDECOM) contributed to the development and review of the principles.

ROB GOLD

Contributed to the development and review of the principles.

"The documenting of this initial set of systems engineering principles would not have been possible without the dedication of the members of the INCOSE Systems Engineering Principles Action Team who were engaged, responsive, and constructively critical in the review of these principles collected from the previous works. Their insights and inputs were extremely valuable to the production of this publication."



- Michael Watson, Chair

Coming Soon!

Interview with the Chair, Michael Watson

Press Release

SAN DIEGO (19August2022)–International Council on Systems Engineering(INCOSE)is pleased to announce the publication of the Systems Engineering Principles.INCOSE is excited to provide a further step in the advancement of the Systems Engineering discipline through the publishing of this first set of principles.

 
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